"The recent improvement again shows how powerful the cleansing effect of the monsoon can be," said Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director (Research and Advocacy) at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) as reported by TOI.
In an interview with India Today, Sunita Narain, Director General of the Centre for Science and Environment, discussed the climate crisis and the recent surge in tree fall incidents across major Indian cities highlights a severe failure in urban planning and civic governance. Cities like Mumbai and Delhi are witnessing unprecedented damage, with thousands of trees falling due to rampant concretisation and archaic forestry rules that prevent essential scientific pruning.
India has recorded 5,25,627 fire alerts so far in 2026, the second-highest annual total since 2012, according to Global Nature Watch (formerly Global Forest Watch), the World Resources Institute’s forest monitoring platform. An analysis by Down To Earth magazine found that fire activity in the first two months of the year ran more than 80 per cent above the average of the past decade, with fires growing both more frequent and more intense. In the four weeks to early July 2026, Telangana recorded the highest number of fire alerts of any Indian region tracked by Global Nature Watch’s rolling dashboard, 14 in total, accounting for 21 per cent of alerts detected across India in that period. The figure shows a short-term, region-specific reading rather than the national annual trend, on which Odisha and the north-eastern States remain the most fire-affected over the long term. Severe forest fires have long been an annual reality in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. This year has also brought serious outbreaks across central and north-eastern India.
In the shrinking coastlines of the Sundarbans, fishermen do not return to the delta, for the embankment near their village has breached for the third time in five years. They do not leave because they wanted to, they didn’t have a choice anymore. Amidst coastal erosion, natural disasters, water contamination and saline soil and water, the people of Sundarbans follow what is slowly becoming a familiar route, to move north, to move away into a cluster of tarpaulin and corrugated iron that is called, on no official map, home. There is no government record of why they left. There is no scheme designed for what happens next. India’s climate refugees are no longer a projection. They are already here, here in the jhuggi clusters of Delhi, in the construction sites outside Pune, in the seasonal labour camps that appear and disappear on the edges of cities that have no interest in counting them. They have arrived from the Sundarbans and from Marathwada, from the flood plains of Assam and from the parched interiors of Bundelkhand. What connects these geographies is not merely ecological catastrophe, it is a political economy that has, for decades, extracted from these landscapes without returning to them, and then turned away when the bill arrived in the form of displacement. The Geography of Expulsion The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) recorded 5.4 million displacements in India in 2024, the highest in twelve years. Globally, 99.5 percent of disaster-induced displacements in the same period were linked to climate-related extreme weather. These are not abstract numbers. They correspond to specific embankments that broke, to specific monsoons that did not come, to farms where the borewell went dry and the loan did not get repaid. The Centre for Science and Environment found that India experienced extreme weather events on 314 out of 365 days in 2024, killing nearly 3,000 people and destroying two million hectares of cropland. When land fails, people leave. They do not leave for opportunity; they leave because staying has become impossible. The Slum Is Not a Recovery The health consequences of climate displacement do not begin on arrival. They accumulate from the moment the decision to leave is made; in the weeks of distress migration without food security or medical access, in the physical deterioration of travel undertaken without money. What awaits is a slum. Not metaphorically, literally. Metal-roofed, unplanned, overcrowded, without reliable water or sanitation. A 2024 survey by People’s Courage International found that heat and excess rain are the primary climate stressors facing internal migrants at their destinations, reported by 77 and 59 percent of respondents respectively. The informal settlement is not a place of recovery from ecological disaster; it is a continuation of it by other means. The same bodies that fled waterlogging in the delta now live beside open drains. The same lungs that breathed sea air now breathe particulate matter. There is also the subtler problem of immunological exposure, that is, the transition from a rural disease environment to an urban one, encountering local variants of dengue or typhoid against which origin-area immunity offers little protection. And then there is what researchers are beginning to call solastalgia: the particular grief that comes not from leaving home, but from watching home be destroyed. A 2021 study by researchers at the Central University of South Bihar found that rural communities experiencing climate change in the form of erratic monsoon, heatwave, loss of particular bird and tree species, reported emotional distress, reduced self-worth, and severed cultural and religious practices as direct consequences. This is not sentiment. A 2025 scoping review in BMJ Mental Health found consistent associations between solastalgia and depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The quiet epidemic in India’s climate settlements is not only physical. The Architecture of Exclusion India’s welfare architecture is territorial. Its benefits are tied to addresses, to ration cards registered in districts that the migrant has left, to identity documents that prove belonging to a place they may never return to. When they move, the entitlements do not follow. Meanwhile, less than five percent of India’s total climate budget is allocated to relocation or livelihood diversification, the very interventions that would address displacement before it becomes a health crisis. Only 35 percent of urban local bodies meet the AMRUT water supply benchmarks. The cities receiving millions of climate migrants are not equipped to receive them, and the national budget has not decided that equipping them is a priority. The Fix Exist, The Will Does Not! The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) noted in 2025 that migrants drive India’s development but are systematically excluded from programs designed to prevent climate-induced shocks. This is not an administrative oversight. It is a consequence of treating migrants as labour inputs rather than as citizens with rights that travel with them. A genuine response requires portability that actually functions; health entitlements, ration access and social security across state lines, without a bureaucratic queue. It requires primary care in informal settlements that do not ask for a local address. It requires legal recognition that climate displacement is a category of harm distinct from economic migration. There are approximately 14 million people living in internal displacement in India today, according to the IDMC, without Ayushman Bharat coverage in the cities where they now live, without legal recognition as displaced persons, without recourse if the corrugated iron roofs they sleep under give them heatstroke in May. They are a present political and environmental protection failure. More will arrive with every monsoon season that does not come, every summer that runs past what the land can hold. The question is not whether the state will face this. It already is. The question is whether it will choose to see it.
Experts have welcomed the inclusion of the steel industry, one of India’s largest industrial emitters, calling it a key step in operationalising the country’s domestic carbon market. According to the Centre for Science and Environment, the initial targets are expected to encourage cost-effective efficiency improvements, while future compliance cycles could drive long-term investments in low-carbon technologies. As the world’s second-largest steel producer, India’s transition toward cleaner steel production is expected to play a crucial role in shaping the sector’s future emissions.
Parth Kumar, Programme Manager, Sustainable Industrialisation Unit, CSE, says the initial targets are likely to drive improvements through energy efficiency and other relatively low-cost operational measures. The proposed new greenhouse gas emission intensity targets for the iron and steel sector under the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) are expected to accelerate industrial decarbonisation. However, the real test will be whether they can influence the long-term investment decisions of industry players. India is transitioning from the Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) Scheme to the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), marking a significant shift from energy efficiency to comprehensive carbon competitiveness. The green targets This evolution enables industries to move beyond merely reducing energy consumption and focus on optimising greenhouse gas emissions through the adoption of low-carbon technologies and a roadmap for shifting the sector's emissions trajectory. The draft emission targets for the iron and steel sector come after extensive discussions and multiple rounds of back-and-forth between industry players and the government. Parth Kumar, Programme Manager, Sustainable Industrialisation Unit, CSE, says the initial targets are likely to drive improvements through energy efficiency and other relatively low-cost operational measures. “However, the real test will be whether future compliance cycles begin to influence long-term investment decisions and accelerate the adoption of low-carbon technologies that bring about a deeper, structural shift in the sector's emissions trajectory,” adds Kumar.
An RTI-based study by the Centre for Science and Environment found that less than 1% of NCAP expenditure was directed towards tackling industrial emissions, with the bulk of spending focused on controlling road dust. Uality has deteriorated after showing signs of improvement. The city’s annual PM10 concentration rose by 15% in 2025-26 even as nearly Rs 55 crore released under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) remained unspent. Pollution levels remain nearly three times higher than the national annual standard of 60 µg/m³ as the annual PM10 levels rose to 176 µg/m³ in 2025-26 from 153 µg/m³ in 2024-25, reversing the gains recorded over the previous few years — although the city’s annual PM10 concentration has declined by around 23% compared with 2020-21, when it stood at 229 µg/m³. According to govt data, accessed by TOI, the city has utilised Rs 84.3 crore of the Rs 138.9 crore released under the Centre’s flagship clean air programme, leaving Rs 54.6 crore — or about 39% of the allocation — unspent. Experts said that it is important to assess how these funds contributed to reductions in PM10 levels and identify the measures that delivered the most impact. This can help strengthen future implementation by ensuring resources are directed towards interventions that provide long-term improvements in air quality. Faridabad has remained a non-attainment city under NCAP since the programme was launched, having consistently failed to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The city’s annual PM10 trend has remained uneven over the past six years. Concentrations declined from 229 µg/m³ in 2020-21 to 209 µg/m³ in Against the backdrop of the spike in the annual PM10, experts say the focus must shift from short-term dust suppression to sustained reduction of emissions from major pollution sources such as transport, construction, industries and waste burning. Previous analyses have shown that a large share of NCAP expenditure in Faridabad has gone towards dust mitigation measures such as mechanised road sweeping, water sprinkling, black-topping and paving of roads. An RTI-based study by the Centre for Science and Environment found that less than 1% of NCAP expenditure was directed towards tackling industrial emissions, with the bulk of spending focused on controlling road dust. A senior Municipal Corporation of Faridabad official said the city’s strategy has focused primarily on road dust because industrial emissions have reduced over the years. “Most industries in Faridabad have already shifted out of the NCR. That is why spending has been higher on traffic management and preventing dust resuspension. NCAP funds have also been used for EV charging infrastructure, capacity building of officials, public awareness campaigns and afforestation,” the official said.
पूर्वी दिल्ली की संजय झील में पिछले महीने हजारों मछलियों की मौत के बाद अब हालात तेज़ी से सुधर रहे हैं। एलजी टी एस संधू के निर्देश के बाद संबंधित एजेंसियां लगातार झील के पुनर्जीवन पर काम कर रही हैं। झील में ताजे पानी की आपूर्ति बढ़ने के बाद यहां फिर से जलीय जीव दिखाई देने लगे हैं। साथ ही, स्थानीय और प्रवासी पक्षियों की आवाजाही भी बढ़ी है, जिससे झील के पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र के धीरे-धीरे सामान्य होने के संकेत मिल रहे हैं। पिछले महीने झील में बड़ी संख्या में गंबूशिया (मॉस्किटोफिश), तिलापिया और कार्प जैसी मीठे पानी की मछलियां मृत अवस्था में पानी की सतह पर तैरती मिली थीं। ठहरे हुए और प्रदूषित पानी के कारण यह दृश्य बेहद चिंताजनक था। कम जलस्तर और गंदे पानी की वजह से झील की स्थिति बिगड़ गई थी, जिसके बाद यह मामला चर्चा में आ गया। विशेषज्ञों के अनुसार, मछलियों की सामूहिक मौत के पीछे भीषण गर्मी के कारण पानी में ऑक्सीजन की कमी, रासायनिक प्रदूषण का बढ़ा स्तर और लंबे समय तक ताजे पानी की आपूर्ति नहीं होना प्रमुख कारण रहे। पानी की क्वॉलिटी सुधरी, लौटी रौनक इसके बाद एजेंसियों ने झील में पानी की आपूर्ति बढ़ाने के साथ कई सुधारात्मक कदम उठाए, जिससे पानी की क्वॉलिटी में सुधार आया है। सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट (सीएसई) के विकास चौधरी का कहना है कि पानी की क्वॉलिटी बेहतर होते ही झील में फिर से रौनक लौटने लगी है। उन्होंने कहा कि भविष्य में ऐसी घटनाओं से बचने के लिए नियमित जल प्रवाह, प्रदूषण पर नियंत्रण और पानी की क्वॉलिटी की लगातार निगरानी जरूरी है। पांच हजार पौधे लगाने की तैयारी हाल ही में एलजी एलजी टी एस संधू ने भी संजय झील का दौरा कर पुनर्जीवन कार्यों की समीक्षा की थी। उन्होंने पहले चरण में झील से खरपतवार और शैवाल हटाने, जियोटेक्सटाइल तकनीक से तटबंधों और ढलानों को मजबूत करने तथा मरम्मत का काम तेजी से पूरा करने के निर्देश दिए। इसके अलावा झील परिसर में पांच हजार देशी प्रजातियों के पौधे लगाने और मिट्टी की क्वॉलिटी सुधारने के लिए विशेष पौधरोपण की योजना पर भी काम शुरू किया गया है।
For Pawan Kumar, an auto driver in Daryaganj, every electric auto on Delhi’s roads evokes memories of another transition that reshaped the city’s transport system over two decades ago. Now 65 and driving an electric vehicle (EV), Mr. Kumar still remembers the long queues outside compressed natural gas (CNG) stations, the scramble for conversion kits, and the uncertainty that followed when autorickshaws were ordered to switch from petrol to CNG almost overnight. As Delhi embarks on another clean fuel transition, this time towards EVs, many drivers who lived through the CNG shift wonder whether history will repeat itself. However, unlike the CNG rollout, experts say, the shift to EVs is being implemented in phases, with a rudimentary charging infrastructure in place and plans to expand it further, which could hopefully make the transition less abrupt than the one many drivers still remember. The sudden move Delhi’s transition to CNG, undertaken to combat severe air pollution, followed a public interest litigation filed in the Supreme Court by environmental lawyer M.C. Mehta in 1996. In 1998, the court directed a series of measures to curb vehicular pollution, including replacing pre-1990 autos and taxis with clean-fuel vehicles by March 31, 2000. “No one said moving to a cleaner fuel was bad, but the move was a bit sudden. There weren’t enough supply stations, and the number of vehicles that could run on CNG was far fewer than required,” Mr. Kumar said, recalling spending at least eight to 10 hours standing in queues to refill his vehicle with gas. Rajpal, a 60-year-old auto driver at New Delhi railway station, went through a similar experience. “The government told us to convert, but nobody thought about how a driver earning daily wages would arrange the money. The conversion kit was expensive, and workshops gave us dates weeks or even months later. During that time, many autos stayed off the road,” he said. “Drivers and passengers suffered because the infrastructure wasn’t ready when the rules came into force,” he added. By 2001, the transition had gained pace, with 30,000 autorickshaws running on CNG and plans to introduce 20,000 more. “The Supreme Court had directed Indraprastha Gas Limited to set up 80 CNG supply stations. There was a huge mismatch between supply and demand, which resulted in long queues at the stations and delays in refuelling,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy), Centre for Science and Environment. ‘Scaling up’ According to the experts, the three-wheeler segment has already moved significantly towards electrification, and they are optimistic about the transition. “The Central government’s VAHAN portal shows that of all three-wheelers sold in India, more than half are electric, including e-rickshaws and e-autos. Delhi already has about 2,500 charging points, and these EVs can be charged at home. All the government has to do is scale up the public charging and battery-swapping infrastructure as swiftly as possible,” Ms. Roychowdhury said. Sarika Panda Bhatt, co-founder of Raahgiri Foundation, echoed Ms. Roychowdhury’s views.
The numbers speak for themselves. Two and three-wheelers make up about two-thirds of the vehicular population in the city. Transitioning them to EVs means eliminating internal combustion engines from these two segments, says Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director of Research and Advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a New Delhi-based think tank.
Amid the scorching heat, the arrival of the monsoon comes as a welcome relief, however, for millions living in Indian smart cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, this time the rains are making the weather feel cooler. Instead, many people are experiencing sticky, uncomfortable conditions that can feel even more exhausting-including the heat. While rainfall may lower the air temperature, it also increases the amount of moisture in the air. High humidity makes it difficult for sweat to evaporate from the skin, reducing the body's natural cooling mechanism. As a result, people feel much hotter than the temperature shown on a weather app. Delhi's heat index has regularly crossed 46-50 degrees Celsius during July and August in recent years, according to a policy brief by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), even when the actual...
The monsoon has reached northern India since, but rainfall alone does not guarantee thermal comfort. Heat index records from 2021 to 2025 show that Delhi often felt hotter than its air temperature due to high humidity. In July-August, the heat index often exceeded 46-50°C, causing oppressive conditions. This discomfort extended the duration and intensity of high electricity consumption as cooling systems, mainly air conditioners, worked harder and longer, according to a policy brief from the Centre for Science and Environment last September.
The monsoon has reached northern India since, but rainfall alone does not guarantee thermal comfort. Heat index records from 2021 to 2025 show that Delhi often felt hotter than its air temperature due to high humidity. In July-August, the heat index often exceeded 46-50°C, causing oppressive conditions. This discomfort extended the duration and intensity of high electricity consumption as cooling systems, mainly air conditioners, worked harder and longer, according to a policy brief from the Centre for Science and Environment last September.
सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट की सितंबर की एक पॉलिसी ब्रीफ बताती है कि जब भी मौसम में नमी ज्यादा होती है तो कूलिंग सिस्टम खासकर एयर कंडीशनर ज्यादा मेहनत करते हैं, ऐसे मौसम में कूलर और पंखे फेल हो जाते हैं. ऐसे में लंबे समय तक और बड़ी संख्या एसी चलने से बिजली की बढ़ती मांग एक और बड़ा संकट बनकर सामने आती है. पर्याप्त इलेक्ट्रिसिटी न मिलने से भी लोगों को गर्मी का सितम ज्यादा झेलना पड़ रहा है.
Rainfall lowers the air temperature, but it also increases the amount of moisture in the atmosphere. This high humidity makes it harder for sweat to evaporate from the skin, weakening the body's natural cooling mechanism. As a result, people continue to feel uncomfortably hot even when temperatures drop after rainfall. According to a September policy brief by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), Delhi's heat index frequently crossed 46-50°C during July and August between 2021 and 2025, despite lower actual temperatures. The humid conditions also kept electricity demand high as air conditioners ran for longer hours. The CSE recommends stronger heat action plans with passive cooling measures such as better insulation, shading, natural ventilation and reflective surfaces, along with cooling shelters for vulnerable communities. Experts also suggest increasing green spaces while ensuring adequate airflow, expanding reliable electricity access and improving hospital preparedness for both daytime and nighttime heat. Some cities have already begun adapting. Thane has updated its heat action plan to account for humidity and warm nights, while Bhubaneswar is developing a digital climate-risk dashboard to map heat stress at the building level. As climate change reshapes weather patterns, experts say tracking humidity and the heat
The monsoon has arrived in India, but multiple cities continue to feel the heat. Whether it's Delhi, Hyderabad or Mumbai, the rains, instead of bringing cooler weather and a light breeze, appear to have brought warm, sticky, and uncomfortable conditions. What is the heat index? It is what the temperature feels like to the human body when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature, according to the National Weather Service. Basically, it’s what your body feels the temperature is. When there is high moisture in the air due to rainfall, it makes it difficult for sweat to evaporate from the skin. This means people feel warmer in humid conditions as the body’s natural cooling mechanism does not work properly. Why is this happening? During monsoon, high humidity significantly increases the heat index even if air temperatures are lower. In the months of July and August, Delhi often records heat index between 46-50°C, as per a study by the Centre of Science and Environment in September.