Climate Change

The mountain range that runs along the west coast of peninsular India from Tamil Nadu through Kerala, Karnataka, and Goa to Maharashtra is known as the Western Ghats and is very well known for its majestic beauty. It is also among the top eight biodiversity hotspots in the world.

Lokesh Verma, a farmer from Nainital’s Chanfi village, says this is the third year in a row that he is bearing losses in agriculture. “I have lost around Rs 2 lakh and there’s a debt of Rs 70,000 to pay off. I grow strawberries, guavas and peas in my 15 bighas of land, but there is not enough water in the hills to irrigate crops properly,” he says.

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. 

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

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. 

In a few weeks from now, the seasonal forecast for the Indian summer monsoon will be announced. Among various parameters that determine the fate of the monsoon is the sea surface temperature, more specifically, the contrast between land and sea temperatures. But what are the parameters that determine sea surface temperatures?

The issue of economic development is intrinsically connected with global warming. The temperature of the planet rises because of indiscriminate exploitation of its resources and destruction of the environment. The effect of global warming further intensifies temporal and spatial variations in precipitation, melting of snow and water availability. 

Here is more evidence why we need to worry about climate change. A new study says extreme rainfall events are on the rise in India and attributes the trend to man-made emissions, what scientists call anthropogenic warming. Not just this, the trend is likely to become more prominent by mid-century, particularly in southern and central India.

Scientists have developed a hydrogel from the gum of guar (cluster bean) that can increase soil moisture and help farmers save their crops in case of water scarcity. 

On the eve of the World Water Day, Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR), made a presentation to the members of the Maharashtra Legislature. The presentation was a part of an event titled Tackling Climate Change in Maharashtra that was presided over by the chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis.