Articles & Op-Eds

Heat Action Plans across cities will fail because they are not backed by money & they don’t factor in local conditions. Heatwaves must be classified as natural disasters, with legally binding solutions. The heatwave of 2024 had a devastating impact in most parts of the country. While we will never [...]

Urgent reforms required to make District Mineral Foundations an instrument for social justice. The District Mineral Foundation (DMF) was conceived as a transformative institution to ensure those who bear the brunt of mining activities also share its benefits. Set up in March 2015 under the Mines and Minerals (Development and [...]

Given the powerful sway of faith, it must work together with science and technology to repair humanity’s broken relationship with nature. The Mahakumbh Mela 2025 has left an indelible mark on history. According to official data, more than 650 million people participated in this monumental event — equivalent to the [...]

Baku conference has shown up the glaring inadequacy of the international climate framework and the deep mistrust among nations. Bad news for the fight against climate change. Mahatma Gandhi’s famous critique of the Cripps Mission in 1942—describing its proposal as “a post-dated cheque on a crashing bank”—perfectly captures the essence [...]

Acknowledging the true impact and sources of our pollution crisis is the first step toward meaningful action. A quarter-century ago, over 200 scientists from the US, Europe, the Maldives, and India came together to study the haze over the Indian Ocean. Led by atmospheric scientist V Ramanathan of the Scripps [...]

COP29, being held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from Nov 11 to 22, has opened under ominous circumstances. The re-election of Trump as US president looms over the event, reviving memories of his first term when he withdrew from the Paris Agreement, halted climate funding, and significantly slowed international climate progress. During [...]

These are anxious times for the climate community, watching with bated breath to see who will become the next US president. The last time Donald Trump held office, he withdrew from the Paris Agreement and stalled efforts to curb domestic emissions. But would Kamala Harris take a radically different approach [...]

We know we’re losing the battle against air pollution, yet we persist with the same corrective measures, hoping for different results. The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) serves as a good example. GRAP protocols are triggered when the Air Quality Index (AQI) reaches “poor” category. However, most measures within GRAP [...]

Investments in ISTS grid infrastructure dedicated to RE projects have surged over the past decade, as new transmission lines and substation capacities have been developed to transfer power from RE-rich states to low-RE states. The inter-state transmission system (ISTS) charge and loss waivers for renewable energy (RE) between Indian states [...]

With Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) rising to 235 on Wednesday, its highest level since June 19, pollution season is here again. In what’s ominous, air quality dipping to “poor” category in Sep is a first in six years. As citizens of the national capital brace for the dreaded winter [...]

The most viable path forward is to decontrol the urea sector and allow market competition, similar to other fertilisers. One of the core priorities in this year’s Budget is “productivity and resilience in agriculture”. Under this, the government plans to promote natural farming, enhance the production of pulses, oil seeds, [...]

Soaring temperatures are here to stay & cooling has become a necessity. But it has to be done smartly. Not via ACs that guzzle electricity & worsen outdoor heat at a low-penetration level. Last Wednesday the automatic weather station sensor at Delhi’s Mungeshpur reported a record high temperature of 52.9°C. [...]