Asian Lite News Archive

Category: Environment

  • Study: Lockdown Improved Air Quality

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    Researchers have found that lockdowns initiated to curb the spread of Covid-19 at the beginning of the pandemic improved air quality, averting tens of thousands of deaths in regions where air pollution has a significant impact on mortality. The study, published in the journal The Lancet Planetary Health, found that particulate matter concentrations in China…

  • Biden slams Trump on climate change amid wildfires

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    US Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden criticised President Donald Trump’s denial of climate change, calling the latter a “climate arsonist” as he addressed an audience in the state of Delaware about the ongoing wildfire sweeping the country’s west coast. Biden, the former US vice president, mentioned in his speech on Monday that a broad range…

  • Geo-Tourism In India

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    With diverse physical attributes, rich cultural heritage and ancient history, India is an adventure lover’s paradise. Of late, there has been significant initiative in promoting tourism even in the remotest corners of the country. The Indian subcontinent exhibits imprints of varied geological processes through the ages and is a storehouse of interesting geological features. Geological…

  • Obama interviews Sir David Attenborough

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    President Barack Obama has interviewed Sir David Attenborough at the White House in an extraordinary meeting of minds. During the meeting, the two men discussed the future of the planet, their passion for nature and what can be done to protect it. Excerpts can be viewed below reports BBC. The interview was recorded in May on…

  • GALLERY: Honey there is a garden in the car !

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    Asian Lite News profiles Dhananjoy Chakraborty. Mr Chakraborty is a eco warrior of emerging Kolkata, thee erstwhile capital of British Raj. A taxi driver by profession, he is in a bid to spread awareness to protect the environment. Instead of preaching, he set an example. He turns his old Ambassador car into a mobile garden. The vehicle has…

  • Sixth mass extinction has begun: Study

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    The world is witnessing the sixth mass extinction that threatens even our very own existence, warns a new study. The new study, published in the journal Science Advances, shows that even with extremely conservative estimates, species are disappearing up to about 100 times faster than the normal rate. The world has seen five recognisable mass…

  • Demand for fossil fuels to stay on

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    Fossil fuels, which represents over 80 percent of the total international energy demand, will be the main energy source for decades to come, the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) said in its monthly bulletin, WAM reported. The international increase in fossil fuel demand (oil, gas and coal) is set to continue, which means…

  • Heatwave hits more Indian states

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    Heatwave continued unabated in many parts of India on Saturday while showers brought some respite to Andhra Pradsh and Telangana, where nearly 2,000 people have died in last two weeks. There was no relief from the heatwave in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and other states. Neither was there any relief from the heatwave sweeping parts of Vidarbha…

  • A new French revolution begins

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    By Rajendra Shende  In month of May in 1789, the simmering debate between the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy on the proposed royal reforms sparked the French revolution. It quickly spilled all over the country. The ‘commons’ or so called ‘Third Estate’ started holding their own assembly. Within a space of six months, by December, prison…

  • India can’t do without coal

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    Amit Bhandari writes in Asian Lite, Britain’s leading Asian newspaper on India’s addiction with coal.  Coal generates over 75 percent of India’s electricity and is among the cheapest energy sources available. Its main advantage over other feasible alternatives is that it is largely immune to interference from nature — quakes, floods, droughts-economic vagaries and artificial accidents. India…

  • Its no big deal? Indians only marginal polluters!

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    Amit Bhandari writes in Asian Lite, UK’s top Asian Newspaper on why Indians are marginal polluters compared to the developed world.  India’s development dilemma centres around a basic calculation: the carbon emission for an average Indian is only marginally higher than the carbon dioxide produced in flying one passenger from Tokyo to San Francisco. In other…

  • India stands firm at UN environment meet

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    Don’t use universality and shared responsibilities for the environment as pretexts to kick away the ladder of development for the poor or to avoid responsibility for the global ecological havoc, India told the developed nations in a telling message. “The poor did not cause the problem of climate change, but they are now condemned to…

  • Companies must check their wood is legal: WWF

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      A WWF-UK study released today raises concerns about the ability of some UK companies – including Oak Furniture Land and Fender – to prove where their wood supply comes from. Customers could unwittingly be buying products containing wood from threatened forests. Some products are not covered by the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which requires…

  • Global warming could sink Kochi

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    By Mayabhushan Nagvenkar Within 100 years, rising sea levels caused by global warming could submerge large swathes of coastal land in Kochi, Kerala’s second most populous city, scientists at the Goa-based National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) have predicted. Inundation scenarios created by NIO scientists R. Mani Murali and P.K. Dinesh Kumar using satellite imagery and…

  • Antarctic ice shelf thinning

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    Providing fresh insights into assessing Antarctica’s likely contribution to future sea-level rise, a new study says that the Larsen C Ice Shelf — whose neighbours Larsen A and B, collapsed in 1995 and 2002, respectively — is thinning from both its surface and beneath. Scientists were unable to determine whether it is warming air temperatures…

  • US approves Arctic drilling

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    The US has granted conditional approval to energy giant Shell to begin oil drilling in the Arctic waters off the coast of Alaska. The interior department wrote in a statement, issued on Monday, that Shell could begin drilling in the Chukchi Sea once several environmental conditions are met, including a sign-off from agencies assessing the…

  • From boardroom to a farmland

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    Salim David hung up his corporate boots to be a farmer near Hyderabad in South India. He grows organic vegetables, roses, and livestock. He is sharing his experiments with Asian Lite readers Spending nights at a farm, one can hear the stillness, smell the freshness in the air and marvel at the clear skies. City…

  • Arctic ice cap is smallest since late 1970s

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    The Arctic ice cap this year is the smallest it has been since the late 1970s, when satellite monitoring of the polar region began and the experts attribute the shrinkage to climate change and global warming. “We had less ice this winter in the Arctic than any other winter during the satellite era,” Efe news…

  • Antarctic ice sheet melting ever faste

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    Using gravitational satellite data, researchers have found that during the past decade, Antarctica’s massive ice sheet lost twice its mass in its western portion compared to what it accumulated in the east. The southern continent’s ice cap is melting ever faster, the researchers determined. The researchers “weighed” Antarctica’s ice sheet and found that from 2003…

  • India Ignores World Heritage Sites

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    Agra’s monuments victims of ASI’s callous neglect …writes Brij Khandelwal to mark World Heritage Day   It’s becoming increasingly clear that only professional managers can preserve this Taj city’s heritage, experts say. The parliamentary committee on environment, headed by former union minister Ashwini Kumar (Congress), after spot visits and interactions with stakeholders last week, expressed concern over the poor…

  • Ancient ‘terror’ bird comes alive

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    Researchers have discovered fossil remains of a new species of South American terror bird called Llallawavis scagliai (“Scaglia’s Magnificent Bird”). The new species is the most complete terror bird ever discovered, with more than 90 percent of the skeleton exquisitely preserved. The discovery would shed light on the diversity of the group and how these…

  • India must lead fight on climate: Modi

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    Seeking to scotch “lies” being floated about the land acquisition bill, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that it synergized India’s growth imperative with the need for environment protection, while calling for the country to demonstrate leadership in tackling the global threat of climate change. Inaugurating the state environment and forest ministers’ conference here, Modi said…

  • Himalayan glaciers fast disappearing

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    By Vishal Gulati  Glaciers in the upstream basin of the Brahmaputra, a 2,900-km-long river that originates from Tibet and flows into the Bay of Bengal, are likely to reduce alarmingly by the middle of the 21st century, according to an international body which also warned that the overall flow in the river was likely to…

  • World’s deep seas littered with plastic waste

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    Around four billion microscopic plastic fibres could be littering each square kilometre of deep sea sediment around the world, shows a study. “It is alarming to find such high levels of contamination, especially when the full effect of these plastics on the delicate balance of deep sea ecosystems is unknown,” said Lucy Woodall, zoologist at…

  • Story of a girl with SEVEN mothers-in-law

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    Zee TV has unveiled Satrangi Sasural, a show centers around Aarushi who marries Vihaan Narmada Vatsal, a man raised by not one, but seven very strong and independent mothers! Starting December 4, every Monday to Friday at 10 PM on Zee TV, join Aarushi on her journey of deftly managing the expectations of her seven mothers-in-law, who only have Vihaan’s best interests at…

  • Drought makes people to migrate in Rajasthan

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    By Anil Sharma   Drought-like conditions are forcing villagers residing along the India-Pakistan border in the desert state of Rajasthan to migrate in search of greener pastures. If local NGOs are to be believed, over 100 villages situated in Barmer district are facing a severe water and fodder crisis. “Much of the population living in this…

  • Air pollution leading to swelling rivers

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    Air pollutants, known as aerosols, can lead to an increase in the amount of water flowing through many rivers in the northern hemisphere, revealed a research. Aerosols reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth’s surface, an effect known as ‘solar dimming’. In the study, researchers found that solar dimming increased river flows as the…

  • Winter killer: carbon monoxide poisoning

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    It’s the silent killer. With no taste, odour or colour, carbon monoxide (CO) hides in the winter shadows. Even in small quantities, CO can be deadly. Despite its deadly nature, many homeowners are unaware of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning or how it occurs. We’re committed to raising awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning, especially…