Human history is a story of humanity's struggle to understand, adapt to, and transform the natural world. Early societies depended directly on forests, rivers, fertile soil, and seasonal rainfall for survival. Over centuries, scientific discoveries, agricultural development, industrialisation, and technological innovation expanded human capabilities. Cities grew, transport networks connected dist…
Packing winds of up to 165 mph after passing south of Guam, Champi highlights the growing challenges of forecasting rapidly intensifying storms, protecting vulnerable island communities, and preparing for a more dangerous Pacific typhoon season The western Pacific has witnessed another extraordinary display of nature's power as Super Typhoon Champi intensified into a Category 5 equivalent storm s…
Food Security Under Pressure: El Niño, Fertiliser Risks and the Global 4F Crisis Food security is no longer only a question of how much grain a country produces. It also depends on weather, fuel prices, fertiliser availability, transport networks, international finance, trade policy, and the ability of families to afford essential food. These forces are closely connected. A disruption in one area…
Antarctica’s sea ice has undergone a striking reversal over the past decade. After decades when winter ice around the continent generally expanded slightly, the trend changed sharply after 2015. In 2026, Antarctic sea ice reached its annual winter maximum on September 14, covering approximately 17.59 million square kilometres, or 6.79 million square miles. That was the third-lowest winter maximum…
Climate change is no longer a distant environmental concern. It is increasingly becoming a question of livelihoods, food security, public health, economic stability and social justice. Rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, extreme weather events, melting glaciers and growing water stress are already affecting societies across the world. For India, the challenge is particularly signific…
Human civilisation is built upon the desire to overcome limitations. We construct bridges over rivers, fly across oceans, cultivate deserts and develop medicines against diseases. Laws created by human beings regulate how societies function, while science allows us to understand and sometimes manipulate the forces of nature. Yet there remains a fundamental boundary that civilisation cannot perman…
Water is one of the most fundamental requirements for human survival, agriculture, industry and ecological balance. In India, however, the availability of water is highly uneven across regions and seasons. Some areas receive abundant rainfall while others face prolonged droughts. Rivers frequently cross state boundaries, creating a situation where the interests of one state may directly affect an…
Switzerland is often imagined through its snow covered mountains, deep Alpine valleys and glaciers that have shaped the country's landscape, economy and identity for centuries. The white peaks of the Alps have long appeared almost permanent, part of a natural landscape that seems capable of outlasting generations. But the latest measurements from Switzerland's glacier monitoring network present a…
The Himalayas are often described as a natural wall separating the great powers of Asia. But in strategic terms, the mountains are becoming less of a barrier and more of a contested frontier. From the high-altitude deserts of Ladakh to the valleys of Arunachal Pradesh, from Nepal’s mountain corridors to Bhutan’s disputed frontier and Sikkim’s strategic passes, the Himalayan region is witnessing a…
A dramatic mountainside collapse in Nepal has captured the destructive force of the country's latest spell of extreme weather, with video showing a huge section of terrain breaking away and crashing into a river within seconds. The footage, recorded near Lete in Mustang district, shows debris rushing down the mountainside and plunging into the Kali Gandaki River as people watching from a distance…
