In a world of higher electricity demand growth, clean electricity is stepping up to the challenge. Spearheaded by exponential solar expansion, clean power is set to grow faster than demand, marking the start of a permanent decline in fossil generation. 2024 both clarified and consolidated the shape of the global …
This report takes a detailed look at the current status of childhood immunization in 10 priority countries: Afghanistan, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan and Uganda. In each country, childhood immunization coverage is broken down by multiple factors to show inequality according to child, …
NEW DELHI: In the time that it takes you to read this article, several Indians will have escaped the clutches of extreme poverty. In fact, about 44 Indians come out of extreme poverty every minute, one of the fastest rates of poverty reduction in the world. As a result, India …
Western disturbances (WDs) are upper-level synoptic-scale systems embedded in the subtropical westerly jet stream (STWJ), often associated with extreme rainfall events in north India and Pakistan during boreal winter. Here, a tracking algorithm is applied to the upper-tropospheric vorticity field for 37 years of ERA-Interim reanalysis data, giving a catalogue …
If conservationists across the Himalayas can prove that counting these predators will help villagers more than killing them can, efforts to protect the snow leopard will succeed Snow leopards have the longest and thickest fur of any big cat, and a long, thick tail that they can wrap around themselves …
It lags behind neighbours China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan but is ahead of Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan. India ranks 145th among 195 countries in terms of quality and accessibility of healthcare, behind its neighbours like China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan, according to a Lancet study. The Global Burden …
Adil Khan's hopes for a good harvest are fading again this year as he inspects his orchard of apricot and loquat trees in the mountains of Pakistan's northwest Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Usually, fruit in the five-acre family orchard is ready to pick only by the last week of May. But this …
Winters are getting warmer in northwest Himalayas, which is increasing the risk of avalanches, two new studies have found. Winter temperatures in the northwestern Himalayas have risen by 0.65 degrees Celsius on average over a period of 25 years, a team of Indian researchers found, which is higher than the …
The present and future groundwater availability and exploitation were evaluated for an intermountain basin (Kohat Sub basin) of Northwest Himalayan Fold & thrust belt Pakistan by developing a 3D numerical groundwater flow model. The groundwater models attempt to represent an actual groundwater system with a mathematical counterpart. The conventional groundwater …
Pakistan can increase its energy security, improve energy access, and spur social and economic development with renewable energy. Renewables Readiness Assessment: Pakistan identifies key actions to accelerate renewable energy deployment. The report presents options to strengthen Pakistan’s policy, regulatory and institutional framework for renewables. It suggests ways to strengthen renewable …
The initiative known as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, Conservation and Enhancement of Forest Carbon and Sustainable Forest Management (REDD+) focuses on avoiding deforestation and forest degradation, conserving and sustainably managing forests, and enhancing forest carbon stocks. Over the last few years, REDD+ activities in developing countries have …
Antibiotic use more than doubled in India between 2000 and 2015, fuelling antibiotic resistance that is making common infections such as E.coli, strep throat, pneumonia and tuberculosis more difficult to treat, according to this new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Antibiotic resistance, driven by …
The 69th World Health Assembly approved the Global Health Sector Strategy to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030. Although no virological cure exists for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, existing therapies to control viral replication and prophylaxis to minimise mother-to-child transmission make elimination of HBV feasible. We aimed to estimate the …
The experimental work presented in this study was carried out with the hypothesis that plant derived smoke enhanced the morphological, physiological and biochemical attributes of a cereal crop, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Furthermore, this study supported the hypothesis that plant derived smoke acts as vegetative growth promoter, inexpensive, rapid and …
The carbon footprint of some of the world’s biggest cities is 60 percent larger than previously estimated when all the products and services a city consumes are included, according to a new analysis. The report was released Tuesday at the IPCC Cities and Climate Change Science Conference in Edmonton, Canada, …
Surface irrigation is a common pool resource characterized by asymmetric appropriation opportunities across upstream and downstream water users. Large canal systems are also predominantly managed by the state. This paper studies water allocation under an irrigation bureaucracy subject to corruption and rent-seeking. Data on the landholdings and political influence of …
KABUL (Reuters) - An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 shook the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Wednesday but there were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties. The quake, which was also felt in neighboring Pakistan, struck 270 km (167 miles) northeast of Kabul in the Hindu Kush mountains, at a …
The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) period saw dramatic gains in health goals MDG 4 and MDG 5 for improving child and maternal health. However, many Muslim countries in the south Asian, Middle Eastern, and African regions lagged behind. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the status of, progress in, …
It is neither terrorism nor natural disasters but the unavailability of safe drinking water which leads to the highest number of deaths in Pakistan. According to the UN, consumption of contaminated water which leads to several waterborne diseases contributes to 40 percent deaths nationwide every year. The release of untreated …
The Senate's Standing Committee on Maritime Affairs was informed on Tuesday that international ships may soon stop visiting the Karachi seaport due to the rising amount of pollution in the coastal region. In a briefing on the matter, the committee was told that Karachi receives around 500 million gallons of …
Much concern has been raised about the increasing threat to air quality and human health due to ammonia (NH3) emissions from agricultural systems, which is associated with the enrichment of reactive nitrogen (N) in southern Asia (SA), home of more than 60% the world's population (i.e., the people of West, …
