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 …
WE ALL live downstream when it comes to facing hardships. People upstream usually create problems for those living downstream. If water laden with pesticides makes its way into the Yamuna and ends up in the livers and body fat of the literati and glitterati of the nation residing in Delhi, …
WHEN the Himalaya mountains rose to replace the Sea of Tethys it seems they made a pact with nature. The Himalaya, the world's youngest fold-mountain range made up of friable rock, due to the very nature of their being contribute to the flooding of the Indo-gangetic plain. This year the …
MORE than 2,229 lakh trees in 40 coastal villages of four tehsils of Kutch district were totally destroyed during the cyclone which which swept across Gujarat in July this year. More than 7,000 people died in the cyclone, including 4,400 salt pan workers at the Kandia port. About 13.5 lakh …
More than 23 fishermen have been feared dead and several injured as two boats capsized in the stormy seas in the Bay of Bengal off the southern coast of Bangladesh. Amid renewed fears of flooding, heavy rains continued to lash the country where nearly 300 people have already died in …
China is fighting a "life and death" battle against rising floodwaters which have posed a serious threat to the country's oil hub at Daqing. The Yangtze river is flowing above the danger mark. Government officials said they would blast the dyke to save cities downstream. More than 300,000 people have …
THE usually docile animals of the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, after a month-long desperate attempt to flee incessant floods, hunger and killer vil-lagers, have turned violent. A number of incidents of wild animals killing each other and attacking humans have been reported. Two victims of the desperate animals are …
THE Yangtze river is swollen. Since May 1998, floods caused by heavy rains have affected thousands across 12 provinces in central, southern and eastern China. Gushing waters have killed more than 1,200 people, according to reports. Though floods are an annual affair in this part of China, water levels have …
Torrential rains have triggered massive floods in Bangladesh leaving 92 dead and thousands homeless. Over six million people and livestocks have been seriously affected. Reports say that the rising water levels in all the major rivers have affected 18 districts. The road communication between the hill districts of Bandarban and …
The ocean covered about half the surface area of other continents seventy million years ago. However, Australia managed to stay dry. How did it happen? Geophysicist Michael Gurnis of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, USA, may have the answer. During this period, Australia was 250 metres higher than …
fifty five million years ago, one trillion tonnes of methane suddenly burst out of the ocean, shooting up the temperatures and killing thousands of species in the ocean depths. The first evidence of this prehistoric event was unearthed by researchers in 1991. But they were not sure of the causes …
Nearly 37 countries are facing food emergencies as against 31 countries that had faced food shortages towards the end of last year. The food shortages are mainly due to the effects of El Ni
the landmark for Venice may also be its nemesis. The floods that submerge Venice's streets, with which the city is identified with, may drown this historical city one day. Floods have of late become more frequent. In early 1980s, St Mark's Square - the city's lowest point - was flooded …
a new report by the World Watch Institute, a Washington-based research organisation, suggests that deforestation in the Ganga Valley has been causing floods and damaging us $1 billion worth of property annually, in recent years. Over the last 30 years, half the forests have been lost, especially in developing countries …
This paper explores the potential implications of climate change for the use and management of water resources in Britain. It is based on a review of simulations of changes in river flows, groundwater recharge and river water quality. These simulations imply, under feasible climate change scenarios, that annual, winter and …
global warming could lead to more than floods and inclement weather. It could facilitate the spread of tropical illness like dengue fever, scientists have warned. Researchers at the John Hopkins University in Baltimore, usa , used computer models to map the general circulation of the earth's weather patterns and determine …
kalahandi contributes one-fourth of the total foodgrain procurement from Orissa. Despite this, nearly 200 people die of starvation every year, according to local people's representatives. About 90 per cent children are malnourished. This is an irony because Kalahandi's average per capita foodgrain production is higher than the per capita average …
people in the city of Townsville, on Australia's eastern coast, are facing tough times. First, the city was devastated by high winds and severe floods. One person was killed and several houses damaged by the floods. And now, snakes, spiders and scorpions have become the latest threats to flood-hit northern …
The worst floods since 1961 have ravaged the Juba river valley in Somalia killing more than 2,000 people. Roads, airstrips and bridges were underwater in the towns of Bardera in the north to Jumaame in the south. "It is completely floo-ded. People are trapped. Some are sitting on dikes waiting …
At least 10 people were killed when Kenya's principal river Tana burst its banks and flooded the main town in the northeastern part of the country. The rain-swollen Tana River raged into Garissa, about 350 km northeast of Nairobi, sweeping away homes and property. Many people were rescued by volunteers …
