A passionate movie buff and avid videographer narrates his journey through the reels on the importance of films in spreading environmental awareness. **************************** Growing up in Perumannur, a small village in Kerala, my childhood was all about ploughing fields, playful cows and calves, and a big pond where I learnt swimming. I was so close to nature that it never occurred to me if the environment—with all its greenery, birds, trees, and grass—can ever be distinctively separate from us. My training, among the lush green coconut and rice fields...
When we think of Antarctica, long swathes of ice come into mind. But, could you ever imagine plants flowering in the Antarctic region? The pristine Antarctic ecosystem is being overturned by the climate crisis, according to a new study published in the journal Current Biology. It studied Signy Island, part of the South Orkney Islands of Antarctica. As the summers in the region are warming, two flowering plants have been multiplying fast...
How often does an older relative strike a conversation with you that begins with ‘back in our days...’? And how often do you switch off after hearing this apparently insipid conversation starter? If you do it often, then hang on! We have some news for you. These stories of the past from your elders, particularly about the environment, can provide a lot of crucial information and insights to you…
In the last year, young people have seen more climate events happening than elders might have experienced in the last couple of decades. So, it is no surprise that 2021 has been declared the 5th hottest year on record.
Rainfall is probably the most common natural weather event on this planet. But it is not that common when it comes to the ice sheets of Greenland, where temperatures seldom cross the freezing point. But on August 14, 2021, something unprecedented happened. The Summit of Greenland, which is the highest point of its ice sheets, received rain for the first time in recorded history.
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.
Scientists have discovered viruses nearly 15,000 years old in two ice samples from the Tibetan Plateau. The study conducted by the team from Ohio State University has been published in Journal microbiome. The researchers analyzed ice cores taken in 2015 from the Guliya ice cap in western China. Most of those viruses are unlike any viruses that have been catalogued to date, says the study.
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...
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.