Environment Archives | Page 10 of 45

Climate Change increases likelihood of Heatwaves in Asia by 30 Times

May 18, 2023 Editor

Scientists warn of escalating heatwave risks due to global warming The record breaking humid heat wave that hit east and north India; Bangladesh; Laos and Thailand in April were made at least 30 times more likely by climate change, a rapid attribution analysis said on Wednesday. The analysis by an international team of scientists with the World Weather Attribution group said a highly vulnerable population was subjected to a deadly combination of high heat and humidity which amplified the impacts in early summer this year. Large populations across South Asia…

Alarm bells ring as exotic Alligator Gar Fish found in Dal Lake

May 15, 2023 Editor

Capturing of a fish resembling the Alligator gar fish in the Dal lake here has sent alarm bells ringing among the scientists who fear that the presence of non-native fish species could spell doom on the eco-fragile flora and fauna of the water body. The Lake Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA) captured the alligator-shaped fish during the deweeding of Dal Lake near Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) on May 12. The video of the unique fish went viral taking people as well as scientists by surprise. Talking to KIF, Executive Engineer…

Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh receive excess rainfall in April following a deficit from January to March

May 3, 2023 Editor

After three months of deficit rainfall, Jammu and Kashmir as well as Ladakh received above normal rainfall in the month of April, officials said. The data provided by the meteorological department’s (MeT) local centre, the union territories collectively received 113 mm of average precipitation in April against a normal of 99.5 mm – registering an increase of 13%. “The month of April witnessed just above normal rainfall of 112.9 mm after three months of deficit precipitation,” the centre’s deputy director Mukhtar Ahmad said, adding that the months of March and…

Polythene Clogging up Kashmir’s Natural Wonders, from Deepest Lake to Tallest Mountain

April 29, 2023 Editor

Polythene is showing up in the darkest depths of the oceans, at the summit of tallest mountains and even the polar ice caps, thus aggravating already pressing environmental concerns. It came as a surprise to me while researching for this story that polythene was discovered by accident, and that too not once but twice. The first of these incidents took place just before the turn of the twentieth century in the year 1900; German scientist Hans von Pechmann discovered a residue in his test tube but discarded it thinking that…

Wild boar population surges in Kashmir, Wildlife experts raise concerns

April 6, 2023April 6, 2023 Editor

Wild boars have staged a massive comeback across the Valley after vanishing in mid-80’s completely. Even though experts believe global warming may be the reason for resurgence of the wild animal, they sounded alarm stating the boars can affect the Hangul’s habitat besides damaging the crops of every nature. Wildlife warden Shopain Intisaar Suhail, who has co-authored a publication on wild-boars, are not the native animal. “It was introduced in some areas of Kashmir like Dachigam by the then Maharaja for hunting. Then it started to decline and in mid…

J&K’s Forests under threat: Immediate action needed to prevent irreversible damage

March 21, 2023 Editor

By: Dr. Showkat Rashid Wani The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21 March the International Day of Forests in 2012 to celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests. The Directorate of Distance Education had deputed some of its students to MET Higher Secondary School for Practice of teaching. During inspection the author of this article saw a creative sketch on forest degradation by one of the students. The student had got an idea from the CBSE Class 9 English Beehive book of her cousin containing…

This winter newer rarer winged guests make Kashmir their home

March 1, 2023 Editor

Newer and rarer species of migratory birds arrived in Kashmir this season and extended their sojourn as compared to last three years, officials said. The latest annual waterbird census (AWC) in the Himalayan valley has revealed that the wetlands of the region provided a pleasant stay to the winged guests from Europe, Japan, China and Central Asia. “We are still compiling the census figures but overall, we saw about 12 lakh to 13 lakh birds in Kashmir this time, a figure higher than the last three years,” said Ifshan Dewan,…

Light to moderate rain, snow predicted in next 24 hours: MeT

November 5, 2022November 5, 2022 Editor

Predicting further dip in temperatures across Jammu and Kashmir, Meteorological Department on Friday said that they are expecting rains and snow in Union Territory during next 24 hours. “Fairly to widespread light to moderate rain, snow and thunders are expected in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday,” MeT officials said here adding that there has been further drop in maximum and minimum temperatures across J&K. MeT also issued yellow warning for isolated rain/thunder/lightning on Saturday . Pertinently, green means no action, yellow—situation to be watched, orange–government agencies need to be prepared…

Melting Glaciers to Cloudbursts, How climate change is impacting Kashmir

August 7, 2022 Editor

By: Syed Shadaab Gillani In its first meeting last week, the Reconstituted Committee of Climate Change Program of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) held a dialogue on climate change at the University of Kashmir in which top scientists from DST and other reputed institutions participated. The Committee aims to develop strategic knowledge on issues of climate change in view of its growing challenges. The expert-level deliberations indicate concerns underscored by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report of 2022 stating that the impact of climate change…

Amarnath tragedy exposes limited holding capacity of fragile Himalayan ecosystem

July 17, 2022 Editor

In the next two immediate days, much of the talk revolved around disaster management and incorrect weather predictions and the lacunae thereof. However, there was hardly any talk about restricting the number of pilgrims into the high altitude pilgrimage destinations such as Amarnath Cave shrine (Approximately 14,000 feet). New Delhi, July 17: Little more than a week after the tragic death of 16 pilgrims near the holy cave shrine of Amarnath on July 8, hundreds of devotees continue to trudge up the arduous treks from Pahalgam and Baltal side fighting…