One of India’s leading youth politicians has called for a plastic ban to be enacted. “The need of the hour is to ban production, usage and sale of plastic,” proclaimed Aditya Thackeray, who leads the youth wing of the Shiv Sena political party. In an earlier tweet, Thackeray said “banning production, use and sale of […]
environmental health
Floods in Kerala kill 111, lakhs displaced
Floods continue to ravage Kerala where the death toll has crossed 100. At the time of writing, 111 fatalities have been reported with the Malappuram district being the worst-affected. The floods have led to mass displacement. More than 2.27 lakh people are being sheltered in 1,551 relief camps. Excess rainfall during the monsoon season triggered […]
Air pollution and the risk of emphysema
Long-term exposure to air pollution ups the risk of developing emphysema in a similar way to smoking, according to a recent study. The research – carried out by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), both part of the US National Institutes of Health – […]
Heavy flooding continues to ravage India
Amidst the heavy flooding plaguing eastern and northern India, a tiger displaced from Assam’s flood-ravaged Kaziranga National Park sought refuge in a nearby house – much to the shock of residents. The tiger fled the park where 92 animals have drowned. Many are still trapped by the floodwaters. In a viral photo shared by an […]
Is Day Zero coming to Hyderabad?
Day Zero – the point when the wells run dry and a city runs out of water – is looming over Hyderabad. In fact, it may be only 48 days away. The Telangana state capital is set to be hard hit by a monsoon season which was both delayed and deficient. The Indian Meteorological Department […]
Energy infrastructure: Why we need to rethink it
![A thermal powerplant situated @ 20 kms away of raichur [own work, CC license]. Energy infrastructure example.](https://i0.wp.com/www.healthissuesindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/800px-Raichur_Thermal_Power_Station.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 "Energy infrastructure: Why we need to rethink it")
Energy infrastructure needs to be seriously rethought if global warming targets are to be met, research published in the journal Nature reveals in a stark warning. Last year, a groundbreaking report issued by the UN body on climate change announced that “rapid, [far-reaching] and unprecedented changes” are necessary if the pace of global warming is […]
Climate crisis concerns echo in the Indian Parliament
As India battles the implications of its climate crisis, a war of words broke out in Parliament’s upper house, Rajya Sabha, on Thursday with the Opposition accusing the government of giving priority to business over environmental concerns. Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar denied the charges, asserting that he would both ensure economic development and protect […]
The Auli VIP Wedding is over. Who will manage the waste crisis?
The picturesque hill station of Auli in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand is battling the aftereffects of a grand Indian wedding. Weeklong celebrations have turned the town into a dump yard with forty quintal (4,000 kilograms) of garbage. The town is paying the price for wedding grandeur worth Rs 200 crore. After the wedding celebrations […]
Amid accelerated Himalayan ice loss, a wedding celebration
Ice loss is occurring at a rapid pace as the Himalayas have been melting at double the rate since the turn of the century, a new study has revealed in another warning signal for India’s climate change crisis. The American Association of Advancement of Science study, titled “Acceleration of ice loss across the Himalayas over […]
Water crisis: Day Zero arrives in Chennai
India has been staring down the barrel of a water crisis for some time now. In Chennai, it has materialised. All four major reservoirs of the Tamil Nadu state capital have effectively run dry, their reserves dropping to a seventy-year low. This is severely affecting the capacity of the Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage […]