History seems to be chasing Bangladesh even while the interim government is grappling with real issues of administering a country thrown into chaos.
In July last year, this south Asian country faced an upheaval when a students’ movement drove out Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from office.
Developing nations should not bear the brunt of the climate crisis caused by the industrialized world's historical emissions. This was the resounding message as the Solomon Islands, India, and Iran, among others, presented their cases before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
In the heart of southern India lies an inspiring tale of determination, resilience, and an unyielding commitment to sustainable farming. This is the story of Anand Ethirajalu, who turned his childhood curiosity about food adulteration into a life mission to transform agriculture and protect human lives.
"It's been horrible; I've been sick on and off for the last 10 days," said 29-year-old asthmatic Natasha Sohail, who teaches A-Level students at three private schools in Lahore. Last week, her condition worsened with a vertigo attack and fever. “It’s criminal what is happening here,” said an incensed Sohail, referring to the “band-aid measures” taken by the Punjab government.
"Farming is in my blood, and I can’t imagine doing anything else," said Mahim Mazumder, a farmer from Assam. "Even though the past three to five years have seen drastic changes—with temperatures rising so much that even sitting under a tree no longer offers relief—I will keep farming, even if it only yields a small harvest. I've spent my entire life farming, and despite all the challenges, I’ll continue."
While India continues to rely heavily on coal, the south Asian economic giant is also aggressively pushing renewable energy production, especially after the costs of renewable energy production have fallen drastically in recent years around the world.
Every morning before dawn, fishworkers along the shores of Kochi, Kerala, head out to sea, casting their nets in the shadow of the iconic Cheenavala—the Chinese fishing nets that have become a symbol of their community. I witnessed this time-honored tradition, once a reliable means of survival, now a daily gamble, a fight against unpredictable seas and shrinking fish populations.
Abdul Hameed Sheikh sowed his crop, working tirelessly for days in his paddy field.
The 52-year-old farmer, from central Kashmir’s Budgam area, religiously irrigated his 3-acre plot to keep the soil well hydrated. He waited for the rain, but days passed and it didn’t come.
Kmoin Wahlang, a 76-year-old woman, starts her running training every morning at 4 a.m. Dressed in track pants, a jacket, and running shoes, she sets out to navigate the hilly terrain of the small village of Shngimawlein in the southwest Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya, a state in northeastern India.
Climate change forces millions of India’s fishworkers to venture beyond the country's exclusive economic zone into the perilous high seas.
Brij Mohan, a 37-year-old farmer from Deoria, a modest village in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh, has a story of resilience and transformation. Mohan, the lone breadwinner for his family, has two children, the eldest just 10 years old.
On June 4, Ram Das, a 65-year-old farmer from India’s northern state of Haryana, was anxiously waiting for the results of the country’s general elections. It was early morning when he left his home and, along with his fellow villagers, congregated near a tea stall that had a transistor set playing the election results.
Cyclones and floods have become increasingly frequent across different parts of India, posing a significant threat to the country's population.
On a scorching May morning, Gajendra Madhei, a farmer from Mamudiya village, arrives at the local bazaar in Udula, a town in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district. He displays freshly caught red weaver ants, known locally as kai pimpudi, in the bustling tribal market.
Thanks to the recent recognition of Mayurbhanj's Kai chutney, or red weaver ant chutney, with a Geographical Indication (GI) tag awarded in January, his business of selling the raw ants has seen a significant surge in profitability.
Smelling the toxic smoke coming from burned powder kegs and helplessly watching fields turn into smoke and ash is traumatic. Rushing to the government's safe houses and leaving your homes, belongings and cattle behind whenever the armies of India and Pakistan trade fire is inexplicable. Then came climate-change-induced weather unpredictability.
As the school lunch bell goes off, 40 eager little bodies—41 if you count the school dog—burst out onto the veranda. Awaiting them are a stack of steel platters, into which will be ladled a nutritious and delicious lunch, all of it indigenous cuisine.
Sawantwadi in Maharashtra, on the western coast of India, bordering Goa, has always been known for its wooden toys. A picturesque town amid hills and lush greenery, Sawantwadi retains an old-world charm to this day. The regal Sawantwadi Palace holds pride of place, with colleges, schools, and temples cloistered around the periphery of the lake, which was once an extension of the royal grounds. In the centre of the town is the Ubha Bazaar, or Hanging Market, which houses rows of shops selling the iconic wooden toys that are a hallmark of Sawantwadi.
As India's 968.8 million voters were gripped by election fever, the worst-ever heat wave held the country in its clutches.
For the last three years, Sambhunath Guragain has been waking up every morning to a view he doesn't want to see: discarded agricultural land where he and his family used to grow food, including rice, but the flood in 2021 changed everything.
“We don’t have any crops now, but we are farmers,” Guragain said in November 2021, while looking towards a quietly flowing Melamchi river. This was six months after the massive flash flood in Helambu-Melamchi in Sindhupalchowk district in Nepal. After three years, the situation hasn’t changed.
Growing up in a
khazan ecosystem, the traditional agricultural practice followed in the south-western Indian state of Goa, Elsa Fernandes would love sitting in a
koddo, a woven bamboo structure for storing paddy. Her family members would pour paddy around her and with the growing pile, she would rise to the top and then jump down with joy.
Agriculture in India need not 'gamble' with the monsoons if accurate weather and climate forecasts are proactively made available to farmers, according to the results of a new experimental study conducted by the University of Chicago.