What triggers desertification in India
A low down on the most important causes behind desertification in every state of the country. Addressing these will be critical to meet targets …
Path lab in a tablet
Kanav Kahol, an expert on biomedical informatics, quit his teaching job in the US and came back to India to create a technology that would …
Maize Mania
Maize has become the queen of cereals, courted by state governments, seed companies, farmers and the feedstock and starch industries as the crop …
The panchayat outrage
It was a vote for self-governance, not self-determination. No panchayat election in the country ever created as much hype as that of Jammu and …
No more symbolism - There will be peace in Kashmir
Unfortunately, the very institutions that profess this belief are the ones blocking its realisation. Consider the recent prime ministerial visit …
With state under lockdown, J&K FAC issues record forest clearances
Since August 5, the Forest Advisory Committee of the state has cleared 125 projects on forest land in just three meetings
‘Climate crisis a universal reality’: Heaviest snowfall since 2005 halts life in J&K
Widespread damage, disruption reported from several parts of the UT; L-G declares heavy snowfall a state-specific natural calamity
Wetlands in Kashmir shrinking due to urbanisation: Study
An analysis of land cover data from 2016 shows that the catchment of Narkara wetland in near Srinagar is now predominantly an urban setting, with …
Impact of climate change on Kashmir’s mushroom pickers
Unpredictable weather patterns, early springs, and above-average temperatures have left gucchi mushroom hunters in distress, facing another …
Jantar Mantar Protests: Why are Ladakhis demanding statehood?
The people of Leh and Kargil want to protect their homeland’s fragile ecology; they also want constitutional safeguards under the …
Kashmir: a treasure of forest herbs
Many of these herbs have medicinal value and are used in the treatment of both common and serious ailments
Of barren hills and barrel smoke
Militancy has destroyed much more than peace in Kashmir. Kalashnikov-trotting extremists are ravaging the last green frontiers of the 'heaven on …
Silent saviour: This man is trying to save Kashmir’s majestic chinars, all on his own
For most of the last decade, Abdul Ahad Khan’s initiative has added much to the Band Wadar forest in Kupwara
Udhampur gets earthquake observatory
New seismological observatory will help further strengthen the region’s earthquake monitoring
Why Jammu-Srinagar national highway is so landslide prone
Most of the hills around Jammu-Srinagar highway were rocky and barren and any disturbance — natural or anthropogenic (man-made) — …
Jammu and Kashmir farmers suffering due to rain, snow and lockdown
Unseasonal weather has destroyed apples in Kashmir and paddy in Jammu even as government promises to procure crops have rung hollow
Dog bites decrease in Srinagar but the fear remains
Though there has been a slight decrease in the incidents of dog-bites in recent years in Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital, cynophobia …
National Saffron Mission has failed due to government insensitivity, say growers
The ailing industry was badly hit by last year’s floods which damaged saffron worth Rs 668 crore
Why is Sonam Wangchuk fasting at -40 degree Celsius?
Wangchuk wants to educate not just the world but also the people of Ladakh about the looming threat of the climate crisis in the region
Daily Court Digest: Major environment orders (October 18, 2022)
Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal
Have warmer Februaries and early flowering come to stay in Kashmir?
Premature bud breaking caused by early spring will impact thousands of people whose livelihoods depend on Kashmir's horticulture
Jammu’s Chipko moment: Green activists protest plan to chop 38,000 trees in Raika
The activists highlighted how the proposal was rushed through government departments for permissions
Walnut trees: Kashmir lockdown’s other victim
Walnut trees have been the strange casualty of Kashmir’s transition from a state to a Union Territory
Is climate change affecting the migrations of Kashmir’s pastoralists?
With summer coming early to Jammu this year, Gujjars and Bakerwals started migrating to higher pastures early only to find the snows had still …
Kashmir: Why the Hangul’s future still hangs in the balance?
As the state readies itself for results from this year’s census of the critically endangered deer species, Down To Earth looks at the …