The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
The declaration emphasised on the need to harmonise development with environment preservation and recognising centrality of principles of common but differentiated responsibilities. It also called upon Parliaments to create gender sensitive elected bodies, particularly at the grassroots level, with a view to achieving gender equality and prioritising issues pertinent to …
The South Asian Speakers' Summit on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is attended by South Asian countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The joint declaration of the South Asian Speakers’ Summit on Sunday asserted that the Paris Agreement must continue to be guided by …
An inexpensive, solar-powered ambulance that can fit down narrow laneways is set to hit the road in rural Bangladesh this year, its manufacturers say. The three-wheeled van, as well-equipped as ambulances used in Bangladesh’s cities, runs entirely on solar power – including solar battery power at night – and can …
On February 1, Bangladesh’s state minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Nasrul Hamid, gave a speech outlining the government’s plan to massively expand energy production through coal. He spoke about a slew of mega projects being built with the assistance of China, Japan and India, but said little about …
Dozens of people in Afghanistan and Pakistan were killed after heavy snow and avalanches hit over the weekend. In eastern Afghanistan, at least 50 people died and dozens more were missing on Sunday after an avalanche buried a village in Nuristan, provincial governor Hafiz Abdul Qayum said. "Based on information …
People living with a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have a high risk of tuberculosis and should undergo regular screening. However, they can be difficult to reach because they are stigmatized and discriminated against. Original Source
This study provides evidence of substantial increases in atmospheric ammonia (NH3) concentrations (14 year) over several of the worlds major agricultural regions, using recently available retrievals from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite. The main sources of atmospheric NH3 are farming and animal husbandry involving reactive nitrogen …
Trend analysis of hydro-climatic variables provide useful information for effective planning, designing and management of water resources and agricultural production. Trends in observed stream flow at upstream and midstream gauging stations (GS), Wellawaya, Thanamalwila & rainfall and temperature in the Kirindi Oya river basin were assessed using the Mann-Kendall, Modified …
South Asia, comprising eight countries including Bangladesh, Maldives and Nepal, is affected by a range of natural disasters including floods, glacial lake outburst floods, storm surges, droughts, cyclones and heavy precipitation. These disasters take a huge toll as they displace thousands of people every year. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate …
This research paper, commissioned as part of the series ‘Starting Strong: the first 1000 days of the SDGs’, identifies key actions toward addressing the unfinished business of the MDGs and how to reach those who are furthest behind in relation to the new SDGs. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) address …
Climate change is having devastating impacts on communities’ lives, livelihoods and food security across South Asia. Its consequences are so severe that it is increasingly contributing to migration, and this incidence is likely to escalate much more in the years to come as climate change impacts become more serious. Migration …
An earthquake has struck Nepal, which suffered massive devastation in a 7.8 magnitude tremor in April last year. The latest earthquake, which is measured preliminary magnitude 5.4, struck northwest of Namche Bazar in Nepal. The United States Geological Survey said the quake was at a depth of 10 km on …
A scientist has engineered a way to possibly solve the problems of glacial melting in the Himalayas through artificial glacier towers called an ice stupa. The continuous glacial melting in the Himalayas has created a problem regarding water sources being scarce, which farms and wildlife strongly depend on. For the …
Abuses of formalin in foods have become a great concern due to grim health hazard. The aim of this study was to shed light on formalin crime and also the situational analysis of food adulteration in Bangladesh. The primary objective of this paper is highlighting the response of formalin users, …
The nature and timing of rice domestication and the development of rice cultivation in South Asia is much debated. In northern South Asia there is presently a significant gap (c.4200 years) between earliest evidence for the exploitation of wild rice (Lahuradewa c.6000 BCE) and earliest dated evidence for the utilisation …
BARDIYA, Nov 21: Census of endangered tiger has begun in Bardiya National Park from Sunday. The counting is being carried out with camera-trapping technology placed in various areas of the park. Deputy Director General of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) Maheshwar Dhakal and Mid-western Regional Forest …
The Asian Development Bank said on Monday it will provide a $167 million loan to Bangladesh to boost natural gas production and expand transmission infrastructure, part of a development project valued at $453 million in total. "The project will help the government address the country's energy crisis by making available …
Raised blood pressure is an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and chronic kidney disease. We estimated worldwide trends in mean systolic and mean diastolic blood pressure, and the prevalence of, and number of people with, raised blood pressure, defined as systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg or higher …
Despite remarkable progress in the improvement of child survival between 1990 and 2015, the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4 target of a two-thirds reduction of under-5 mortality rate (U5MR) was not achieved globally. In this paper, we updated our annual estimates of child mortality by cause to 2000–15 to reflect …
August 2014 saw a major landslide strike in a densely populated district 80 km northeast of Kathmandu, in Sindhupalchok district. This study combines evidence from surveys and interviews to assess impacts and preventive and coping measures taken. The impacts relative to annual income show that lower-income households lost up to …