Climate Reporter- AP; UNCA Silver Medal 2021; Red Ink Awards 2019 (Special mention in the Environment category); Asian Environmental Journalist Award 2019; PB Enviro Journalist of the Year 2018.
Last decade was Earth’s hottest ever as CO2 levels reach an 800,000-year high, says UN report
Last year was the hottest year on record, the top 10 hottest years were all in the past decade and planet-heating carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are at an 800,000-year high, a report Wednesday said.
In its annual State of the Climate report, the World Meteorological Organization laid bare all the markings of an increasingly warming world with oceans at record high temperatures, sea levels rising and glaciers retreating at record speed.
US legal troubles for tycoon Adani expose shortcomings in India’s booming solar sector
U.S. prosecutors allege that one of Adani’s companies duped investors by hiding that its project was backed by a $265 million bribery scheme. The case now may be reviewed, and enforcement of any potential decision against it is uncertain. Whatever its fate, the case has highlighted vulnerabilities in India’s solar sector that are hindering its capacity to switch to clean energy, help limit climate change and cut heavy pollution in many of its cities.
Majority of the world’s population breathes dirty air, report says
Most of the world has dirty air, with just 17% of cities globally meeting air pollution guidelines, a report Tuesday found.
Switzerland-based air quality monitoring database IQAir analyzed data from 40,000 air quality monitoring stations in 138 countries and found that Chad, Congo, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India had the dirtiest air. India had six of the nine most polluted cities with the industrial town of Byrnihat in northeastern India the worst.
Scientists raise concerns as the US stops sharing air quality data from embassies worldwide
The U.S. government will stop sharing air quality data gathered from its embassies and consulates, worrying local scientists and experts who say the effort was vital to monitor global air quality and improve public health.
India’s steel industry contemplates potential fallout from Trump administration tariffs
Rows of small factories line the streets of a dusty suburb in Bengaluru, where workers weld and cast Indian-made steel into everything from car parts to kitchen sinks. Here, U.S. President Trump’s announcement to impose high trade tariffs on steel imports has some unexpected supporters.
Germany will likely continue its leadership on climate action. But expect a change in tone
As Germany prepares for a change of government, climate experts are hopeful that Sunday’s election results mean that the country will continue to be a leader in ambitious efforts to slash planet-warming emissions and will keep growing its renewable energy industries.
India wants to embrace nuclear power. To do it, it’ll need a lot of time and money
India wants to install 100 gigawatts of nuclear power by 2047 — enough to power nearly 60 million Indian homes a year.
Making climate-friendly lifestyle choices isn’t always easy. India learned the hard way
The Lifestyle for Environment Initiative — or Mission Life as it’s more commonly known — was once championed by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior ministers as a major step toward the country’s climate goals. The idea was to get the whole population working to slash emissions by cutting electricity use or skipping unnecessary private car journeys. But it’s fallen out of favor: Mission Life’s dedicated government website used to provide monthly updates on the initiative’s progress, but there hasn’t been an update since March 2024.
Study finds India doubled its tiger population in a decade and credits conservation efforts
India doubled its tiger population in a little over a decade by protecting the big cats from poaching and habitat loss, ensuring they have enough prey, reducing human-wildlife conflict, and increasing communities’ living standards near tiger areas, a study published Thursday found.
Authorities ramp up efforts to protect sea turtles as deaths on India’s shores continue to mount
Dead sea turtles keep washing ashore on India’s east coast and environmentalists and authorities are trying frantically to stop the number of 600 dead from getting even higher.
The high number of turtle deaths in Chennai in southern India is most likely due to overfishing just off the coast that may be accidentally trapping the turtles in nets, experts say, sparking discussion and anger in the region over how the deaths could be avoided.
European leaders at Davos vow to stick to Paris climate agreement despite Trump’s withdrawal
European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday: “Europe will stay the course, and keep working with all nations that want to protect nature and stop global warming".
Europe posts record year for clean energy use as Trump pulls US toward fossil fuels
A record 47% of the European Union’s electricity now comes from solar and other renewables, a report Thursday said, in yet another sign of the growing gap between the bloc’s push for clean energy and the new U.S. administration’s pursuit of more fossil fuels.
Nearly three-quarters of the EU’s electricity doesn’t emit planet-warming gases into the air — with another 24% of electricity in the bloc coming from nuclear power, a report released by the climate energy think tank Ember found.
Can U.N. summits save the planet? A faltering year of talks brings up questions about the process
The world’s nations keep faltering in their efforts to join together to save the planet from several environmental crises.
UN talks fail to reach agreement on dealing with rising risk of global drought
Despite two weeks of U.N.-sponsored talks in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh, the participating 197 nations failed to agree early Saturday on a plan to deal with global droughts, made longer and more severe by a warming climate.
Earth’s lands are drying out. Nations are trying to address it in talks this week
Much of Earth’s lands are drying out and damaging the ability of plant and animal life to survive, according to a United Nations report released Monday at talks where countries are working to address the problem.