Continued natural habitat loss increased the risk of future pandemics as humans expand their presence into ever closer contact with wild animals The average size of wildlife populations has plummeted more than two-thirds in less than 50 years because of deforestation and rampant overconsumption. Experts said on Thursday that the warning was to protect nature in order to save itself. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) annual Living Planet report, human activity has severely degraded three-quarters of all land and 40 percent of the Earth's oceans, an accelerating destruction of nature that will have untold consequences on health and livelihoods. “The global Living Planet Index continues to decline. It shows an average 68% decrease in population sizes of mammals, birds, amp...
Read MoreCategory: जलवायु परिवर्तन
Stories, news, features and articles about climate change and global warming
Snow trout, the iconic cold water fish species found in Himalayan rivers, would lose their habitat by 16 per cent in the next 30 years and by over 26 per cent by 2070, a new climate change study by the government’s Wildlife Institute of India has found. The study -- ‘Is There Always Space at The Top’-- was published in the ‘Ecological Indicators’, a journal of high international repute based at the Netherlands, on September 6. The study indicates that most of the lower altitude streams across the Himalayas would be rendered unsuitable for the existence of snow trout with the rise in temperatures. An ensemble of 72 statistical models across the Himalayas, the study -- authored by Wildlife Institute of India (WII) scientists Aashna Sharma, Vineet Kumar Dubey, Jeyaraj Antony Joh...
Read MoreGlaciers in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh are melting at a "significant" rate, according to a first-of-its-kind study which used satellite data to find that over 1,200 glaciers in the Himalayan region saw an annual reduction in mass of 35 centimetres (cm) on average between 2000 and 2012. The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, was carried over the Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh region, including areas across the Line of Control (LoC) and Line of Actual Control (LAC), and in all 12,243 glaciers were studied for thickness and mass changes. "In general, it was observed that the glaciers in the Pir Panjal range are melting at the higher rate—more than one metre per year—while as the glaciers in the Karakoram range are melting relatively at slower rate, around 10 cms per yea...
Read MoreImperative to rebuild the tourism sector in a safe, equitable and climate friendly manner
As part of the wider UN response to COVID-19, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres released on Tuesday a thematic brief on the impact the pandemic has had on tourism. Drawing on the latest data from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the lead author of the publication, it warns that as many as 100 million direct tourism jobs are at risk, and the massive drop in export revenues from tourism could reduce global GDP by as much as 2.8%. The brief stresses that tourism is an essential pillar of the SDGs and the most vulnerable workers and nations are at greatest risk. Tourism has been among the hardest hit of all sectors by COVID-19 and no country has been unaffected, with restrictions on travel and a sudden drop in consumer demand leading to an unprecedented fall in international...
Read MoreCarbon outflux from Earth’s interior to the exosphere through volcanic eruptions, fault zones, and geothermal systems contribute to the global carbon cycle that effects short and long term climate of the Earth. Himalaya hosts about 600 geothermal springs, commonly known as hot springs, having varied temperature and chemical conditions. Their role in regional and global climate, as well as the process of tectonic driven gas emission, needs to be considered while estimating emissions to the carbon cycle and thereby to global warming. Hot spring near Yamunotri Indian Himalayan geothermal field hosts about 340 geothermal springs in natural as well as artesian condition that eject hot waters and volatiles with varied temperature and chemical composition. These sites provide an opportunit...
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