Page 29 - Climate Change

Talking climate with kids

There is a refreshing change from the environmental studies textbooks of yore that assigned children a to-do list of cautionary measures such as closing taps and switching off fans

Australia should prepare for 'megadroughts' lasting 20 years, shows study

The study showed that megadroughts of 20 years or more were a natural feature of the Australian hydroclimate

Climate change: Drought in southern Africa leaves some 20 mn facing hunger

Delicately and with intense concentration, Zanyiwe Ncube poured her small share of precious golden cooking oil into a plastic bottle at a food aid distribution site deep in rural Zimbabwe. I don't want to lose a single drop, she said. Her relief at the handout paid for by the United States government as her southern African country deals with a severe drought was tempered when aid workers gently broke the news that this would be their last visit. Ncube and her 7-month-old son she carried on her back were among 2,000 people who received rations of cooking oil, sorghum, peas and other supplies in the Mangwe district in southwestern Zimbabwe. The food distribution is part of a program funded by American aid agency USAID and rolled out by the United Nations' World Food Programme. They're aiming to help some of the 2.7 million people in rural Zimbabwe threatened with hunger because of the drought that has enveloped large parts of southern Africa since late 2023. It has scorched the cr

PM Modi and Bill Gates talk AI, climate change, and women empowerment

Microsoft Co-founder Bill Gates and Prime Minister Narendra Modi speak on India's digital transformation and the need to bridging tech divide in the country

Current parameters to map progress detrimental to climate, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said parameters used to measure progress are detrimental to the climate and suggested developing the concept of a green gross domestic product. In a free-wheeling conversation with philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, he also said that climate action has gained momentum since the G20 Summit in India in September last year. When Gates asked if the green approach could be made more affordable for easier adoption, the prime minister said the world needs to adopt a two-pronged strategy: first, nature- and climate-friendly innovation, and second, environmentally friendly lifestyles. The prime minister said, "Our current challenge is how we perceive progress. For example, a country's development is often judged by its steel consumption and energy usage. Based on these criteria, we calculate the country's economy." "If we continue to rely on these parameters, we will consume more electricity and steel, resulting in increased carbon ...

BS Manthan: Unorganised sector prone to climate risk, say experts

Experts say states that announced green policies have led the investment pack

Climate change, tropical diseases: Rural Bihar battle elephantiasis, & more

Far from the world of scientists studying climate change, the twin whammies of altered rainfall patterns and rising temperatures are being felt every day in villages such as Sher in Bihar where lymphatic filariasis and other neglected tropical diseases lurk in dank corners. Climate change, which brings with it floods and droughts, is also leading to more mosquitoes and sandflies and therefore a spike in diseases such as lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis, dengue and visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or kala azar. As the summer sets in, so does the threat of transmission of these diseases with the heat creating fertile breeding grounds for the vectors. Climate change is fundamentally altering vector ecology, favouring the survival and reproduction of disease carrying vectors like mosquitoes and sandflies, said Dr Bhupendra Tripathi, a New Delhi-based scientist. "This phenomenon extends their range and boosts their population densities, thus expanding vector habitats. ...

Major EU climate protection plan shelved following farmer protests

A major European Union plan to fight climate change and better protect nature in the 27-nation bloc has been indefinitely postponed Monday, underscoring how farmers' protests sweeping the continent influence politics ahead of the June EU parliamentary elections. The member states were supposed to give final approval to the bill on Monday following months of proceedings through the EU's institutional maze. But what was supposed to be a mere rubber stamp has now been possibly shelved forever. "(The plan) is in a very difficult position at the moment and with the upcoming European elections, it won't be easy to get out of this position, said Dutch Climate Minister Rob Jetten. The Nature Restoration plan is a key part of the EU's European Green Deal that seeks to establish the world's most ambitious climate and biodiversity targets and make the bloc the global point of reference on all climate issues. The bill aims for Europe to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, ...

Climate change and desperate journeys

In any event, climate maps and projected patterns mainly "seed the imagination," as Lustgarten puts it, for what might transpire decades hence

On Holi, temperatures may surpass 40°C as climate change hits hard

Recent findings from Climate Central reveal a concerning consequence of rising temperatures in India: the disappearance of the spring season

Google researchers use AI to forecast floods with small data sets

Google's AI model now operational in 80 countries, provides more accurate predictions of river flooding than the previous dominant system, according to a paper published Wednesday in Nature

IMD weather forecasts: Heavy rain in many parts of India, details inside

IMD forecasts rainfall with lightning, and thunderstorms in a few areas. Heat wave conditions likely to be in Saurashtra, Kutch, and southwest Rajasthan

Discounts, eco-packages lure Indians towards green tourism: Survey

Do you prioritise sustainability while planning your travels? If you do, you are among the 87% of Indian travellers who care

Ganges, Brahmaputra among major river basins to feel climate change impact

The alarming impact of climate change will be felt on South Asia's major river basins, including the Ganges, Indus and the Brahmaputra, according to a new report. It also noted that critical intersection of anthropogenic activities and shifting climate patterns can spell dire consequences for about a billion people in the area. According to the report -- "Elevating River Basin Governance and Cooperation in the HKH Region" -- on these three rivers, there is an immediate need for a climate-resilient approach to river basin management. The Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH) are the freshwater sources of South Asia and parts of Southeast Asia. Water originating from their snow, glaciers and rainfall feed the 10 largest river systems in Asia. The Ganges basin, often regarded as sacred and essential to more than 600 million individuals across the Indian subcontinent, is facing mounting environmental threats. Rapid industrialisation, urbanisation and intensive agricultural practices have exacted

Annual climate finance requirement estimated to cross $10 trn by 2050: CAG

The annual climate finance requirements are estimated to cross USD 10 trillion by 2050, and failure to meet the funding demands will intensify socio-economic consequences related to climate-linked disasters, Comptroller and Auditor General of India Girish Chandra Murmu on Tuesday. Climate financing is key to collective efforts to move towards a more resilient and sustainable future, he said while addressing a one-day seminar on Climate Financing here. "As climate change intensifies, so does the urgency for robust climate finance mechanisms to fund adaptation, mitigation, and resilience-building efforts worldwide," he said. The CAG further stated that annual climate finance needs are estimated to increase substantially, reaching well beyond USD 10 trillion annually by 2050. "Failing to meet these financial demands will exacerbate the rise in global temperatures, simultaneously intensifying socio-economic consequences of climate-related disasters. Unfortunately, despite the stark ...

Earth on brink: UN issues red alert on climate change after record heat

The UN weather agency is sounding a red alert about global warming, citing record-smashing increases last year in greenhouse gases, land and water temperatures and melting of glaciers and sea ice, and warning that the world's efforts to reverse the trend have been inadequate. The World Meteorological Organisation, in a State of the Global Climate report released Tuesday, ratcheted up concerns that a much-vaunted climate goal is increasingly in jeopardy: That the world can unite to limit planetary warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial levels. Never have we been so close albeit on a temporary basis at the moment to the 1.5 C lower limit of the Paris agreement on climate change, said Celeste Saulo, the agency's secretary-general. The WMO community is sounding the red alert to the world. The 12-month period from March 2023 to February 2024 pushed beyond that 1.5-degree limit, averaging 1.56 C (2.81 F) higher, according to the European

All climate change metrics crossed records in 2023, says WMO report

The global set of reference glaciers suffered the largest loss of ice on record (since 1950), driven by extreme melt in both western North America and Europe, according to preliminary data

Climate change: 3 grand challenges

The Indian community needs to develop a shared consensus on three challenges

Sidbi secures first green climate fund project worth $120 million

Development bank Sidbi on Monday said it has secured approval from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for its first anchored project, Avaana Sustainability Fund (ASF), valued at USD 120 million. The closure was announced at the 38th board meeting of the GCF, which will invest USD 24.5 million in the fund, in Kigali, Rwanda, on March 5, Sidbi, an accredited entity of GCF, said in a statement. The primary aim of the ASF project is to invest in early-stage companies harnessing technology-led innovation to spur climate solutions and sustainability in the country. The anticipated outcomes include significant contributions to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and the enhancement of resilience in vulnerable sectors of the economy. This is the first project anchored by Sidbi including the first secured for the country in the past few years and will go a long way in advancing the country's nationally determined contributions by effecting substantial global changes through its proficiency in .

Feb hottest on record with avg temp 1.77 deg C above pre-industrial period

The world last month experienced the warmest February on record, with the average temperature being 1.77 degrees Celsius more than the February average for 1850-1900, the designated pre-industrial reference period, the European Union's climate agency said on Thursday. The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) also said that every month since June last year has been the warmest such month on record. Scientists attribute the exceptional warming to the combined effects of El Nino -- a period of abnormal warming of surface waters in the central Pacific Ocean -- and human-caused climate change. C3S last month said the global mean temperature breached the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold for an entire year for the first time in January. A permanent breach of the 1.5-degree Celsius limit specified in the Paris Agreement, however, refers to long-term warming over many years. According to climate scientists, countries need to limit the global average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius a