Global Warming - Question of Cities

‘A happy city is where joy is not a commodity’

Rapid and unplanned urbanisation has hardly left open spaces for children. The carefree running, the cycling without the fear of speeding vehicles, the freedom that open spaces offered are now stories told by the older generations. The way cities are…

Bad news for Earth: Hot leaves can’t catch carbon from air

Leafy canopies play a crucial role in regulating the global climate – and mitigating global warming. But, as a recent study shows, rising temperatures will severely affect the ability of tropical forests to photosynthesise. This, in turn, will hinder their…

From ground zero: Human decisions worsened climate tragedy in Wayanad

Even as the challenge of rehabilitating the landslide-affected looms large, the disaster raises other issues. Once a dense forest, Wayanad now has tea and coffee plantations, tourist resorts, road projects through the mountain ranges, and mono-culture crops like rubber whose…

1.5 degrees Celsius lifestyles and the city

For cities, addressing the lifestyle choices of their inhabitants is not merely a luxury but an imperative. By framing 1.5C lifestyles in appealing and attractive ways, cities can drive significant changes towards fostering a transformative future. Supporting urban garden initiatives…

India must lead the climate conversation on mitigation, with urgency

Climate change negotiations mean little unless India is prepared to commit to phasing out fossil fuels and evolve a clear framework on mitigation. The annual UN Conference of Parties this year, or COP28, included the phrase “transitioning away” from fossil…

Climate and health: Historic COP28 declaration but India has miles to go

Climate change has wreaked havoc with people’s health all over the world for decades but this theme got its due space at the annual climate summit, the UN Conference of Parties, only in December 2023. As climate impact intensifies and…

Pakistan’s women struggle to make voices heard in Climate Change conversations

The impact of climate-induced catastrophes doubles in Pakistani women as they are left out of the decision-making policies. Heat waves and floods have battered the country with greater intensity each passing year. Women living in informal settlements in Karachi, one…

Women move the narrative from victims to agents of change

At a time when extreme weather events are causing damage and destruction around the world, women are silently turning climate crusaders in their communities and leading mitigation or adaptation measures. Women are affected disproportionately more and in different ways than…

Brace for impact: Brutal heat due to unsustainable urbanisation will wallop the urban poor

Extreme weather events including intense heat waves, among other manifestations of Climate Change, were flagged off years ago in the reports by scientists and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The intensity and frequency of heat waves increased this…

Scorching heat waves demand a review of Ahmedabad’s urban development model

Ahmedabad had a rude wake-up call after an intense heat wave claimed 1,344 lives in May 2010 and it responded with the country’s first Heat Action Plan to mitigate the impact of high and rising temperature on people and economy.…