Page 19 - Climate Change

Earth might warm by 2C or 5.5C, narrowing it would just be a distraction

Will the Earth warm by 2C or 5.5C? Either way it's bad, and trying to narrow it down may be a distraction

Sonam Wangchuk continues indefinite hunger strike at Delhi's Ladakh Bhawan

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk on Tuesday continued his indefinite hunger strike at Delhi's Ladakh Bhawan along with his supporters and appealed that the Centre should resume talks on their demands. Wangchuk, who is spearheading an agitation for Ladakh's Sixth Schedule status, had started his fast on Sunday afternoon. According to the protesters, they have not been approached by any government representative so far. This is the third day of the fast... We still hope our leaders will give us time. Even now we are 25 people sitting on hunger strike, Wangchuk told PTI. We hope the talks with Apex Body (Leh) and KDA (Kargil Democratic Alliance) will be resumed, this is our request, he said. Wangchuk said the people of Ladakh have worked for India's security without a uniform or a salary. Such treatment to people who have come from the border area is not in the national interest. Whenever India is in trouble, faces a war, these are the people who work with the Army without uniform or

Antarctica turning green 'dramatically', trend accelerated over yrs: Study

Antarctica is turning green "dramatically", with the trend accelerated by more than 30 per cent in recent years, compared to the past three decades, a new study has found. Researchers found that vegetation cover across the Antarctic Peninsula increased more than tenfold -- from less than a square kilometre to almost 12 square kilometres -- between 1986 and 2021. The researchers, including those at the University of Exeter, UK, used satellite data to estimate the "greening" rate of the Antarctic Peninsula in response to climate change. "This recent acceleration in the rate of change in vegetation cover (2016-2021) coincides with a marked decrease in sea-ice extent in Antarctica over the same period," the authors wrote in the study published in the journal Nature Geoscience. The study provides evidence that a widespread greening trend, across the Antarctic Peninsula, is under way and accelerating, they said. Antarctica has been shown to be warming faster than the global average, wit

Antarctica's winter sea ice in 2024 was lowest ever, except for 2023

In the Antarctic, sea ice typically covers the largest expanse of ocean at some point in September

Data centre emissions witness growth: Is AI or climate change to blame?

Three of the biggest tech companies, Microsoft, Google and Meta, have reported ballooning greenhouse gas emissions since 2020

Why are Italy and Switzerland redrawing their border near Matterhorn Peak?

The boundary change, agreed upon by both Italy and Switzerland, affects the area under Matterhorn, one of the highest and most iconic peaks in the Alps

Tamil Nadu's auto manufacturing sector faces severe climate risks: CII

The risk assessment was carried out as part of CII's new framework, 'Building Climate Resilience for Indian Industry', which aims to help businesses identify and address climate-related threats

UK, home to world's first coal power plant, to close its last unit today

The UK will close its last coal power plant on Monday, marking a significant milestone in energy use amid global calls for adopting green energy to thwart the irreversible threat of climate change

PM Narendra Modi inaugurates three Param Rudra supercomputing systems

Says India has taken significant steps towards self-reliance in computing

Jaishankar meets UN Chief, discusses Pact for Future, climate action

Sharing a post on X, Jaishankar wrote, Always a pleasure to speak with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Decarbonisation key to firm profitability, India ahead of global average

Globally, only about 25 per cent of the companies reported annual decarbonisation benefits worth at least 7 per cent of sales

Deadly flooding in Central Europe made twice as likely by climate change

Human-caused climate change doubled the likelihood and intensified the heavy rains that led to devastating flooding in Central Europe earlier this month, a new flash study found. Torrential rain in mid-September from Storm Boris pummelled a large part of central Europe, including Romania, Poland, Czechia, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Germany, and caused widespread damage. The floods killed 24 people, damaged bridges, submerged cars, left towns without power and in need of significant infrastructure repairs. The severe four-day rainfall was by far the heaviest ever recorded in Central Europe and twice as likely because of warming from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas, World Weather Attribution, a collection of scientists that run rapid climate attribution studies, said on Wednesday from Europe. Climate change also made the rains between 7 per cent and 20 per cent more intense, the study found. Yet again, these floods highlight the devastating results of fossil fuel-driven .

Developing nations urge world's richest to do more on climate at UNGA

Leaders of small island states most at risk from rising sea levels said it was time for those countries that burn most of the fossil fuels blamed for rising temperatures to stop paying lip service

About 83% of Indian buyers will consider new energy vehicles by 2030: Study

Driven by the Centre's efforts, India's EV sector shows promise but challenges remain. At present, EV adoption in the country stands at 2% for passenger vehicles and 6% aross all categories

Here's why Nationally Determined Contributions are crucial in climate talks

Altogether, these reports help countries coordinate their climate policies action with one another

Leaders at climate meetings in NY warn of growing mistrust between nations

National leaders addressed the group after adopting a 'Pact for the Future' aimed at ensuring and increasing cooperation between nations

Need to address data challenges for slashing urban emission: Experts

Indian cities can play a central role in reducing greenhouse gas emission and building resilient urban environments if data collection and "scenario modelling" were strengthened, according to experts working on urban emission and strategies on mitigation plans. Using the Climate Action for Urban Sustainability (CURB) tool, up to 77 per cent of urban emission could possibly be tackled by 2050 by identifying sectors having the greatest potential in slashing emission, a team from Delhi's World Resources Institute (WRI) found. However, the challenges are plenty, the authors said. These include a limited capacity of institutions for data-driven exercises. This will need to be addressed to slash greenhouse gas emission and create sustainable, resilient urban environments. "Strengthening data collection, scenario modelling, and capacity-building frameworks will enable cities to set more ambitious and achievable climate targets, positioning them as key drivers of India's overall greenhouse

At UN summit, India calls for global shift to sustainable lifestyles

Adopting sustainable lifestyles could tackle many of the challenges posed by climate change and global success is more likely if affordable solutions are offered, India has said at the United Nations "Summit of the Future". Addressing the summit in New York on Friday, Leela Nandan, secretary in the Union environment ministry, also said that climate change discussions often focus solely on emission reductions, but "we are more likely to succeed if we offer affordable solutions, not simply impose decisions". The Summit of the Future brings together world leaders, policymakers and other stakeholders to discuss global challenges and strengthen multilateral cooperation to tackle emerging threats. Citing an estimate by the International Energy Agency, Nandan said, "If we were to put our actions into the right context in terms of saving energy, saving water, reducing waste, reducing e-waste, adopting sustainable food systems, we would have reduced annual global emissions by 2 billion tons

Climate, abortion, and gun control: Young women demand change in America

Young men have shown reluctance to embrace the liberal label, despite becoming more progressive on select issues, said a recent report

UN chief urges nations to approve blueprint to address global issues

The United Nations chief urged the world's divided nations on Wednesday to compromise and approve a blueprint to address global challenges from conflicts and climate change to artificial intelligence and reforming the UN and global financial institutions. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters that discussions on the Pact of the Future are in their final stretch and failure to reach the required consensus among all 193 UN member nations would be tragic. A year ago, Guterres sounded an alarm about the survival of humanity and the planet and summoned world leaders to a Summit of the Future at their global gathering this year to unite and take action to reform the UN and other institutions established after World War II and address new global threats. It is taking place Sunday and Monday, just before Tuesday's start of the annual high-level meeting at the UN General Assembly. Negotiations on the 30-page pact, now in its fourth revision, have been taking place for months, and