Climate Change

With early models hinting at an evolving El Nino around India's monsoon onset, forecasters warn that 2026 rainfall may hinge on how the climate crosses the spring uncertainty barrier

India is the world's third-largest emitter of methane but lacks clear policy direction and mechanisms to track and mitigate the gas, which is far more potent than carbon dioxide in global warming

Heatwaves, wildfires, droughts, and storms cost the world more than USD 120 billion in 2025, according to a new report analysing the escalating cost of climate change. The report by UK-based NGO Christian Aid underscores the cost with fossil fuel companies playing a central role in driving the crisis. The report noted that cost of climate inaction is equally clear, as communities continue to bear the brunt of a crisis that could have been averted with urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. "These disasters are not natural they are the predictable result of continued fossil fuel expansion and political delay," said Emeritus Professor Joanna Haigh, at Imperial College London. The ten most financially costly events all had an impact of more than USD billion with the combined total topping more than USD 122 billion in damage. Most of these estimates are based only on insured losses, meaning the true financial costs are likely to be even higher, while the human costs are ofte

As temperatures soared and weather turned erratic, India saw longer dengue seasons, heat emergencies and rising mental stress

From aviation to finance, regulatory failures marked India's economy in 2025, exposing weak state capacity and the urgent need to redesign how regulators function

The storms resulted in torrential rainfall and destructive floodwaters that swept through homes, businesses and tourist spots, damaged roads and rail lines

Ocean temperatures warmed by human-caused climate change fed the intense rainfall that triggered deadly floods and landslides across Asia in recent weeks, according to an analysis released on Wednesday. The rapid study by World Weather Attribution focused on heavy rainfall from cyclones Senyar and Ditwah in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka starting late last month. The analysis found that warmer sea surface temperatures over the North Indian Ocean added energy to the cyclones. Floods and landslides triggered by the storms have killed more than 1,600 people, with hundreds more still missing. The cyclones are the latest in a series of deadly weather disasters affecting Southeast Asia this year, resulting in loss of life and property damage. "It rains a lot here but never like this. Usually, rain stops around September but this year it has been really bad. Every region of Sri Lanka has been affected, and our region has been the worst impacted," said Shanmugavadivu Arunachala

US agriculture major Corteva Agriscience is accelerating its biologicals push in India, focusing on biocontrols and biostimulants as natural crop protection solutions gain traction amid mounting climate pressures and pest resistance challenges, a top company official has said. The company sees India as a critical market for biologicals, given the government support for natural farming and gene-editing technologies, Corteva president, Asia-Pacific, Brook Cunningham told PTI during her India visit. "Biocontrols are what farmers need most. No one has solved this at scale yet," Cunningham said, adding that the company is investing heavily in microbial solutions that either attack pests directly or boost plant defences. The shift toward biologicals is being accelerated by climate change, which is enabling faster pest movement and increasing stress from drought, flooding, and heat. Biostimulants, products that strengthen plants from the soil up, are emerging as crucial tools for Indian ..

Shyam Saran says the world's ability to act on climate change has weakened as warming crosses 1.5°C, with experts at COP30 also flagging the finance gap and net-zero challenges

The government has framed the structure for the Indian carbon market under CCTS, with a National Steering Committee to guide it and several sectors already moving to the compliance regime

Scientists have pointed to the aggravating impact of climate change on flooding, along with factors including deforestation, failures in flood defences and a lack of disaster resilience funds

The UN climate summit ended without a fossil fuel phase-out plan or clear climate finance roadmap, with India's delayed climate pledge adding to the challenges

The climate crisis will hit the poorest and the most marginalised the hardest, including those in India and other developing nations, said a top representative of a global campaign advocating for a new international treaty to manage the phasing out of fossil fuels. In terms of the formal agreements reached at COP30, "we are still drastically off track" in confronting the climate crisis, Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty director Alex Rafalowicz said, while focussing attention on people who have contributed the least to the problem and have the least resilience to rising temperatures. "To stop the acceleration of these disasters, we need a genuine plan to phase out fossil fuels and to end deforestation. COP30 did neither. So at the highest level, we must be honest, we are off track," Rafalowicz said. The United Nations climate talks in Brazil reached a subdued agreement recently that pledged more funding for countries to adapt to the wrath of extreme weather. But the catch-all ..

India, being a distant third emitter, has been progressing well in meeting its climate commitments. It is ranked 10th in the Climate Change Performance Index in 2025 (against China's 55th rank)

The disappointment at COP30 masks a deeper problem: weak national climate plans from major emitters, not the diplomacy in Brazil, are what threaten real progress toward meeting global emissions goals

The headline omission in the agreement is the critical road map for the phaseout of fossil fuels

While the city saw rising levels of air quality index (AQI), the nation as a whole did not rank quite well in the two reports released on the sidelines of the 30th Conference of Parties (COP30)

Despite dramatic scenes in Belem, the summit delivered little on climate finance, fossil fuel transition or equity, leaving India and other developing nations disappointed

The UN has warned that the world has missed its target to keep global warming in line with 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels

Indigenous people filled the streets, paddled the waterways and protested at the heart of the venue to make their voices heard during the United Nations climate talks that were supposed to give them a voice like never before at the annual conference. As the talks, called COP30, concluded Saturday in Belem, Brazil, Indigenous people reflected on what the conference meant to them and whether they were heard. Brazilian leaders had high hopes that the summit, taking place in the Amazon, would empower the people who inhabit the land and protect the biodiversity of the world's largest rainforest, which helps stave off climate change as its trees absorb carbon pollution that heats the planet. Many Indigenous people who attended the talks felt strengthened by the solidarity with tribes from other countries and some appreciated small wins in the final outcome. But for many, the talks fell short on representation, ambition and true action on climate issues affecting Indigenous people. This w