A common understanding among most people in India is that disasters and accidents are meant for their neighbours and the many unknown people “out there.”No one thinks that calamity may strike them too, for which they need to remain prepared. Climate change has enhanced thefrequency of disasters, and among them, a silent killer is the heatwave, particularly for our country. India is experiencing more frequent, prolonged, and severe heatwaves. These extreme temperatures pose significant risk to public health, infrastructure, and livelihoods, especially in vulnerable regions.

The world warmed to yet another monthly heat record in January, despite an abnormally chilly United States, a cooling La Nina and predictions of a slightly less hot 2025, according to the European climate service Copernicus. The surprising January heat record coincides with a new study by a climate science heavyweight, former top NASA scientist James Hansen, and others arguing that global warming is accelerating. It’s a claim that’s dividing the research community.

Organic waste ending up in landfills is one of the major causes of methane generation which is the second highest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide. India’s landfills contribute to about 20% of the methane generated in the country.

The world’s mangroves, sea grasses and salt marshes together comprise ‘blue carbon ecosystems.’ They are nature’s most effective carbon sinks.
Current studies suggest that mangroves and coastal wetlands annually sequester carbon at a rate 10 times greater than mature tropical forests. They also store three to five times more carbon per equivalent area than tropical forests.
A recent report titled Blue Carbon and its role in Carbon Sequestration revealed that mangroves alone have the capacity to store more than 1,000 tons of carbon per hectare.

The National Biodiversity Authority, which regulates and conserves India’s biological resources, is looking to expand Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) – geographic areas that are not legally protected but that also host biodiversity – as a strategy to meet its newly updated biodiversity goals.
In October 2024, India officially committed to the “effective” conservation of 30% of the country’s terrestrial, inland water, coastal and marine areas by 2030, when it submitted its updated Biodiversity Plan and targets to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD).

Human activities are causing world temperatures to rise, posing serious threats to people and nature. Things are likely to worsen in the coming decades, but scientists argue urgent action can still limit the worst effects of climate change.
Climate change is the long-term shift in the Earth’s average temperatures and weather conditions. The world has been warming up quickly over the past 100 years or so. As a result, weather patterns are changing.

The loss of trees is also a major threat to thousands of other plants, animals and fungi.
Just over one in three of the world’s tree species are now at risk of extinction, according to the latest update of IUCN’s (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species.
For the first time, a majority of the world’s trees have been added to the list revealing that at least 16,425 of the 47,282 species assessed by the IUCN are at risk of extinction