Page 3 - Global Warming

India plans to standardise air-conditioning temperature to save power

The move aims to cut peak power consumption, reduce emissions and electricity bills, and promote energy efficiency amid rising cooling demand in a warming climate

Rising temperatures may be driving cancer risk in women, warns study

Women living in hotter regions face higher rates of breast, ovarian, cervical and uterine cancers, with heat-linked deaths also on the rise, study shows

Global temperature likely to breach 1.5°C in next five years: WMO

The WMO forecast says global temperatures could exceed the 1.5°C mark temporarily between 2025 and 2029, with urgent climate plans still pending from most nations

Climate change may fuel spread of fungi that could 'eat you from inside out'

Scientists from Manchester University have warned that rising temperatures could fuel the rapid global spread of Aspergillus, a deadly fungus already responsible for millions of deaths each year

India bought 14 mn ACs in 2024: Cooling boom adds to environmental burden

More air conditioners will also increase the demand for electricity, most of which comes from burning coal - a major source of climate pollution

World's biggest companies have caused $28 trillion in climate damage: Study

The world's biggest corporations have caused USD 28 trillion in climate damage, a new study estimates as part of an effort to make it easier for people and governments to hold companies financially accountable, like the tobacco giants have been. A Dartmouth College research team came up with the estimated pollution caused by 111 companies, with more than half of the total dollar figure coming from 10 fossil fuel providers: Saudi Aramco, Gazprom, Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, National Iranian Oil Co., Pemex, Coal India and the British Coal Corporation. For comparison, USD 28 trillion is a shade less than the sum of all goods and services produced in the United States last year. At the top of the list, Saudi Aramco and Gazprom have each caused a bit more than USD 2 trillion in heat damage over the decades, the team calculated in a study published in Wednesday's journal Nature. The researchers figured that every 1 per cent of greenhouse gas put into the atmosphere since 1990 has cau

North India is on the verge of an extreme heatwave, IMD issues yellow alert

In the first major heatwave of the season, IMD predicts states like Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat are expected to see temperatures above 40 degree celsius

Glaciers losing record amounts of ice as global temperatures rise, warns UN

The report coincides with a UNESCO summit in Paris marking the first World Day for Glaciers, urging global action to protect glaciers around the world

Indian cities brace for heatwaves but lack long-term planning, study finds

The study examined how nine major Indian cities-Bengaluru, Delhi, Faridabad, Gwalior, Kota, Ludhiana, Meerut, Mumbai, and Surat-are preparing for increasing heatwaves

Even 'cool' years now exceed past heat records, climate report warns

An analysis done by Our World in Data finds recent La Niña years are hotter than past El Niño years as world faces global warming challenges

Trump hostility to US offshore wind reverberates through supply chain

Trump last month issued an order to pause new federal offshore wind leasing, calling wind turbines ugly, expensive and harmful to wildlife

Ice-sheets to fresh water: Greenland's icebergs can't quench Earth's thirst

Polar Research and Policy Initiative said that US might have a future as an exporter of fresh water, thanks to an ice sheet that contains about 8 per cent of the total global reserves

Green transition: Expectations and recommendations for Budget 2025

It is important for India to establish a coherent and comprehensive tax framework which will incentivise green investment and support the renewable energy value chain among other measures

Climate change, extreme weather key challenges: DG Mrutyunjay Mohapatra

Says 'weather management's technologies could evolve in next 50 years

Everyone should act in combating global warming: Union minister Shekhawat

Union Culture and Tourism minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Saturday said every human being should not act as the "owner" of this planet but act as its "custodian". After inaugurating a climate change gallery titled 'On the Edge' at Science City, Kolkata, Shekhawat said climate change has turned up to be a big issue for the entire world and every citizen as a stakeholder should play his role, not only whistleblower scientists. He said the time has come when one should stop presuming that issues like carbon emission, rise in sea level, extreme weather conditions will not affect him individually in his lifetime but are merely academic issues flagged by scientists and reports in media. "We have to behave with responsibility. Climate change is a big issue for the entire world, when discussion about the greenhouse effect and global warming began 25 years back, many might have thought its effect will be in specific areas. "That notion was belied. Those living in cold regions should no

Earth records hottest year ever in 2024, big jump breached key threshold

Earth recorded its hottest year ever in 2024, with such a big jump that the planet temporarily passed a major climate threshold, several weather monitoring agencies announced Friday. Last year's global average temperature easily passed 2023's record heat and kept pushing even higher. It surpassed the long-term warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit ) since the late 1800s that was called for by the 2015 Paris climate pact, according to the European Commission's Copernicus Climate Service, the United Kingdom's Meteorology Office and Japan's weather agency. The European team calculated 1.6 degrees Celsius (2.89 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming. Japan found 1.57 degrees Celsius (2.83 degrees Fahrenheit) and the British 1.53 degrees Celsius (2.75 degrees Fahrenheit) in releases of data coordinated to early Friday morning European time. American monitoring teams NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the private Berkeley Earth were to release .

Weather extremes of 2024 leading to intense floods, droughts: Report

Weather extremes of 2024 are wreaking havoc with how water moves around the planet, contributing to ferocious floods and crippling droughts, according to a new report. India saw record-high precipitation, along with countries in West Africa and Europe, it found. Global warming, caused by fossil fuel burning, is increasing the strength and rainfall intensity of monsoons, cyclones and other storm systems, an international ream of researchers, led by those at The Australian National University (ANU), said. "2024 was a year of extremes but was not an isolated occurrence. It is part of a worsening trend of more intense floods, prolonged droughts, and record-breaking extremes," lead author Albert van Dijk, a professor of water science and management, ANU, said. About four billion people, or half the world's population, from across 111 countries are estimated to have experienced their warmest year yet. "Rising sea surface temperatures intensified tropical cyclones and droughts in the Amaz

Hot button issue: How the scale of climate challenge is increasing

The World Meteorological Organization has said that 2024 was globally the warmest on record, exceeding the Paris Agreement threshold

2024 was India's warmest year since 1901, global temp also hit record high

The year 2024 was the warmest on record in India since 1901, with the average minimum temperature settling 0.90 degrees Celsius above the long-period average. The annual mean land surface air temperature across India in 2024 was 0.65 degrees Celsius above the long-term average (1991-2020 period), Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said at a virtual press briefing. The year 2024 now ranks as the warmest year on record since 1901, surpassing 2016, which had recorded a mean land surface air temperature 0.54 degrees Celsius above normal. According to the European climate agency Copernicus, 2024 likely ended as the warmest year on record and the first year with a global average temperature 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. A yearly review report by two groups of climate scientists -- World Weather Attribution and Climate Central -- said that the world experienced an average of 41 more days of dangerous heat in 2024.

Moment of decision missed in 2024 at UN climate summit but all's not lost

2024 is set to end as the hottest year on record and the first with a global average temperature 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. It will also be remembered as the year developed nations had their last big chance to prevent the world from permanently crossing this critical threshold by funding climate action in the Global South -- and they blew it. Relentless warming fuelled record-breaking heatwaves, deadly storms, and floods that devastated lives and homes by the thousands in 2024. Millions were displaced, and all eyes turned to the UN climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, hoping for a climate finance package capable of ramping up action in the Global South. A study published in 2023 estimated that developed countries owe around USD 170 trillion for their excessive emissions, having consumed 70-90 per cent of the total carbon budget since the industrial era. Instead, developed countries -- mandated under the UN climate regime to finance climate action in develop