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Arctic heatwave shatters Greenland, Iceland records; could hit monsoons

Published on Jun 12, 2025 06:09 AM IST

The findings matched with data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service showing May this year to be the second-warmest globally on record

The climate-driven heat corresponded with melting of the Greenland ice sheet that was approximately 17 times higher than average for the period. (AFP file.)
ByJayashree Nandi

Heatwave days to double by 2030 for most metros, says report on climate

Cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Surat, Thane, Hyderabad, Patna and Bhubaneswar are projected to record a two-fold increase in heatwave days by 2030.

An aerial view of a portion of the Amazon rainforest deforested by illegal fire on August 20, 2024. (AFP Photo)
Updated on Jun 11, 2025 09:52 AM IST
ht_print |

‘India is in the process of ratifying High Seas Treaty’: Jitendra Singh at UNOC

The Treaty is a legally binding instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

Minister of science and technology, and earth sciences Jitendra Singh addresses the plenary session of the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France, on Tuesday. (AFP)
Updated on Jun 10, 2025 06:02 PM IST
ByJayashree Nandi

Weather Bee: By June 3, NE states got more than 15 days worth of rain in five

With the very early arrival of the monsoon, it is natural that the rain would be record-breaking for this part of the year.

An aerial view of houses along a road partially submerged in floodwater in Morigaon district of Assam on Thursday. (PTI Photo)
Updated on Jun 06, 2025 01:53 PM IST
ByAbhishek Jha

Scientifically Speaking: India in the age of unlivable heat

Delhi’s heat now routinely approaches 50°C, pushing the limits of human endurance and infrastructure.

A woman covers her face with a cloth to protect herself from scorching heat on a hot summer day in New Delhi. (ANI Photo)
Updated on Jun 05, 2025 05:01 PM IST
ByAnirban Mahapatra

Ecostani: Dying, melting glaciers have served a warning. Do we care?

In all scenarios, glaciers lose mass rapidly over decades and then continue to melt at a slower pace for centuries — even without additional warming.

The Birch Glacier after its collapse in the Swiss Alps. (AFP Photo)
Updated on Jun 02, 2025 02:07 PM IST

Weather Bee: What is the southwest monsoon?

As the IMD itself suggests that the monsoon is not just rain, perhaps it can lay down more specific criteria for places beyond Kerala.

A commuter rides a two-wheeler amid heavy rainfall in Mumbai. (PTI Photo)
Updated on Jun 02, 2025 12:23 PM IST
ByAbhishek Jha

COP30: ‘Focus on healing, building credibility of climate talks,’ says Brazil

Erosion of trust among developed and developing nations has cast a shadow on the climate negotiations in recent years.

COP30 president designate André Aranha Correa do Lago. (Reuters)
Published on May 23, 2025 05:31 PM IST
ByJayashree Nandi

India’s forest, tree cover at 25.17% due to large scale plantation works: Govt to UN

Compared to 2021, there is an increase of 1445 sqkm — an area as large as Delhi — in the total forest and tree cover of the country, the report said.

Of this, around 21.76% is forest cover whereas tree cover is around 3.41%. (File Photo)
Updated on May 09, 2025 11:39 AM IST
ByJayashree Nandi

Ganga basin records lowest snow persistence in 23 years: Report

The alarming statistic is compounded by the fact that 2025 marks the third consecutive year of below-normal seasonal snow across the Hindu Kush Himalayan region.

Snow cover persistence anomaly during November 2024-March 2025 in the Ganga basin.
Published on Apr 21, 2025 09:35 AM IST
ByJayashree Nandi

A new way to recycle plastic is here

Much plastic waste is soiled and composed of several different layers, making it too complex for the usual recycling method.

Reducing the use of single-use plastics can create a safer environment. (File photo.)(AFP)
Published on Apr 17, 2025 12:29 PM IST
The Economist

Electric vehicles also cause air pollution

The most dangerous particles are those smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter, which get into the lungs and reach other organs via the bloodstream.

Employees work on an electric vehicle (EV) production line
in eastern China's Zhejiang province on September 18, 2024.
(Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP)(AFP)
Published on Apr 14, 2025 09:11 AM IST
The Economist

Weather Bee: Western disturbances decreased India’s snow pack deficit in March

With around 50% deficit in the wettest hilly states and UTs, it is clear that western disturbances were not strong enough in the past month.

A sheet of snow over the Sissu Lake in Lahaul-Spiti. (ANI Photo)
Updated on Apr 11, 2025 03:12 PM IST
ByAbhishek Jha

Temperatures likely to rise by 2-3 degrees Celsius over NW India in next 2 days: IMD

A fresh western disturbance is likely to affect the Western Himalayan region from Monday night, but it is unlikely to have much impact on the temperatures over the plains.

People protect themselves from the heat in Mumbai. (PTI Photo)
Published on Mar 24, 2025 03:42 PM IST

Weather Bee: Usual March weather for India on average, not for individual places

India’s average maximum temperature for the month (up to March 20) is 30.91°C, according to the gridded data of the IMD.

Tourists shield themselves from the blistering sun at Red Fort in New Delhi on March 20. (ANI Photo)
Updated on Mar 21, 2025 04:47 PM IST

Greenpeace Ordered to Pay Hundreds of Millions in Oil Pipeline Suit

The environmental group and Native American groups protested the Dakota Access project for months in 2016.

Greenpeace Ordered to Pay Hundreds of Millions in Oil Pipeline Suit
Updated on Mar 20, 2025 09:41 AM IST
WSJ

PM2.5 monitoring: 214 out of 406 cities meet standard, says MoEFCC in Lok Sabha

The NAAQS standard for PM 2.5 is 40 micrograms per cubic metres annually and 60 micrograms per cubic metres daily (24 hour).

A truck-mounted sprinkler sprays tiny droplets of water to counter air pollution in Delhi. (ANI Photo)
Updated on Mar 17, 2025 02:09 PM IST
ByJayashree Nandi

Weather Bee: How early is the 40°C breach this year in India?

An HT analysis suggests that March 10 is indeed early for such a breach, although it is not the earliest this breach has happened.

A woman shields herself from the sun as a child eats an ice-cream to beat the heat in Mumbai. (PTI Photo)
Published on Mar 13, 2025 02:49 PM IST

Cause and Effect: Importance of the humble straw in the fight against pollution

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that around 380 MT of plastic waste is produced globally each year.

US President Donald Trump on February 7 criticised paper straws, vowing
Updated on Mar 10, 2025 12:02 PM IST
ByTannu Jain

Weather Bee: Is this an unusually short La Nina?

It is important to understand what La Nina is before checking whether the current La Nina is an unusually short one.

The length of the ongoing La Nina is indeed somewhat unusual. (AP Photo)
Updated on Mar 07, 2025 05:12 PM IST

New features on Parivesh 2.0 to help fast-track forest clearances

One of the changes is to auto-forward a proposal to the next processing authority if “essential details sought” by the Centre or regional officials is not provided within three days by state authorities.

Representational image.
Updated on Feb 27, 2025 01:17 PM IST
ByJayashree Nandi

Ecostani: Link between rise in wildfires and atmospheric convection

In the long term, wildfires interrupt terrestrial carbon uptake, potentially accelerating anthropogenic global warming.

Fire burns among vegetation following the spread of wildfires near Lautaro, Chile on February 9. (REUTERS)
Updated on Feb 24, 2025 03:26 PM IST

India's northern snow pack at yet another record low this snow cycle

Decreasing snow pack in India's mountains signals rapid climate change and contributes to warmer northern plains.


Kashmir, India - January. 12, 2025: A man and woman walk on snow covered rice field at Gund some 70 kilometers from Srinagar,on, 12 January 2025.(Photo By Waseem Andrabi /Hindustan Times)--
Published on Feb 22, 2025 12:49 PM IST

Weather Bee | How long before long-term warming breaches 1.5°C threshold?

The inevitable breach of the 1.5°C warming threshold is accelerated by decreased air pollution, increasing Earth's energy imbalance.

The Paris Agreement goal is tied to long-term warming because individual years can breach the 1.5°C threshold because of short-term factors. (AP)
Published on Feb 13, 2025 08:05 PM IST

Weather Bee | January 2025 all set to be the warmest January month on record

January 2025 is on track to be the hottest January on record, with an average temperature increase of 1.75°C above pre-industrial levels

A couple take a walk at sunrise near the icy Oak Street Beach along the shore of Lake Michigan Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Chicago (AP/Kiichiro Sato)
Updated on Feb 01, 2025 06:35 PM IST

Looming tragedy: Sikkim lake was unstable for years, new study finds

The flood devastated the Teesta Hydroelectric Project Stage-III (1200 MW), washed away the dam and flooded the underground powerhouse.

A sudden cloud burst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim resulted in a flash flood in the Teesta River in the Lachen valley in October 2023. (PTI File Photo)
Updated on Jan 31, 2025 02:35 PM IST
ByJayashree Nandi

Weather Bee | Why have the LA fires attracted attention?

The wildfires in Los Angeles, while not the largest in California history, attract attention due to the county's high population density and financial stakes.

A fire fighting helicopter drops water as the Palisades fire grows near the Mandeville Canyon neighborhood and Encino, California, on January 11, 2025. The Palisades Fire, the largest of the Los Angeles fires, spread toward previously untouched neighborhoods January 11, forcing new evacuations and dimming hopes that the disaster was coming under control. Across the city, at least 16 people have died as multiple fires have ripped through residential areas since January 7, razing thousands of homes in destruction that US President Joe Biden likened to a
Published on Jan 25, 2025 08:14 PM IST

Weather Bee | Why is the global temperature high despite La Nina's arrival?

Since the La Nina is expected to be weak and short-lived, its influence may be even more insignificant than in recent years.

Snow covers a rock as drifting broken sea ice, floats on the surface, off the extreme western point of Replot Island, in Kvarken archipelago, near Bjorkoby, in the northern part of the Baltic Sea on January 15, 2025. Due to a mild winter and temperatures above zero degrees centigrade, the open sea has not frozen. (Photo by Olivier MORIN / AFP)(AFP)
Published on Jan 17, 2025 08:17 PM IST

How to make sense of 2024’s wild temperatures

Our climate team highlight four charts and two maps

Temperatures passed 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in northern India as an unrelenting heatwave triggered warnings of water shortages and heatstroke. 2024 is confirmed by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) to be the warmest year on record globally, and the first calendar year that the average global temperature exceeded 1.5°C above its pre-industrial level. (AFP)(HT_PRINT)
Published on Jan 17, 2025 08:00 AM IST
The Economist

2024 was warmest year on record, should be wake up call, say scientists

The year 2024 was the first during which the average global temperature exceeded 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level, the threshold beyond which climate change will make human life more difficult

Human-induced climate change remained the primary driver of extreme air and sea surface temperatures. (Getty Images via AFP/Representative)
Published on Jan 10, 2025 09:12 AM IST
ByJayashree Nandi
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