In 2023, the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) recorded a total of 399 disasters related to natural hazards. These events resulted in 86,473 fatalities and affected 93.1 million people. The economic losses amounted to US$202.7 billion. The 2023 earthquake in Türkiye and the Syrian Arab Republic was the most catastrophic event …
function open_new_popwin() { newwd=window.open('photo/photo_gallery.htm','','height=570,width=550,scrollbars=yes'); newwd.moveTo(250,75); } Clipped Wings In Uttar Pradesh's Etawah and Mainpuri regions, a newly-married couple is shown a pair of sarus cranes (Grus antigone). The elegant birds which mate for life are revered by people here. Sighting a pair of the cranes bodes well for marital bliss, …
Should we feel comfortable with the latest government claim that unemployment is coming down? The government says unemployment has come down due to growth. During the 2006-07 budget, finance minister P Chidambaram reiterated that growth rate must go up further for unemployment to go down. Development economists and government agencies …
>> Computers, the hub of modern business and lifestyle, are considered to be the vanguard of clean technology that has freed us from the use of paper and unnecessary transportation. By default, the industry that produces computer is also perceived to be clean. However, a un study reveals that each …
Eating at home isn't the in thing anymore. Hanging out is hip, especially in the mushrooming fast food joints that blister the skylines of India's cities. The urban middle classes with money to burn are redefining nouvelle cuisine. The costs are huge but few are counting the calories fewer still …
the Union budget for 2007-08 is big on illusions, small on vision. Despite the hype about its tilt towards the agriculture sector, the budget has failed to put together a package to bail out the ailing sector. Also, despite being the first budget of the 11th Five-Year Plan, it has …
the 61st round of the National Sample Survey (nss) seems to suggest that the unemployment rate in the country has come down. But this statistic has to be read in context. The entire gamut of data generated by the survey also indicates that the unemployment rate based on daily status …
Urban India produces 120,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste each day. Businesses want to burn this garbage to produce electricity, using government subsidies. Environmentalists say this is not viable, given Indian conditions—they also fear toxic emissions from incineration. KUSHAL PAL SINGH YADAV analyses the costs and benefits of India’s waste …
Hardness is an important water quality parameter especially when water is used for drinking purpose. Hardness of water is attributed to the presence of alkaline earth cations like calcium, magnesium, strontium and barium.
Using the 1994 Bolivian Integrated Household Survey, this study analyzes the equity implications of urban water sector reform including both increased water prices and increased access to piped water. Household water expenditures are examined by income decile, and low-income households are found to spend a higher percentage of income on …
Malnutrition is the underlying cause of half of under-five child deaths. So even though the proximate cause of children dying may be measles, diarrhoea, diphtheria, jaundice or malaria, the real reason is that they are so weakened by malnutrition that their small bodies are unable to withstand infection. Half of …
Delhi generates about 8000 tonnes of solid waste per day and municipal bodies are able to collect only about 60 percent of the generated waste. Quantity of collection of solid waste has increased overtime, but the rate of increase has not been consistent.
The study is carried out in the vicinity of Rihand Dam to analyse the socio-economic condition and status of welfare schemes for the displaced people. In this paper an attempt has been made to highlight the role of major development projects and their impact on the social well-being of people …
Climate change is real. The sheen of industrial revolution is wearing off >> The cat is out of the bag. Since its last report in 2001, IPCC has a wider range of data, and more accurate analysis of global climate. It has compared existing carbon levels with data from ice …
A new procedure for conducting environmental impact assessment (eia), introduced in September 2006, is suffering from teething trouble. The September 2006 notification putting the new procedure in place was severely criticised by environmental groups for being a far more diluted version of the 1994 notification. The regulatory authorities, both at …
on february 2, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (ipcc) released its much awaited Fourth Assessment Report. With an unprecedented confidence of 90 per cent, it asserted that climate change is result of human activities. The panel's 2001 Third Assessment Report had put the probability of climate change resulting from …
Water-related disasters include flood, windstorms, drought, water epidemics, famine and landslides. These combine with other water-related hazards such as pollution and chemical spills, aquifer depletion, land subsidence, salinisation of arable land, marine intrusions, sea and storm surges, coastal flooding and water-borne diseases to affect ecosystems and food and livelihood security …
poisonous smoke from the burning of a dump of batteries in Ghaziabad spread on January 8, 2007. One woman succumbed due to the smoke, others complained of nausea, headache, coughing and vomiting. Fifty were admitted to a hospital in Delhi. A few others were taken to private nursing homes. Residents …
RELIGIOUS gatherings such as the Ardh Kumbh at Allahabad always test the organisational mettle of local administrative bodies. This event happens once in six years at the sangam (confluence) of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati (see map: Sacred waters are dirty). This year, as in the past, the …
