Ladakh’s arid winter: Cold desert will face short- & long-term repercussions, warn experts

Apricots have blossomed & insects seen in peak winter; the Zojila is motorable even as the Chader Trek has started later this year

India has 718 snow leopards; most of them live in unprotected areas: Centre

Government report emphasises need for a dedicated Snow Leopard Cell at Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun

No snow in paradise: See Kashmir’s dry winter in pictures

A dry winter spell is showcasing the impact of climate change in Kashmir. The once snow-capped locations lie bare this year, even during the …

Himalayan plunder: Experts fear frequent landslides, floods, cloudbursts in J&K following Joshimath crisis 

Unchecked construction, destruction of karewas and illegal riverbed mining pose threats to the region's ecology

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

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

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

A trashed valley: Kashmir needs to segregate its waste at source

Despite clear regulations and court interventions, local governments continue to ignore Kashmir’s municipal solid waste crisis

DTE Reportage: How Joshimath has rung alarm bells across India’s Himalayan states

Down To Earth tracks ground situations in Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal, Sikkim, Assam and Manipur

Kashmir’s harsh winter, a constant theme in its literature, does not exist anymore: Neerja Mattoo

Down To Earth talks to Kashmiri litterateur Neerja Mattoo as the Valley goes through the last days of Chillai Kalan this season  

Winter tourists buoy up Kashmir’s battered tourism sector

Tourist operators say next three months crucial as the government tries to resurrect the sector

Wettest May-June in decade hits Kashmir’s cherry growers hard

Farmers growing traditional varieties of cherries are facing more brunt of prolonged precipitation than those growing new varieties

Encroachment pushes Himalayan brown bears into Kashmir’s villages

Improper disposal of food waste means that the bears are straying more often into human-dominated areas

Warming Kashmir? Extreme events like current heatwave becoming more common, say experts

Srinagar recorded second hottest September day in 132 years this week; heatwave to last a week more

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 …

Why are nomads being evicted from Jammu and Kashmir?

Eviction drives come shortly after the J&K High Court declared the Roshni Act, allowed ownership of occupied government land …

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 …

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