CATEGORIES

‘JOHN KERRY IS SCARED OF FLOODGATES OF LITIGATIONS ON ACCEPTING LOSS AND DAMAGE’

Loss and damage financing has seen little progress since the signing of the 2015 Paris Agreement,according to FARHANA YAMIN, adviser to the Climate Vulnerable Forum, a partnership of 55 countries highly threatened by climate change. In an interview with AVANTIKA GOSWAMI, Yamin, who was also one of the key architects of the Paris deal, explains why rich countries are attempting to linger negotiations on loss and damage. Excerpts:

'TRANSLATION BETWEEN CHANGE IN WEATHER AND DAMAGES IS NOT LINEAR’

Attribution science has grown leaps and bounds to trace the link between climate change and weather events. But this link does not extend to estimating loss and damages, FRIEDERIKE OTTO, climate scientist at Grantham Institute of Climate Change and the Environment, Imperial College London, tells AKSHIT SANGOMLA. Excerpts:

HIDDEN COSTS

Estimations of loss and damage after weather events do not account for non-economic consequences

‘AFTER FANI, WE FOCUSED ON DISASTER-RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE’

Odisha, one of the most climate-vulnerable states in India, is hit by numerous extreme weather events every year. Cyclone Fani, which devastated the state in 2019, is one such event that forced Odisha to mount a post-disaster needs assessment. This multi-sector assessment on loss and damage provided new insights on building back better, GYANARANJAN DAS, executive director, Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA), tells SEEMA PRASAD. Excerpts:

Collateral casualty

Rise in cardiac ailments in India hints at the role of COVID-19, but in absence of long-term studies there are no definitive trends

Evolutionary Thrust

HUMAN EVOLUTION

Cultivated idea

The potential of urban agriculture in alleviating food insecurity in cities requires holistic policy support from governments

‘We need to put down oroblem animals for wildlife conservation’

A VETERINARIAN WHO COMES OUT FROM THE COLLEGE DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO SHOOT. HOW IS HE GOING TO TRANQUILISE A TIGER? WE HAVE HAD WORKSHOPS TO TEACH PERSONNEL HOW TO HANDLE A WEAPON, EVEN HOW TO WALK IN THE FOREST. THIS IS TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND CANNOT BE GLEANED FROM INTERNET OR FROM READING A BOOK

Organic reinforcement

Direct procurement and cold storages are key to promote organic farming of fruits, vegetables

A timely fix

India’s lone home-grown crop simulation model can now forecast climate impact on farm yield in real time

Accelerated breeding

Bisohenol A, a chemical used for softening plastics, shortens the mosquito life cycle and leads to population explosion

India patently way behind on 5G

Policy blocks and poor vision have held up 5G in India, while China’s breakthroughs are helping to set global standards

PANDEMIC CONTINUUM

Two livestock viruses have spread across India in an unprecedented manner this year—lumpy skin disease and African swine fever. With changing climate, new infectious diseases will emerge, while existing ones will Ne spread to new areas and sirike with greater severity, like these two have. Such outbreaks have harsh economic and food security implications, and can pose a major threat to human health. The world has not recovered from the previous virus that jumped from animals to humans. A report by SHAGUN from the worst-hit state of Rajasthan and SNIGDHA DAS in Delhi

Chronic floods threaten Niger delta

THE COMMUNITIES living in the oil-rich Niger Delta have been devastated by recurring floods. The lack of effort to safeguard these communities or help them adapt to the changing weather conditions has left people vulnerable and helpless.

Mars Glaciers Were Slowed By Fast Drainage And Weak Gravity, Scientists Suggest

Mars may be a freeze-dried planet now, but once, it was supposedly (almost) another Earth, with flowing water that froze into hulking mountains of ice.

Mysterious Mineral On Mars

Planetary scientists from Rice University, NASA's Johnson Space Center and the California Institute of Technology have an answer to a mystery that's puzzled the Mars research community since NASA's Curiosity rover discovered a mineral called tridymite in Gale Crater in 2016.

Ice And Dust Ladder On Mars

The image of ice and dust layers on Mars from an orbiting NASA spacecraft may provide a window into the complex, waterfilled history of the Red Planet, a new study suggests.

Aliens Hovering Over Ukraine?

Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFOs as popularly called, have become an object of public discussion, with several countries going the uncanny phenomenon.

Technology restores cell, organ function in pigs after death

Within minutes of the final heartbeat, a cascade of biochemical events triggered by a lack of blood flow, oxygen, and nutrients begins to destroy a body's cells and organs.

Iran Salt Mountains- Salt Domes

Iran is full of many wonders. One of these is the Salt Mountains.

Hidden Forests Found Deep Beneath The Ocean Cover Twice The Area of India

Amazon, Borneo, Congo, Daintree. We know the names of many of the world's largest or most famous rainforests.

First Medical Amputation-human organ cut first, evidence found

If the hands and feet of the body are damaged, it is cut off. But do you know when a person's hand or leg was cut off for the first time?

Nutrient fodder enrichment through crop biofortification

India has largest livestock population in the world, but almost the entire feed requirement is met from poor quality feed resources that lead to declined productivity.

Purple Tomatoes, Rich In Health Protecting Anthocyanins

Scientists have expressed genes from snapdragon in tomatoes to grow purple tomatoes high in health-protecting anthocyanins.

Project Cheetah

Hunted to extinction in India by 1952, the big cat is now being reintroduced in the country. Will the world's first intercontinental translocation of a carnivore in the wild work?

Paris Syndrome

Paris Syndrome manifests itself differently in different people, but amongst the most common symptoms are acute delusions, hallucinations, dizziness, sweating, and feelings of persecution

Chinese Scientists create world's first cloned wild Arctic wolf 'Maya'

Beijing-based gene firm on 19 Sept 2022 announced the debut of the world's first cloned wild arctic wolf via video, 100 days after its birth in a Beijing lab.

Terrible explosion in the Baltic Sea

The Nord Stream, Ta natural gas pipeline system in the Baltic Sea, has burst.

Strong start

With free tuition and access to sanitary pads, a non-profit in Prayagraj provides children in low-income areas a chance to complete their education

Moderna strikes with a new lawsuit

Moderna is trying to be gatekeeper for the mRNA platform for future drug development, raising monopolistic fears