Rising Temperatures, Rising Inequalities: How a New Insurance Protects India’s Poorest Women

As Deviben Dhaundhaliya, 45, a streetside seller of artificial jewelry, waits for her husband Devabhai to arrive and help her shift their iron-frame mobile ‘shop’ to the Bhadra Fort open-air marketplace in Ahmedabad city, she tells of how “as heat increased, my wares started melting under the direct exposure to the sun, or they got discolored.”

UN Ocean Decade vs. Coastal Reality: ‘They Took Our Sea,’ Say Vizhinjam Fishworkers

As the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) approaches, bringing renewed attention to SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and the rights of ocean-dependent communities, India’s Vizhinjam coast highlights the environmental injustice and human cost of unchecked coastal development.

Truce on the Line: After the War Stops, the Suffering Continues

In the war-worn borderlands of Jammu and Kashmir, the silence that followed the May 10 ceasefire between India and Pakistan is not the comforting kind—It is uneasy.

Climate Justice Starts with a Bus Ride: A Lifeline for Delhi’s Waste Pickers

Every day, Delhi’s waste pickers walk three to four kilometers under the blazing sun, collecting and sorting the garbage that keeps India’s capital functioning. Their work is essential—yet largely invisible.

Can These Prehistoric Sea Creatures Survive Climate Change?

In November,  tens of thousands of male olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) start congregating on just five kilometers of nearshore in Odisha in eastern India. They wait for the females of the species to arrive. The survival of these prehistoric sea species has largely depended on suitable pairing and mating. However, research findings from around the world indicate that, in the long term, there may be a limited number of males at these mating sites compared to an overwhelming number of females.

U.S. Deported Bhutanese Refugees Cry–‘No Country To Call Home’

Sitting in his small hut in the Beldangi refugee camp in Jhapa district, Nepal, Narayan Kumar Subedi feels relieved that his son, Aasis Subedi, is safe. Aasis is one of four United States deportees who were the subject of Nepal's Supreme Court landmark ruling on April 24, which directed the government not to deport four Bhutanese refugees who entered Nepal in March of this year after being disowned by Bhutan. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported the four after they had lived in various parts of the United States for nearly a decade.

India-Pakistan: On the Brink—But Is There a Way Back?

Just after the young couple arrived at Al-Sayyed Shabistan, a quaint guesthouse in Taobat, on April 30, soldiers showed up, urging them to leave—war, they warned, could break out any moment. Yahya Shah, guest-house owner and head of Taobat’s hotel association, told IPS over the phone, “Tourist season just began, but for two weeks the village feels like a ghost town—everyone’s hit: shopkeepers, eateries, drivers.”

Lawyer-Turned-Activist Bhuwan Ribhu Honored for Leading a Campaign to End Child Marriage

Bhuwan Ribhu didn’t plan to become a child rights activist. But when he saw how many children in India were being trafficked, abused, and forced into marriage, he knew he couldn’t stay silent.

Kashmir Reels After Pahalgam Attack, Fear Long Term Impacts on Livelihoods

Abdul Majeed Mir strolls leisurely among the purple crocus flower rows in Pampore's saffron fields as the morning mist hovers low over them. His family has been growing this valuable spice, called "red gold," for many generations, but now his hands go through the harvest mechanically. There is a noticeable lack of the typical commotion of tourists haggling over saffron packets.

Rampant Tourism, Climate Change Threatens Varkala’s Unique Geodiversity

From the top of the cliff, the beach down below appears like a box of sand, with people scattered on it like tiny ants. This is Varkala, arguably the most sought-after coastal tourism spot in Kerala, India, right now. The Varkala cliff—spanning across Edava Cliff, North Cliff, and South Cliff—is 7.5 km long and has a maximum height of 40 m. Religious rituals take place at the part of Papanasam beach that divides the North and South Cliffs.

Chel Snakehead: A Fish That Time Forgot, Rediscovered

The Chel Snakehead fish, thought to be extinct, has made a dramatic comeback to the eastern Himalayan ecosystem after more than 85 years of absence near its source river in India.

While India’s RAMSAR Sites Tally Rises, Wetlands Remain Endangered

Late in February, India’s noted ornithologist and conservationist, Asad Rahmani, wrote a letter to a wildlife warden in north India expressing his satisfaction about the availability of water in four important wetlands in Kashmir, where migratory birds from central Asia and Europe arrive annually for wintering.

Solar-Powered Spinning Machines Help Indian Women Save Time and Earn More

As light enters through the small window of a modestly constructed tin-roofed house, Philim Makri sits on a chair deftly spinning cocoons of eri silk with the help of a solar-powered spinning machine in Warmawsaw village in Ri Bhoi district of Meghalaya in northeast India.

How Rare Rhino, Tiger Conservation Has Locked Out Indigenous Communities

While a local community prides itself on caring for a sensitive biodiverse region, and despite centuries-long stewardship of the Kaziranga, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the authorities rebuff—sometimes aggressively—their attempts to remain involved.

When Ethnic Violence Turns Women Against Women

For Kikim*, it was the ides of May, instead of March, that was, in one sense, her undoing. She was looking forward to welcoming her baby, her first. But life took an unexpected turn, and things changed within a split second.

Not Seen in Living Memory: Kashmir’s Rivers Run Dry, Snow Disappears, and Hope Dissipates

The picturesque Kashmir Valley is battling nature’s fury. This time of year, its majestic mountains would typically be capped with thick snow, and its emerald streams would gush with fresh waters. However, none of these scenes are visible this year.

Mussel Divers in Kerala Face Livelihood Loss, with Species Habitat Under Threat

Ibrahim Basheer plunges into the sea and disappears. He remains gone for a couple of minutes before resurfacing for a deep breath of air, repeating this for the next half an hour. When he finally climbs aboard his boat, the net sack around his neck is filled with mussels—his catch for that diving trip. He rests for a short while before diving into the sea again—needing one more such trip to fill the basket he has brought along.

World’s Largest Religious Gathering Becomes Trans-Inclusive Despite Controversies

Despite a blazing sun and growing heat, Pavitra Nandagiri sits on a cot smiling. Clad in a saffron robe and headgear with her forehead painted with turmeric and vermillion, Nandagiri is a Mahamandaleshwar—one of the highest-ranking monks of the Kinnar Akhada (Transgender Arena) at the Maha Kumbh, the world’s largest religious gathering currently underway in northern India.

Photo Essay: Kashmir’s Ingenious Climate-Responsive Architecture.

India's average temperature has risen by 0.7°C since 1901, bringing more frequent and intense heat waves, erratic rainfall patterns, and a marked decline in monsoon consistency since the 1950s.

India: Protests Erupt Over Hazardous Waste Disposal of Bhopal Gas Tragedy

An eerie calm prevails over Pithampur, a town 250 km (155 miles) away from Bhopal, the capital of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. This town witnessed widespread protests for three days last week following the transportation of large quantities of toxic waste from the site of one of the world's worst industrial disasters in Bhopal.

Erratic Sales and Government Apathy Hurt Telangana Weavers

The southern Indian state of Telangana has always been home to exquisite cotton and silk weaves. But in recent years, lack of market access, expensive inputs, and government apathy have taken their toll on the weaving community. As a result, the younger generation is refraining from pursuing this traditional occupation and opting for more lucrative pursuits.