The report discusses the climate condition over Indian region during the year 2023. Notably, global temperatures soared to exceptionally high levels during this period (WMO.No.1347). The India Meteorological Department continuously monitors weather and climate over Indian region. The annual mean land surface air temperature averaged over India during 2023 was …
Extreme weather events are generally expected to increase in frequency and intensity due to global climate change. They have the potential to significantly undermine progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Global Climate Risk Index 2009 analyses to what extent countries have been affected by the …
The inventory and assessment of biodiversity resources have become essential for policy-making and management strategies as well as for developing and testing scientific hypotheses. There is an increasing need to compile mountain biodiversity databases and to make them available on-line. At the forefront of this work is an initiative lead …
nsg India gets into nuclear family On September 6, the 45-member nuclear suppliers group (nsg) lifted its 16-year-old embargo on nuclear commerce with India. The tough negotiations in Vienna went down to the wire after China, which had sounded positive in the run-up to the nsg meeting took a different …
The observed increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) since the preindustrial era has most likely committed the world to a warming of 2.4°C (1.4°C to 4.3°C) above the preindustrial surface temperatures. The committed warming is inferred from the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates of …
The present communication enumerates 40 taxa of Oscillatoriaceae from the brackish water wetlands of North 24-Parganas district of West Bengal. Out of the reported taxa, 12 are from each of Lyngbya and Oscillatoria, 6 from each of Phormidium and Spirulina, 2 belong to Schizothrix, and Hydrocoleum and Katagnymene are represented …
As the United States seeks to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from motor vehicles and to lessen its dependence on imported oil, biofuels are gaining increasing attention as one possible solution. This paper offers an introduction to the current state of play for biofuels: the technologies used in their production, …
David Sands, professor at the Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University, usa, hypothesized that there is a link between rainfall and bacteria in 1982. He didn't find many takers then. He has recently proved that bio precipitation does actually happen. He talks to Kirtiman Awasthi about …
Dust plays a critical role in Earth's climate system and serves as a natural source of iron and other micronutrients to remote regions of the ocean. We have generated records of dust deposition over the past 500,000 years at three sites spanning the breadth of the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Equatorial …
This report focuses specifically on the topic of renewable energy for heating and cooling for two reasons. First, the heating and cooling sector contributes largely to energy consumption, and therefore the emission of greenhouse gases. Globally, heating and cooling accounts for an estimated 40-50% of final energy demand. In the …
We have all heard tales of frogs, toads and fish raining from the heavens: these are rare events triggered by freak weather. But there are land and water-based life forms that seem to be present in the atmosphere just about all the time. These include algae, fungi and bacteria. What …
This report discusses the role of the voluntary carbon offset market and provides an overview and guide to the most important currently available voluntary carbon offset standards using the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) as a benchmark .The report compares the standards side-by-side and outlines the most pertinent aspects of each.
In the study, geospatial tools were employed for quantifying changes in the spatial extent of fragile ecosystems of some of the world's most famous lakes and wetlands located in the suburbs of Srinagar. The extent of lakes, wetlands and built-up land as depicted on the archive topographical map of the …
kala-azar is spreading. Two cases of the disease, usually found in eastern parts of India, have been reported from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The pathogen could spread in the area because sandflies, which transmit it, are already present in the region. The treatment for kala-azar is generally expensive and has …
India sent its first team to the Arctic recently. Two of its members have returned with a variety of samples, some dating back to millions of years. ARCHITA BHATTA spoke with them "We found round worms wriggling at 300-1,000 feet below sea-level. The temperature there was around 1.5-1.8
A severe heat wave has hit most parts of central and southeastern Europe causing deaths, forest fires and damaging crops. Countries like Romania, Austria, Croatia, Hungary are reeling under the heat. In Greece, where temperatures reached 39
every summer, pollens fly past Lake Van in Turkey. Pollens scattered in the air by various means get deposited on the lake's bed. Then a layer of mud covers it. This phenomenon repeats itself every year. An inch-thick layer of lime
the brown haze over north-India's sky could portend a dry future. Caused by liquid pollutants suspended in air, the aerosol cloud, infamous for its effects on crops and human health, may result in localised decrease of rainfall. Aerosols reduce speed of winds near the earth's surface, thus leading to reduction …
