A cherry blossom festival boasting a highly Instagrammable view of Japan’s Mount Fuji has been cancelled after residents complained of overtourism fuelled by the weak yen.The city of Fujiyoshida, in central Japan’s Yamanashi region, said Tuesday that the weeks-long event attracting around 200,000 people will be called off this year because “the quiet lives of…
PARIS: In an ironic twist, lower air pollution during Covid lockdowns fuelled an unprecedented surge in the powerful greenhouse gas methane in the early 2020s, a study said Thursday.Methane levels rose at a record pace in the wake of the pandemic as the super pollutant’s main natural “cleaning agent” weakened during that period, the research…
NICOSIA: The European Union’s climate commissioner on Friday announced a continentwide force of 300 firefighters to battle wildfires, after Europe faced its worst year for wildfires in 2025, which a recent study said was intensified by climate change. EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said Friday the “rapid reaction force” will be made up of firefighters…
Gurgaon: Cracking down on illegal mining on private land, possibly spilling over to the eco sensitive Aravali belt, Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Charkhi Dadri mining officer and collector to conduct site inspections. They must file personal affidavits placing verified facts on record, while also ensuring compliance with mining rules, environmental clearance…
NEW DELHI: Researchers have confirmed the discovery of a new species of dragonfly, Lyriothemis keralensis, from the low-lying coastal regions of Kerala. Commonly called the Slender Bombardier, the species was formally identified after more than ten years of research, according to news agency PTI.The breakthrough study was carried out by a team led by Dr…
NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Monday said pollution control requires sustained, year-round action, inaugurating six new Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) stations to expand real-time tracking of air quality across the capital.She also flagged off 100 ‘Vayu Rakshak’ vehicles for stricter monitoring, and enforcement of pollution control norms.Addressing an event…
NEW DELHI: At a time when India is working on its 2035 climate action targets, the govt’s think tank, Niti Aayog, on Monday released a roadmap to achieve the country’s ‘net zero’ emission goal by 2070, noting that the transition will need cumulative investment requirements of $22.7 trillion, around $500 billion annually, to finance several…
CAQM signs MoU to reduce dust pollution via urban road redevelopment NEW DELHI: The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and adjoining areas on Wednesday issued rules for road-owning and maintenance agencies for deployment and utilisation of mechanized road sweeping machines to reduce air pollution caused by road dust, officials said.The commission noted…
Faridabad: Parts of nearly 25 acres of sandy Aravali foothills in Faridabad’s Kot village have been freshly levelled, with portions of a natural water channel buried under soil and trees cut.Work is taking place on ‘shamlat deh’, or village common land, where any occupation, alteration or change of land use is prohibited. Such land, according…
MUMBAI: Mumbai on Friday recorded its fifth highest Air Quality Index (AQI) of February at 130, categorised as ‘moderate’ by the Central Pollution Control Board’s SAMEER app.This was recorded in the evening based on data collected from various monitoring stations across the city, the CPCB-run official AQI monitoring application showed.Earlier this month, AQI had touched…
