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 …
Unmasking the dragon Two and three wheeler population is exploding in Asia. The health implications are scary: they emit dangerous pollutants that have gone unnoticed till now ASIANS are riding high on dragons that they cannot get off. The dragons are small but far too many. Consider this: About 85 …
PEOPLE are the best managers of biodiversity. This statement succinctly summed up a conference organised recently at the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) in Bhopal. It is also the tenor on which the Madhya Pradesh government's decision is premised, allowing villagers around the Tawa reservoir to retain their fishing …
The connection is unmistakable. All the top performers in the ratings are also those making huge profits. Those at the bottom are about to close shop. Maruti Udyog Ltd and Hero Honda Motors India Ltd, both in the top 10, are raking in millions, while Bajaj Tempo Limited and Hero …
Coal mining is one of the core industries that contribute to the economic development of a country but deteriorate the environment. Being the primary source of energy coal has become essential to meet the energy demand of a country. It is excavated by both opencast and underground mining methods and …
Cotton, grown on just five per cent of Indian agricultural land, consumes more than 50 per cent of the total pesticides used in India. Cotton gowers rely heavily on pesticides to control insects, diseases weeds and growth regulators. The intensive use of pesticides endangers human health as well as soil …
the oil industry held its annual jamboree, Petrotech in January 2001, in New Delhi. The conference focussed on the technology used for refining fuel. Little time was spent discussing the role of fuel quality in reducing emissions. Immediately after, a workshop on
Kolleru Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake in the districts of East and West Godavari of Andhra Pradesh. The major population centres in the Kolleru Lake region are the 148 villages of which 50 bed villages and 98 belt villages. All bed and belt villages in lake region have …
A new scientific method for forecasting urban air pollution in China has been lauded by a government-backed science committee comprising nine senior scientists. The method, considered a major breakthrough, combines numeric and statistical forecas-ting based on the spot observations. In its appraisal report, the committee stated: "It is the most …
There is a continuing preference for energy sources like coal, oil and gas among the industrialised nations. This trend persists against the use of more environment-friendly energy sources like geothermal, solar, hydro and combustible renewables and waste. Even today, despite the environmental concerns expressed worldwide, the total primary energy supply …
This report is the seventh assessment of the forest cover of the country. It provides analytical information on forest plantations, protected area, joint forest management, forest cover in mining areas of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, shifting cultivation in the North Eastern region. It also provides an overview of the …
The human population in the world has crossed the six billion mark. With this the environmental cost of foodgrain production is rising and this is putting additional pressure on natural resources. Interestingly, though the irrigated area per person has increased, the global grain harvested area* per person is shrinking. This …
The birth of chaos Measures to control floods have backfired in Bihar. Flood related damages and flood prone areas have only increased since independence, and so has corruption. The two are closely related I n many ways the state of Bihar is unique. It is resource rich, but the people …
In the fight against increasing pollution from vehicular emissions, new alternatives to fossil fuels have emerged. Till recently diesel was considered an environment-friendly fuel. However, researchers have now proved that diesel is a masked killer. New mediums like fuel cells and compressed natural gas are the energy sources of the …
Protests against large dams have gained momentum in recent years the world over. Projects in India and China displace large numbers of people because of the high population densities of those countries. While China has displaced the largest number of people, in India, too, relief and rehabilitation programmes offered by …
Models of Plio-Pleistocene hominid behavioral ecology often emphasize competition with large carnivores. This paper describes competition between modern humans and large carnivores in rural Uganda, including active, confrontational scavenging of carnivore kills by humans and carnivore attacks on humans. Information gathered from Ugandan Game Department archives (1923
A comprehensive two-volume dossier on environmental issues, events, policies, practices and challenges in India, along with statistics on environment-related facts.
According to the World Health Organisation, about 31 million people in the world are living with 11IV or AIDS. Significantly, this includes-about one million children. In 1997, around 2.3 million people died due to AIDS, of which 1.8 million were among adults aged 15 and above. In 1995, about 75,000 …
This year is the hottest year since temperature records have been kept. Scientists believe that the Earth is getting warmer because of the build-up of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, produced largely by the burning of fossil fuels. The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, an international …
Despite its negative effect on human health, chemical farming based on the use of pesticides and fertilisers is widespread. In volume terms, developing countries use these chemicals less than the developed world, hut pesticide use is growing steadily everywhere except in Eastern Europe. According to the latest report of the …
