Gurinder Kaur

Improving India's poor environmental performance

Environmental Performance Index ranks India at the bottom

Posted on 23 Jun, 2022 08:37 AM

On June 8, Yale University's Center for Environmental Law and Policy and Columbia University's Center for International Earth Science Information Network released a report of the Environmental Performance Index 2022. India ranked lowest among the 180 countries considered, lagging behind Myanmar at 179, Vietnam (178), Bangladesh (177) and Pakistan (176).

As per the EPI 2022 deteriorating air quality and rapidly increasing greenhouse gas emissions are the primary reasons behind the country's low score (Image: Rawpixel)

Declining fertility rate and population in India

The change in fertility rate has an impact on the population-resource relationship over any region

Posted on 03 Jan, 2022 11:17 PM

The second phase of data collected by the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) for 2019-21 was released on November 24, 2021.

Rapid population growth is one of the major causes of scarcity of resources like land and water (Image: Pixabay)

India needs to wake up to severe air pollution

With each new report, the number of polluted cities in India is increasing

Posted on 10 Sep, 2021 10:32 AM

Two studies released on September 1, 2021, on the damage to human health due to increasing air pollution in India have revealed very worrying facts.

According to a Greenpeace India report released on January 21, 2020, 80 per cent of the country's cities are polluted by national standards (Image: Max Pixel, License CC0)

Floods and recurring natural disasters in India

Better regulation of environmentally sensitive areas is needed to avert disasters.

Posted on 04 Aug, 2021 09:59 AM

After two weeks of extremely hot and long dry weather, the monsoon winds brought heavy rains to the hilly northern states of India (Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand) and the south-west coastal states (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, and Kerala).

Floods in Uttarkashi (Image: Oxfam International; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

The lessons learnt from Cyclone Yaas

Tropical cyclones are expected to increase in intensity with climate change

Posted on 31 May, 2021 11:03 PM

On May 26, Cyclone Yaas from the Bay of Bengal hit the coast in Bhadrak district near the Bahanaga block north of Dhamra port

Cyclone Yaas slammed into the north Odisha coast near Balasore on May 26, 2021 (Image: NASA Earth Observatory)

Protecting India from maritime disasters

The Arabian Sea is also turning into a hotbed of cyclonic storms

Posted on 25 May, 2021 04:41 PM

On May 17, 2021 Cyclone Tauktae, the first extremely severe cyclone from the Arabian Sea in over two decades, barrelled up the country’s western coast, making its landfall in Gujarat.

Cyclone Tauktae intensified into an ‘extremely severe cyclonic storm’ and made a landfall on coastal Gujarat leaving a trail of destruction behind. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Serious efforts needed to curb carbon emissions

Will the promises by major nations at the recent climate summit bring the world closer to the Paris goals?

Posted on 07 May, 2021 07:45 PM

The Leaders’ Summit on Climate hosted by the United States President Joe Biden has come to a successful conclusion.

On January 20, 2021 United States rejoined the Paris Accord (Image: Kai Stachowiak; Public Domain license)

Lights out to mark the Earth Hour

This year’s theme calls attention to climate change

Posted on 26 Mar, 2021 04:25 PM

Earth Hour is observed on the last Saturday of March each year in almost all countries to raise people’s awareness of natural disasters due

Through this year’s theme, awareness is being raised about the crisis of nature loss, climate change and global warming (Image: SomeCG, Pixabay)

Need to revamp developmental planning in the Uttarakhand hills

The havoc points to the faultlines in the developmental planning of ecologically sensitive areas.

Arjun Kumar

Posted on 12 Feb, 2021 11:02 AM

The recent catastrophe in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, where a large part of the Nanda Devi Glacier fell into the Alaknanda stream near Joshimath, caused severe flooding.

The glacial burst in Chamoli is nature’s way of telling the state not to play havoc with the local ecology. (Image: Down to Earth)

India faced with the onslaught of rising temperature

Climate change induced disasters can cause disruption to human well being and the ecosystem.

Posted on 18 Jan, 2021 11:14 AM

On January 4, 2021, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) released a report titled

2020 was one of the warmest years in India despite La Nina which typically has a cooling effect on global temperatures.(Image: Tumisu, Pixabay)

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