Page 20 - Climate Change

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

Size of Indian economy can easily double by 2030: NITI CEO Subrahmanyam

India could easily double the size of its economy by 2030, NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam said on Wednesday. At an event organised by the Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI), Subrahmanyam added that climate change is an opportunity for India to become a leader in climate technology. "Our economy should easily double by 2030...India's ambition to become the third-largest economy by 2026-2027 necessitates a cohesive grand strategy," he said. Currently, in US dollar terms, India is the fifth largest economy with a size of about USD 3.7 trillion in nominal terms. "India will be a big dominant player, it already matters and it will matter much more in global affairs, by 2047," he said. Subrahmanyam said by 2047, India will be among the world's youngest nations demographically, poised for prosperity, with a projected per capita income of around USD 18,000 to USD 20,000. "This growth is significant as India is expected to emerge as a major global player, building on the substantial ..

June-August recorded as India's 2nd-hottest quarter since 1970: Scientists

India experienced its second-hottest quarter from June to August this year since 1970, with over one-third of the country's population enduring at least seven days of dangerous heat, according to a new report by a US-based group of climate scientists and communicators. The report from Climate Central said climate change made high temperatures over three times more likely on 29 days during these three months. "June through August 2024 was India's second-hottest season since at least 1970, when reliable satellite records are available," the report said, adding that India had the highest number of people exposed to climate change-driven temperatures in Southern Asia during this period. More than 20.5 million people endured high temperatures heavily influenced by climate change for at least 60 days, it said. More than 426 million people (about one-third of India's population) faced at least seven days of dangerous heat, with temperatures exceeding 90 per cent of the usual highs for the

'Firehose' storm hits part of North Carolina; scientists see climate change

The Carolinas braced for a storm that forecasters warned could bring heavy rain as much as 6 to 8 inches in some spots. But one narrow band got a firehose that dumped as much as 20 inches in a so-called 1,000-year flood that shocked many with its intensity. The storm that left homes flooded, cars submerged and schools closed Tuesday in parts of North Carolina wasn't really a surprise to scientists who have long said that such rainfalls are one marker of climate change. Data shows one of the strongest relationships between climate change and precipitation is that as the atmosphere warms, the capacity to hold water increases. Therefore we see more intense rainfall in a shorter period of time, said Andrew Kruczkiewicz, senior researcher at the Columbia Climate School at Columbia University. Monday's deluge centred on Carolina Beach south of Wilmington, where more than 18 inches (46 centimeters) of rain fell in 12 hours and almost 21 overall. That much rain qualifies as a 1,000-year ..