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Indian monsoon recovers after decades of decline
Even if the total rainfall recovers, there is no indication that heat waves, droughts, extreme events and widespread floods are about to go away. Posted on 17 Apr, 2018 02:08 PM

As the parched Indian subcontinent eagerly awaits the monsoon, all indications are that it will be a normal monsoon, especially since no El Niño is in the offing for 2018. 

Recovering rainfall is a good sign. (IWP Flickr photos)
IMD predicts a normal monsoon
The country had recorded a rainfall of 97 percent in 2016 and 98 percent last year during monsoon which runs from June to September. Posted on 17 Apr, 2018 12:03 PM

India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday forecast that the monsoon this year will be normal, with rainfall of 97 percent of the long period average (LPA) with an error of plus or minus five percent. 

A normal monsoon is good news for India's economy. (IWP Flickr photos)
Cauvery water not very polluted, says study
News this week Posted on 17 Apr, 2018 11:10 AM

KSPCB says Cauvery water can be used for drinking after conventional treatment

Cauvery river water falls under Category-C. (Picture courtesy: Deccan Chronicle)
Tourism increases black carbon in air
A study finds an increased concentration of black carbon in Gangotri region during tourist seasons. Posted on 16 Apr, 2018 03:25 PM

In a significant input for the growing debate on global climate change, a study by researchers at the Dehradun-based Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) has found that there is a remarkable increase in the concentration of black carbon in the atmosphere near the pilgrim town of Gangotri in Uttarakhand during the two annual tourist seasons of April to June and during September and Octobe

Black Carbon Monitoring Station at Chirbasa near Gangotari. (Photo credit : Dr P.S. Negi, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun)
Tackling fluorosis by following Nalgonda's lead
Engaging with the fluorosis problem in Nalgonda gave the FKAN a chance to understand the problem and apply the solutions nationally. Posted on 15 Apr, 2018 04:21 PM

Fluorosis continues to be a regional issue in Telangana to this day, even decades after the first cases were discovered in Nalgonda in 1937. More than three lakh people in the district are affected with skeletal and dental fluorosis, a stigma that has stuck for generations.

Shifting to non-fluoride affected food and increased nutrients is necessary to deal with fluorosis (Image: Fluoride Knowledge and Action Network)
Saving Jhabua’s children from fluorosis
INREM Foundation’s work helped develop protocols on designing proactive action on safe water and nutrition to help mitigate fluorosis in Jhabua. Posted on 13 Apr, 2018 09:03 PM

In 2010, nine-year-old Kailash from Miyati village, Jhabua developed symptoms of skeletal fluorosis. Fluorosis, which affects millions of people in India, is a health issue caused due to high fluoride content in drinking water. Skeletal fluorosis is marked by deformed bones.

Nutrition garden developed in Jhabua for sustainable nutrition and resistance from fluorosis among villagers.
Yak faces threat of climate change
Nomads are beginning to notice increasing heat stress among yaks in the Indian Himalayas. Posted on 12 Apr, 2018 11:37 AM

Yak--the lifeline of pastoral nomads in high altitudes of the Indian Himalayan region--is facing the threat of gradually rising temperatures in the region. 

Yaks are used to very cold temperature and exhibits heat stress when the temperature increases. (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Power play chokes Korba
The video tells the story of residents of Korba and nearby villages who are affected by the fly ash from power plants which makes Korba the fifth critically polluted area in the country. Posted on 11 Apr, 2018 02:05 PM

Korba in Chhattisgarh is an industrial area which has a significant number of coal mines and thermal power plants. Fly ash is a byproduct of the thermal power plants and has become a significant problem for the residents of Korba now.

Fly-ash dust at CSEB thermal power plant in Korba.
There’s no better gift, Daan Toilet!
Assam’s Jorhat district inches closer to being open defecation-free, thanks to a novel initiative by the administration. Posted on 11 Apr, 2018 11:49 AM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project, Swachh Bharat that envisages an open defecation-free India by the year 2019 has witnessed many local administrations take drastic measures to get people to b

Baghmoria resident Bitul Gogoi poses in front of a newly constructed ‘Daan' toilet donated by Dr Richa Agarwala of Jorhat.
Down in the dumps: Delhi’s waste pickers’ saga
A study by Action India provides insight into Delhi’s recycling nightmare and its unacknowledged waste pickers. Posted on 10 Apr, 2018 04:05 PM

Eight-year-old Meera (name changed) got ill after eating filthy food remains from a dump at Mansarovar park in Delhi. Children like her work in filthy environments, rummaging through hazardous waste with bare hands and feet. They play in these dumping ground strewn with syringes, scrap iron, rotting waste, solid and liquid household waste.  

Waste pickers face harrowing occupational hazards and are exposed to toxins in the absence of protective gear. (Image: Ted Mathys, 2009)
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