THE devastating floods in Pakistan have once again ignited public debate on the necessity of new water reservoirs in the country. The proponents of Kalabagh Dam, including some prominent politicians, TV anchorpersons, and Punjab water engineers, hold that if Kalabagh dam had been built, we would not be facing the present disaster wreaked upon millions

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A high-level consultative meeting on the climate change impact in the southern slopes of the Eastern Himalayas concluded in Kathmandu today with a roadmap for the planning of activities leading up to the proposed ‘Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas – Bhutan 2011′. Delegates from the four participating countries – Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bhutan

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In the face of accelerated global warming, the glaciers in the Himalayas are retreating at a rapid pace leading to rapid accumulation of water in mountain-top lakes. These glacial lakes which form behind moraine or ice ‘dams’ can breach suddenly, leading to floods known as Glacial Lakes Outburst Flood (GLOF). Once breached, millions of cubic

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Charlie Walker, cultural counsellor and director programmes, British Council, India and Sri Lanka, will inaugurate the film-making workshop in the British Library on August 19. Sandeep Hans, PCS, director Technical Education, UT, Chandigarh and Walker will also inaugurate an exhibition titled Cartoons for Climate on the same day at the Government College of Art, Sector

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The report titled “The Himalayan Challenge – Water Security in Emerging Asia” brought out by Strategic Foresight Group has mentioned about the studies which indicate that the glaciers will be seriously affected by global warming and that the glacial melting will eventually reduce river flow in low season. The report further states that in the

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In the run-up to the Cancun climate summit later this year, leading decisions makers from the BRIC block –Brazil, India, Russia and China– will come together at a two-day meet starting in New Delhi on  to discuss legal issues surrounding climate change. The colloquium on “Climate Change Law and Governance in South Asia”, which aims

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A background paper on the subject has been published by TERI The Energy Resource Institute, New Delhi. Given is the brief background and major conclusions, where as it could be downloaded through given link. Background: Climate change is one of the all-encompassing global environmental changes likely to have deleterious effects on natural and human systems,

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From raging heat waves and wildfires to massive floods and building-swallowing sinkholes, 2010 is quickly becoming known as the year of ‘global weirding.’ While scientists generally agree that no single event can specifically be tied to the increase of emissions in the atmosphere, it’s hard to deny that changes are quickly happening on our planet,

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Finally, a weather person has mentioned the word “blocking” when talking about the heat and fires in Moscow. It’s a natural event as the world shifts from the warming trend of the 1990s to a cooling trend since 2000. Distortion of reality about global temperatures continues with warming claims while Western North America, most of

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Environmental woes as witnessed in Pakistan’s devastating floods threaten the unity of the nation, exacerbating the threat of Islamic extremists, a US government report said. The study prepared for US lawmakers warned that Pakistan’s ecological problems would likely get worse due to climate change, potentially inflaming tensions with nuclear-armed adversary India. The report said that

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Call it nature’s fury, the wrath of gods or the effect of climate change, the cloudburst in Leh will have a long-term impact on the relationship between man and nature. But what lessons can be drawn from the tragedy? It’s clearly a case of nature’s refusal to get overly humanised. Ladakh has witnessed colossal man-induced

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