The global cost of disasters is growing: The economic burden of disasters is intensifying. While the direct costs of disasters averaged $70–80 billion a year between 1970 and 2000, between 2001 and 2020 these annual costs grew significantly to $180–200 billion. But the real cost is far higher. Disaster costs …
This new report released by the Ministry of Environment and Forests provides a holistic overview capturing comprehensively India's policies and programme related to desertification, land degradation & drought. This report provides a holistic overview capturing comprehensively India's policies and programme related to desertification, land degradation and drought. Poverty and environmental …
Despite continued success in addressing global climate change impacts, the challenges for disaster and climate risk reduction remain formidable in Bangladesh due to increasing the intensity and complexity of disasters. The disclosure was made in the newly published
India's annual monsoon rains have hit the southern state of Kerala two days earlier than expected, weather officials said on Sunday, boosting prospects for a harvest that could spur Asia's third-largest economy. The July-September monsoon irrigates 60 percent of India's farms and good rains will brighten hopes for a bumper …
Drought will sharply cut the rapeseed harvest in Germany, which produces about a quarter of the European Union's crop, and is likely to force biodiesel producers to cut output. About 75 percent of Germany's rapeseed is used by its biodiesel industry, the largest in the EU. "The biodiesel producers must …
Is this the face of future water conflicts? China, India and Saudi Arabia have lately leased vast tracts of land in sub-Saharan Africa at knockdown prices. Their primary aim is to grow food abroad using the water that African countries don't have the infrastructure to exploit. Doing so is cheaper …
The Castlereigh and Maussakele hydro-power reservoirs are at risk of being heavily silted due to illegal gem mining in the reservoir beds or along the reservoir boundaries. People from the area say that large scale gem mining had caused extensive environmental damage to the two reservoirs feeding the Laxapana, New …
When French grain farmer Pascal Seingier pulls a wheat stalk from the cracked soil in his field and points to the browned stem and dried-out roots, his face clouds over. "It's all dry. We have had almost no rain in weeks and it's now clear I will not have the …
Fires are spreading fast across vast Siberian forests in a reminder of last year's worst drought on record which killed dozens of people and forced Russia to suspend grain exports. The Emergency Ministry said on Sunday on its web site www.mchs.gov.ru that around 100,000 hectares of forestry was caught up …
The accident at the Fukushima power plant in Japan has led to much discussion about the future of nuclear power. I believe one important lesson of the accident has been overlooked. Nuclear power is often touted as a solution to climate change, but Fukushima serves as a warning that far …
End to decade-long wait of 14 villages in Kannur KANNUR: A water supply scheme waiting to be commissioned in a couple of weeks ending a long delay of over a decade is all set to cheer people living in 14 drought-hit villages in the district. A longstanding dream of the …
The International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics has released 735 highly-nutritious and drought-tolerant crop varieties developed using germplasm and breeding materials in 78 countries, including Andhra Pradesh in India, significantly contributing to increased income and better nutrition of resource-poor people in the dry land tropics. In Anantapur, where over …
A dire drought that has plagued Texas and parts of Oklahoma expanded across the key farming state of Kansas over the last week, adding to struggles of wheat farmers already dealing with weather-ravaged fields. Harvest in Kansas, the top U.S. wheat-growing state, is set to begin within weeks. But a …
In many parts of the world, the number of large wildfires has been increasing at an alarming rate. Among them, so-called “mega-fires” have emerged. These extraordinary conflagrations are unprecedented in the modern era for their deep and long-lasting social, economic, and environmental impacts. This paper examines eight mega-fires from around …
JAMMU, Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation, Raman Bhalla today distributed cheques among the drought hit families of Samba district which has received Rs. 4 crore as the first installment to provide relief to the affected families of 2009 drought under CRF. So far Rs. 32 lakh have been distributed …
While tornadoes and floods have ravaged the South and the Midwest, the remote western edge of the Oklahoma Panhandle is quietly enduring a weather calamity of its own: its longest drought on record, even worse than the Dust Bowl, when incessant winds scooped up the soil into billowing black clouds …
Climate changes will have an impact on food production and will require costly adaptive responses. Adapting to a changing environment will be particularly challenging in sub-Saharan Africa where climate change is expected to have a major impact. However, one important phenomenon that is often overlooked and is poorly documented is …
A review of literature on global evaluations of land degradation shows a significant development in methods and approaches to mitigate it. Earlier evaluations based their assessments on expert opinion and concentrated on only a few types of land degradation—namely soil erosion and deforestation. Recent studies have expanded the types of …
A study by the committee of the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategies for Sri Lanka indicates 16 District Secretariat Divisions emerge as highly vulnerable to drought exposure. Overall, The island Financial Review learns Sri Lanka needs nearly Rs. 48 billion
Illegal hunting and inadequate resources available to the Wildlife Department are threatening the existence of `chinakara`, a beautiful antelope species of Indian gazelle or in Thar desert. Frequent droughts and loss of habitats are other problems the endangered species of gazelle is facing. There appears to be no well-defined conservation …
