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 …
Changing climes
Climate change is a very slow process, notoriously difficult to understand. Is it happening in India? Residents of some Himalayan towns, where …
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 …
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
Kashmir: After floods, focus shifts to relief
With crops lost to floods and the government continuing to work at a slow pace, several believe that the worst is yet to come
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
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 …
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 …
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 …