IPCC’s* sixth assessment report (AR6) has bad news for the future. The warming beyond 1.5°C or 2°C will be breached much earlier. Average global temperatures will continue to rise and could increase by 5.7 °C by the end of this century compared to 1850–1900.Consequently, the land surface will continue to warm more than the ocean surface. The Arctic will continue to warm more than global surface temperature. Extreme changes become larger with every addition to global warming.

China’s central Henan province witnesses its heaviest rainfall in 1,000 years. At least 25 people, including 12 subway passengers, have been killed in the rainstorm so far.

After days of heavy rainfall in northern and eastern states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, rivers have risen above the danger mark affecting more than 50,000 people.

The National Geographic magazine has recognised the ‘Southern Ocean’ as the world’s fifth ocean on June 8, 2021. The change in name was in alignment with the National Geographic Society’s initiative to conserve the world’s oceans. The magazine has usually followed the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) on marine names, it said in an article notifying the change. The IHO had recognised ‘Southern Ocean’ as a distinct body of water surrounding Antarctica in 1937...

A highly-polluting factory, the Sterlite Copper, shuts down after years of inspiring community effort by the suffering villagers of Thoothukudi.

When the entire world is suffering from the pandemic and lockdowns, one tiny village in our country is certainly thrilled. This place is Thoothukudi in the Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu where a highly-polluting factory is locked down after years of inspiring community effort by its villagers. This factory, called the Sterlite Copper, is a subsidiary of the Vedanta Limited...

Climate change has made the Indian Ocean more unpredictable than ever. On one hand, there are more cyclones emerging out of this ocean, and on the other hand, they are intensifying very rapidly, gaining more power in a very short time. This is called rapid intensification.

The Arctic is warming three times faster than the global average, says a new report by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP). The report is based on 40 years of observations, between 1979 and 2019. The report says that there has been an increase in extremely high temperatures and a decline in extreme cold events due to climate change. 

Global warming is causing hot places to become even hotter. Hence, animals in desert areas will feel more thirsty than ever before. Is the weather in your place warmer than it was last year? Think about it and colour the picture.

Bacteria provide food to the plants by breaking complex organic compounds into simpler forms. This decomposition, part of a larger process called carbon cycle, is crucial for maintaining a stable climate on Earth.

A tiny-sized organism has recently been identified as a major warrior against environmental pollution and global warming. This warrior is a new species of soil bacteria called the Paraburkholderia madseniana and has been discovered by the researchers from the Cornell University of US. But how do they exactly help us in our fight? Let us find out.

In 1883, Anak Krakatau volcano erupted and spewed large amounts of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. This brought down the global average temperature by 1.2°C.

Anak Krakatau, which in the Indonesian language means the “Child of Krakatau”, in the Lampung province is one of the world’s most famous volcanoes. On April 11, 2020, it erupted. The first eruption, which lasted for one minute and 12 seconds, took place at 9:58 pm, according to the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation’s (PVMBG) magma volcanic activity report.It spewed out ash and smoke that went up to 200 metres. The second eruption, reported at 10:35 pm, lasted for more than half an hour and spewed out a 500-metre high column of ash.

Volcanic eruption is not an unusual phenomenon but this one was a little different. How? Let us find out. 

West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh were among the six states that received rainfall exceeding their long-term averages between March 1 and March 12, 2020.

Holi, famously known as the festival of colours, is celebrated in the month of March every year. Typically the day involves playing with dry and wet colours to mark the beginning of the spring season. In 2020, however, things were different. Instead of a bright, sunny day that we are used to during Holi, we woke up to a morning that was cold and breezy. In some parts of the country, there was even fog! Winter had not ended.

Earth’s climate worsened in the last year, said the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

WMO’s Statement on the State of the Global Climate (2019) revealed 2019 was the second-hottest year on record. The mercury was 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels in 2019. 2016 remains the hottest year recorded but the rise in temperature then was due to El-Nino 2010-2019 was the hottest decade on record. Since 1980 each decade has been hotter than the previous.