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Visakhapatnam Steel Plant Had Abysmal Safety Track Record in 2012: CSE

The 2012 accident at the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), which claimed 19 lives, had highlighted serious concerns over safety standards at the plant, according to a report released by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) after the incident. Following Monday’s accident, in which eight persons were killed, trade union leaders alleged that safety standards at the plant had not improved despite the raising of such concerns more than a decade ago.

Kolkata Report Flags Bengal Infrastructure Divide

West Bengal’s progress in agriculture and public health is being undermined by mounting environmental stress and weak civic infrastructure, according to a new national assessment that has reignited concerns over the sustainability of growth in one of India’s most densely populated states.The latest edition of the State of India’s Environment 2026 assessment places Bengal among the stronger performers in agricultural resilience and healthcare outreach, yet ranks the state significantly lower in environmental governance and public infrastructure. The findings point to widening gaps between social welfare gains and the systems needed to sustain urban and industrial growth over the long term.The report, prepared using government datasets across states and Union Territories, evaluated performance under four broad themes environment, agriculture and land, public health, and infrastructure with human development. Bengal secured comparatively higher scores in agriculture and healthcare indicators, reflecting improvements in rural connectivity, food systems and access to basic medical services. However, the state’s environmental ranking fell sharply due to persistent shortcomings in waste treatment, sewage management and pollution control.Urban planners say the findings expose the structural strain facing fast-growing eastern Indian cities, particularly around Kolkata and industrial clusters along river corridors. Expanding urban populations have increased pressure on drainage systems, landfills and water bodies, while infrastructure upgrades have struggled to keep pace with economic activity.The report also identified deficiencies in housing quality, road infrastructure and electricity access under the broader human development index. Analysts noted that infrastructure deficits in populous states create deeper inequalities because service disruptions affect far larger urban populations than in smaller regions. Environmental researchers involved in the assessment warned that untreated sewage and inefficient municipal waste systems remain among the biggest barriers to sustainable urbanisation nationwide. Bengal’s lower performance mirrors a broader national challenge in balancing economic expansion with ecological protection, particularly in rapidly urbanising regions.The findings arrive at a time when eastern India is witnessing accelerated investment in logistics, housing and transport infrastructure. Experts argue that without parallel investments in climate-resilient civic systems, states risk facing worsening flooding, heat stress and public health pressures in urban centres.Policy specialists also believe the report should push governments to rethink development metrics beyond headline economic growth. Better integration of decentralised waste processing, river restoration, affordable public transport and energy-efficient housing could improve both environmental indicators and quality of life in expanding cities. For Bengal, the challenge now lies in translating strengths in healthcare and agriculture into a broader urban sustainability strategy. With climate risks intensifying across riverine and coastal regions, future competitiveness may depend less on growth alone and more on whether cities can remain liveable, resilient and equitable for the millions who depend on them daily.

India’s EV push fails to scale, despite schemes and targets

The Lok Sabha secretariat is in the process of allocating electric vehicles (EV) to 40 senior staffers. Convergence Energy Services Limited is developing an EV-leasing model for government use, and the Union finance ministry has encouraged public sector banks and insurers to make the switch. However, these initiatives lack specific targets or firm timelines. They effectively address at most 0.25% of all vehicles in India, with government- and PSU-owned vehicles making up roughly 1 in every 400 vehicles on Indian roads. This slow EV adoption also exposes India to global energy shocks, like the ones currently witnessed in the ongoing West Asia crisis. With India importing 80% of its crude oil requirements, experts have advocated for a wider shift towards electrification, which not only ensures energy security but also comes with co-benefits for the environment and economics. Even the government’s flagship schemes such as FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India) 1 and 2, and subsequently the present PM e-Drive scheme, only cater to a small fraction of the overall vehicle base and is inconsistent with the ambition of 30% EV sales penetration by 2030 set in March 2018. For example, the schemes primarily target buses run by State Transport Undertakings (STUs), which comprise only around 2% of the total number of buses in India. In FY2025-26, EV penetration stood at just above 8%. The global average is already at 25%. Countries that have left India far behind include not just wealthy European nations or China, which is a pioneer, but even Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia—economies that are smaller, according to the International Energy Agency. A Niti Aayog’s August 2025 report said, “India has progressed to only about 7.6 % of the sales in 2024 being electric, which is far behind its target of 30% by 2030. Thus, it has taken nearly 10 years to reach a penetration level of 7.6% and now needs to increase this share by over 22% in the next 5 years alone.” As a start, Sharif Qamar, associate director at The Energy and Resources Institute, called for a definitive electrification target for each government department, with mandatory reporting on achievement, rather than open-ended guidance. “If such a target is given to all the central and state government departments, the signal is very clear to the private sector as well as citizens.” He said India Post offers a case study in cost-driven adoption where he led research which provided concrete evidence that EV adoption for India Post yields significant cost and environmental savings. A pilot demonstrated that EV operating costs were three to four times lower than diesel equivalents on total cost of operations, including maintenance and fuel. Therefore, the department is now moving towards electrifying its fleet. The procurement of roughly 10% of its owned light commercial vehicles is currently underway. He said guidelines directing central ministries to procure EVs have existed for years, but they were not taken seriously, which led to a marginal share of EVs in the government fleet. But experts such as Amit Bhatt, India managing director of the International Council on Clean Transportation, said the centre needs to look beyond demand-side incentives and support programmes and adopt more efficient policy levers. The most obvious among them are Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandates that require automakers to sell a minimum share of zero-emission vehicles. While subsidy schemes such as FAME or PM E-DRIVE depend on government spending, ZEV forces automakers to invest in EV research and development (R&D) decades earlier than they otherwise would have, creating a predictable long-term market signal, said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director of research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment. Bhatt also said concerns regarding a dearth of charging infrastructure will indirectly be taken care of too by the manufacturers themselves once there is a mandate to get EVs on roads. Among ZEVs across the world, the ZEV programme introduced by the California Air Resources Board in 1990 is an ideal template. Despite missing initial targets, the programme was mirrored by multiple US states and later informed broader regulatory approaches that rely on mandatory EV sales targets rather than subsidies alone.

The new environmentalism: Why sustainability must begin with inclusion

The World Environment Day, designated by the United Nations and observed on June 5, offers a moment each year to reflect on where we stand and where we must head. This year, as I write, my city Delhi is burning; it is a living inferno. We know increasing heat levels are because of climate change — that is now irrefutable. But it is equally, if not more, a product of the way we build our cities: The increasing use of concrete, the waste heat from vehicles on the roads and air conditioners in our rooms. We are also building without insulation, ventilation or shading to protect us from the scorching sun. All of this, combined with the absence of the natural cooling provided by trees and waterbodies — collateral damage caused by the building boom —makes heat a killer, quite literally. I explain this because it is time we set aside the meaningless question of environment versus development. We know that humans have made climate change into the catastrophe it is today, and we have done so in the name of development. Emission from the use of fossil fuels for energy, critical as it is for economic growth, livelihood and well-being, is “forcing” temperatures upwards and making weather systems spiral out of control. It is this very model of development that is on the line today. It has led to situations where we do not have clean water to drink or clean air to breathe. So, the challenge is to change how we develop and not reduce the debate to a meaningless anti-development tirade. After this is cleared up, we can move on to the next issue of how countries can “fix” local pollution issues but still add to global environmental challenges. Climate change is the clearest example, as are the vast quantities of waste and the growing demand for new minerals for the green transition. So, environmental management remains unresolved even where the sky is blue and the water is clear. This tells us that every country needs a new approach to environmentalism and that the old ways of doing things are too little, too late. Decades of work to improve the environment have taught us some important lessons. First: Sustainable growth is not possible without inclusive and affordable growth. In India, we know, to our cost and shame, that unless we provide mobility for all we cannot have clean air; without sanitation for all, we cannot have unpolluted rivers; and so on. We know that technocratic approaches will not fix the problem; the environment improves only when development works for all, including the poor. Second: We know that the environment is about natural resources — how we extract them and build economies from them. This applies as much to the old coal-gas economy as it does to the new green economy of solar panels and batteries, which requires extracting critical minerals, and also to the newer economy of artificial intelligence, which needs water and energy. Over the past decades, we have overused much of these natural resources; we have learnt to some extent how to make fishing, mining or forestry more sustainable, but progress remains limited. More importantly, we have not yet fully understood how to share the benefits with communities which own these natural resources; we just take their resources and make them poorer. In the coming decade, this imbalance of power must be fixed to achieve sustainability. Third: Environmentalism is also about institutions that can bring about this balance — between short-term and long-term objectives; and between the needs of industry or agriculture and the rights of communities. It is about decision making informed by the best available science, about accountable and open structures that allow us to understand the cost of development. But this is where we have really gone wrong, nationally and globally. We have disabled institutions of governance, regulation and for oversight, which is why we are where we are. The environmental challenge now hangs over everything that we value. Agriculture needs to be made productive yet sustainable while putting money in the hands of farmers. Conservation must build the economy of the poor so that they are custodians of the ecosystem. Water security must be ensured even in the times of drought and climate stress. We also need to find development pathways that can seriously reinvent growth without pollution and help the world combat climate change. The good news is that we know more today about what must be done differently than on any previous World Environment Day. This is why June 5, 2026, should be a new beginning: The start of a new practice of environmentalism, rooted in the politics of inclusive and affordable growth, which then is sustainable. The author is at the Centre for Science and Environment; sunita@cseindia.org, X: @sunitanar

Bitter choice: Rising heat fuels a livelihoods crisis

On the hottest days, the surface temperature can reach 60°C, according to the Centre for Science and Environment, a New Delhi-based think tank. That is when tarmac starts to soften, and barefoot workers risk blistering their feet. Sunil Rastogi, an auto-rickshaw driver in New Delhi, normally works 12-hour days to make ends meet and save for the heart surgery he needs. But in summer, as temperatures climb above 40°C, he faces a dilemma. Should he work fewer hours, bringing home less for his family and delaying his surgery, or press ahead and risk worsening his fragile health? “I feel tired as it is,” Rastogi said recently. “This heat makes me even more tired.” For millions of workers like Rastogi — wage labourers, construction workers, street vendors and delivery drivers — the scorching summer in New Delhi forces a bitter trade-off between health and income. They keep the machinery of the city running, and they are among the most susceptible to its harshest conditions. On the hottest days, the surface temperature can reach 60°C, according to the Centre for Science and Environment, a New Delhi-based think tank. That is when tarmac starts to soften, and barefoot workers risk blistering their feet. Rastogi, 54, said he had to choose his health during the summer heat. He works only about five hours each day, seven fewer than usual, to avoid the sweltering midday sun. That may mean putting off his surgery, but it lowers the short-term risk of a health emergency that could force him to stop working. “I have two children,” Rastogi said. “I have responsibilities.” Others work through the stifling heat, which can still undermine their earnings. Nitin Verma, 58, runs a street-side flower stall. When the weather is pleasant, he said, he can earn as much as Rs 3000 a day. But on many summer days, he is unable to recoup even the Rs 100 he spends on tea and drinking water. He carefully tends to his flowers, plucking wilted petals and removing rotten stems. “Then I just sit around,” he said. Customers rarely come. Over the decades, summers in India have grown longer and hotter. This year, severe heatwaves hit vast swaths of the country in April and May, with temperatures exceeding 43°C. Although the capital territory that includes New Delhi suffers in summer, the distribution of heat is uneven. Certain pockets, often those where the most vulnerable communities live, are more exposed to heat because of shrinking forest cover, heavy traffic and haphazard construction, according to a recent report by the Centre for Science and Environment. With night temperatures also rising, the window during which the human body can cool down enough for relief is narrowing. Officials enacted some relief measures for workers this year. Each of Delhi’s 13 districts has been given a mobile relief van stocked with supplies like cold water, hats and oral rehydration salts, officials said. They have also set up tented rest areas as “cooling zones.” Journalists visited some of the cooling zones and relief vans, but it took a few phone calls to track them down. When they called an emergency helpline for assistance, the operator had no information on how to locate them and directed them to the district magistrates’ offices. Eventually, they found a cooling zone near Jama Masjid, one of old Delhi’s famous mosques. Eight air coolers were running, and about a third of the 75 seats in the tented area were occupied. Krishna Rani, 45, a security guard at a neighbourhood school, said she was grateful for the resting area, which she had used every evening before her hour-long bus ride home. Rani, who has four children and is her family’s sole breadwinner, said working less was not an option. “I can’t let heat deter me,” she said. “I have to earn for my children’s sake.” A mobile relief van was located about 14 km away, in a neighbourhood in South Delhi. It was equipped with a small fridge, a water dispenser, sachets of rehydration salts and a drum that could hold up to 500 litres of water. People stood in line as volunteers handed out water. They were also handing out caps emblazoned with a Hindi slogan that loosely translated to, “Beat the heat, with the Delhi government in the lead.” Because the relief vans park in different places each day, some Delhi residents said they could be difficult to find. The cooling zones are easier to spot, but stopping to rest could mean sacrificing valuable time on the job.

Bonn Bulletin: Tackling climate crisis is “hardest” challenge ever, Stiell says

Avantika Goswami, climate change and green economy programme manager at the India-based Centre for Science and Environment, told Climate Home News that the UN climate secretariat has been unclear and untransparent about what will be discussed at the dialogue. “We don’t know if observers and civil society are going to be able to contribute,” she added. Kicking off proceedings at the mid-year climate talks in Bonn amid fraught global geopolitics, UN climate chief Simon Stiell told delegates that tackling the global climate crisis is "the hardest, but most important, thing humanity has ever tried to do together”. Perhaps hoping to forestall the usual diplomatic wrangling that routinely bogs down the talks, he warned governments that there is no time to "re-open past debates or renegotiate commitments already made”. Instead, he added, there is an imperative to accelerate real-world action as deadly heat intensifies and the fossil-fuel cost crisis sparked by the Iran war strangles economies, “taking a wrecking ball to lives and prosperity”. That message seemed to sink in with the negotiators in Bonn, where the opening session kicked off only an hour late and was not marred by agenda rows, which delayed the start of the talks by a day last year. On bridging the gap between the negotiations and the real economy, Stiell called for elevating the Global Climate Action Agenda, a goal long promised but never fully delivered. But, he added, Türkiye – working with Australia – is now building on the efforts by last year’s COP30 presidency to streamline this process into six thematic areas, including boosting energy and food security, curbing methane and strengthening the resilience of cities. What to expect from the Bonn climate talks Stiell was also keen to stress that the formal negotiations remain central to driving implementation of the Paris Agreement. He urged governments in Bonn to advance key issues including the Global Goal on Adaptation, the delivery of the outcomes of the first Global Stocktake and the development of a new just transition mechanism. The first Global Stocktake was an assessment of countries’ collective progress in meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement, which led to a 2023 agreement to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems and a 2030 goal to triple renewable energy, among other things. Hinting at upcoming reforms to the UN climate regime - which has often been accused of failing to keep pace with advancements in the real world - Stiell said all institutions must continuously evolve and improve. The UN climate secretariat has heard countries’ calls to work more efficiently, support access to climate finance and reduce the reporting burden on governments, he added. Türkiye to outline targets for Action Agenda While Australia will run the negotiations at COP31, for co-host Türkiye - which is organising the talks in Antalya - the focus is on the so-called Global Climate Action Agenda. This is a sprawling smorgasbord of around 500 voluntary initiatives bringing together governments, businesses, investors, cities and civil society. It covers everything from strengthening power grids for clean energy, to restoring degraded forests and land, and reducing emissions from buildings. COP31 President-Designate Murat Kurum told the opening session of the Bonn talks his team will present the “main framework” of the Action Agenda on Tuesday, adding it will be “based on concrete and tangible targets”. He also said Türkiye will announce a roadmap for translating what happens in the negotiations into the real world, which will ”point to a science-based process with highly clear and defined outcomes” and steps for getting there. “In the second decade of the Paris Agreement, the COP31 Action Agenda will bring the outcomes of the first Global Stocktake to life, and we will make a strong start to the second decade,” Kurum said. In a joint letter issued in May, the two host nations said COP31 will be shaped as an “Implementation COP” and a “COP of the Future,” aimed at translating commitments into tangible and trackable progress. They outlined priority areas - to be achieved through the six axes of the Action Agenda defined ahead of COP30 - including electrification, zero waste, resilient cities, sustainable agriculture, green industrial transformation and climate finance. Electrification emerges as COP31 priority Chiming with this, Australia’s Chris Bowen, the COP31 president of negotiations, made the global energy transition the centerpiece of his opening intervention in Bonn. This year’s climate summit, he said, must send investors and corporations the message that countries are “collectively committed” to building up renewable energy and reducing fossil fuel reliance. Fossil fuels were not directly mentioned in the main outcome at COP30 last year after countries failed to agree on developing a global transition roadmap, which Brazil is now putting together outside of formal negotiations. Bowen, Australia’s minister of climate change and energy, said that, while energy crises like the one the world is going through now will become more frequent and more unpredictable, accelerating the shift to cleaner sources will “ease shocks to our energy systems”. He identified progress on electrification as a priority for COP31, pointing to an assessment by the International Energy Agency (IEA) that electricity's share of final energy consumption needs to reach 35% by 2035 to keep the 1.5C temperature goal in sight. “In a world of geopolitical uncertainty and energy disruption, the transition is not a risk,” Bowen added, “it is the solution and an immense opportunity”. Tensions around trade and climate surface again Over the weekend, it became clear that discussions on trade and climate would once again become a source of contention between countries - if not as explosively as they did at the start of the talks a year ago. As agreed in the COP30 Global Mutirão decision, a series of dialogues on trade and climate will be held in Bonn yearly from 2026 to 2028. Climate Home News understands that the G77 + China has expressed discontent about the organisation of the first dialogue that will take place on June 13, because it plans to incorporate contributions from a range of organisations rather than just governments. In a statement at the opening plenary, Uruguay, on behalf of the G77 group of developing nations, “encouraged Parties [countries] to engage constructively in the dialogue in a robust and structured manner”. Many in the Global South are concerned that international trade measures to make products greener, such as the European Union’s carbon levy on imports, could end up discriminating against them. Russia warned during its opening statement that the new dialogue should not be used to create trade barriers. Avantika Goswami, climate change and green economy programme manager at the India-based Centre for Science and Environment, told Climate Home News that the UN climate secretariat has been unclear and untransparent about what will be discussed at the dialogue. “We don’t know if observers and civil society are going to be able to contribute,” she added. After the three mid-year dialogues, in 2028 there will be a high-level event for countries to exchange their views and experiences, and the officials in charge will have to present a report summarising these discussions. At Monday's opening session, Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, the Ghanian chair of the African Group of Negotiators, said it would be “important to provide clarity on how they intend to present the report” and suggested that the co-chairs of the Bonn talks should consult with countries on how best to do that. Differences persist on finance between richer and poorer countries On Monday afternoon, discussions focused on finance and specifically on the details of the climate finance work programme that countries agreed to set up at COP30. While it has yet to be decided when the two-year work programme will start, Monday’s workshop was tasked with hammering out its scope and format. “We are not in the position to accept these discussions,” Vositha Wijenayake, G77 + China finance coordinator, said at the beginning of the event. Climate Home News can confirm that the group of developing countries sent a letter to the organisers over the weekend insisting that the work programme must be driven by governments, produce concrete outcomes, and be included as an agenda item at COP31. Both during the opening plenary and the workshop in Bonn, they reaffirmed the need for implementation of Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement, which enshrines the obligation of wealthy nations to mobilise public finance for climate action in developing countries. On Monday, many Global South countries flagged concerns about declining levels of international funding at a time when needs are rising.

Bengal lags in green action as report flags poor climate record and weak enforcement

Bengal was among the poorest-performing states in taking action on key environmental agendas last year, a recent report has revealed. The report titled “State of India’s Environment 2026: In Figures”, prepared by the magazine Down to Earth linked to environmental think tank Centre for Science (CSE) and Environment, found that Bengal ranked 24th among 28 states, followed by Punjab, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan in the green performance sector during 2024-25. “Number helps us understand trends — what is shaping our world and future; what is changing; what is improving; and what is not,” CSE head Sunita Narain told The Telegraph. The report published on Thursday shows Goa topped the chart with 66.69 per cent, followed by Assam and Andhra Pradesh, while Bengal scored 47.07 per cent. Bengal was among the poorest-performing states in taking action on key environmental agendas last year, a recent report has revealed. The report titled “State of India’s Environment 2026: In Figures”, prepared by the magazine Down to Earth linked to environmental think tank Centre for Science (CSE) and Environment, found that Bengal ranked 24th among 28 states, followed by Punjab, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan in the green performance sector during 2024-25. ADVERTISEMENT “Number helps us understand trends — what is shaping our world and future; what is changing; what is improving; and what is not,” CSE head Sunita Narain told The Telegraph. The report published on Thursday shows Goa topped the chart with 66.69 per cent, followed by Assam and Andhra Pradesh, while Bengal scored 47.07 per cent. Advertisement Powered by PlayStream 00:00 The number has been allotted based on four parameters — climate, forest and biodiversity, waste management and water resources — and Bengal recorded a moderate or poor performance in all sectors. “The finding is consistent with our experiences. Bengal has not done well in the environmental sector with umpteen violations,” said environment activist Naba Dutta, who leads Sabuj Mancha, a platform of environmental outfits. “From noise rule violation to sandmining; from filling up waterbodies to felling trees in the name of development by vested interest lobby, often tactically supported by a section of politicians and administrators, the attack on the environment was rampant over the years. It was initiated during the Left rule but multiplied manifold during the Trinamool era. I wish the new government won’t be sucked into the same cycle,” said Biswajit Mukherjee, an environmental activist and a former chief law officer of the West Bengal Pollution Control Board. According to recent National Crime Record Bureau data, Bengal is one of the laggards in enforcing environmental laws, despite violations mounting over the years. Out of 57,670 environment offences recorded nationally in 2024-25, only 97 were in Bengal. Yet the rate of filing chargesheets, even within the minuscule number of recorded environment offences, is only 74.2 per cent against the national average of 98.2 per cent. “Can you believe that while we experience noise violation almost every day, data show that there was only one case recorded against noise violation in the state within a year? The new state government is thinking about imposing noise norms. I just hope that it walks the talk and the number of recorded cases will rise,” another expert said. Swapan Dasgupta, a cabinet minister in the new BJP government in Bengal, on Friday lamented past administrative and political oversights that damaged Bengal’s crucial green assets. He pointed out how the Sundarbans, East Kolkata Wetlands, Rabindra Sarobar and the Kolkata Tramways have been impacted by poor planning and corrupt practices. “Some small errors of judgment have caused immeasurable damage,” he told a meeting organised by a few nonprofits.

How women experience summers in the city

Close to 76% of Delhi is persistently heat stressed, states a report, Making Delhi Heat-Resilient by the Centre for Science and Environment It is sizzling in the roughly 25-square foot room where she lives with her husband and four children. A tiny fan circulates hot air in the still room on the topmost floor of a ramshackle narrow building in Sunder Nagari in north-east Delhi. There’s a small open terrace where Gulshan cooks — on firewood since gas cylinders are both unavailable and unaffordable. She asks me to touch a steel utensil. It feels as hot as if she has just taken it off a flame. Like many women in the locality, Gulshan, whose husband drives a rented auto-rickshaw, takes on poorly-paid piecemeal work. Every extra bit counts. But her work — sewing pockets on cosmetic pouches for ₹5 per pouch, each with six pockets — has dried up. She had bought a sewing machine when there was work in the winter months. Now, monthly instalments to pay off the machine are accumulating. With schools shut, the children are at home and Gulshan would rather have them indoors than run around in the lanes below. She believes she can get a job since she has studied up to the 10th grade but her husband won’t give her permission saying she will get ‘spoilt’. Stuck at home in the claustrophobic heat, everything stresses her, she breaks down in tears: “I feel so anxious all the time.” Urban heat has emerged as an unequal climate challenge with women, particularly those on the margins, bearing the heaviest load. In places like Sunder Nagari there is no escape from the open drains buzzing with flies that run alongside tiny, densely-packed dwellings with no ventilation, windows or green spaces. At night, fear of petty crime means doors remain shut to both thieves and the stray breeze. And with temperatures hovering at 45 degrees Celsius at the end of May, night temperatures too remain around 39 — not enough for human bodies to cool down. Global warming, we say. But warming at roughly 0.5 degrees Celsius per decade doesn’t tell you the whole story or account for the heat stress in our cities. Close to 76% of Delhi is persistently heat stressed and this includes newer showcase constructions such as Bharat Mandapam, states a report, Making Delhi Heat-Resilient by the Centre for Science and Environment. Green cover has fallen to 14.14% in 2024 from 25.36% in 2014; trees being planted in the name of beautification include palms that have almost no shade. And an IIT Delhi study finds 67% of Delhi streets lack adequate shade. Building material includes tin roofs commonly used in slum clusters. Even bus shelters use metal roofs that turn them into literal ovens.

World Environment Day: The hunger no forest can fill

The data requires stating, briefly and without decoration. The Centre for Science and Environment, in its State of India’s Environment 2026 report, records that extreme weather struck on ninety-nine percent of all days between January and November of last year in India, killing 4,419 people and destroying 17.41 million hectares of crop land, against just over two million four years prior. Seven of the nine planetary boundaries that define a safe operating space for life on Earth have now been breached, among them climate change, freshwater depletion, and ocean acidification. Coral reefs have entered irreversible decline; the Amazon nears large-scale dieback, which must fall steeply this decade to hold warming near 1.5°C; instead, it reached another record high last year, with no sign yet of a peak.

Delhi heat stress hits vulnerable communities hardest

35 municipal wards, including Matiala, Kakraula, Narela and Chandni Chowk, were identified as having ‘high’ to ‘very high’ cumulative vulnerability. Nearly three-fourths of Delhi has been exposed to recurring extreme heat over the past decade, with construction workers, schoolchildren, street vendors and residents of informal settlements among the worst affected, according to a new report released by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The report, Making Delhi Heat-Resilient: A Roadmap with the Focus on Vulnerable Groups, paints a troubling picture of a city increasingly trapped in a cycle of rising temperatures, shrinking green cover and worsening urban heat stress. According to the study, 76 per cent of Delhi’s geographical area remained heat-stressed for six or more years between 2015 and 2024, while nearly 99 per cent of the city crossed the heat-stress threshold at least once during the decade. Researchers used satellite imagery to identify areas where land surface temperatures repeatedly exceeded 45 degrees Celsius. “This is no longer an environmental issue alone; it is a public health and social justice challenge,” the report noted, highlighting the disproportionate burden borne by those who spend long hours outdoors or lack access to cooling infrastructure. Thirty-five municipal wards, including Matiala, Kakraula, Narela and Chandni Chowk, were identified as having “high” to “very high” cumulative vulnerability. More than half of Delhi’s wards have over 75 per cent of their area exposed to recurring heat stress, while 17 wards are entirely heat-stressed. The report comes at a time when Delhi is witnessing increasingly intense summers. It noted that “feels-like” temperatures touched 52 degrees Celsius in 2025, underscoring the growing severity of heat exposure in the capital. Researchers also pointed to a worrying decline in the city’s natural cooling systems. Delhi’s green cover has reportedly shrunk from 25.36 per cent in 2014 to 14.14 per cent in 2024, while water bodies have also reduced in extent. At the same time, the city’s ability to cool down at night has declined by 9 per cent, resulting in prolonged heat retention in dense urban neighbourhoods. Several well-known localities, including Chandni Chowk, Karol Bagh, Uttam Nagar, Najafgarh, Shahdara, Jahangirpuri, Okhla, Sangam Vihar and parts of South Delhi, were identified as persistent heat hotspots. Industrial areas such as Bawana, Mundka, Mayapuri and Anand Parbat have emerged as some of the city’s most intense heat zones. The study also found that some newly redeveloped urban projects, including Bharat Mandapam, East Kidwai Nagar and parts of Netaji Nagar, are experiencing significant heat stress, raising questions about whether urban development projects are adequately incorporating climate-resilient design principles. In contrast, areas such as Lutyens’ Delhi, Civil Lines and Delhi Cantonment remain relatively cooler due to extensive tree cover and shaded surfaces. The Yamuna corridor also continues to provide a cooling effect, with temperatures around the river remaining considerably lower than in surrounding urban areas. The report warned that Delhi is entering a “new and warmer normal” and that the economic costs of rising temperatures could be severe. Heat-related productivity losses could account for up to 4.5 per cent of India’s GDP by the end of the decade, it said. To address the growing crisis, CSE has called for a heat-resilience strategy focused on vulnerable populations. Recommended measures include expanding urban green cover, developing public cooling centres, promoting thermally efficient roofs, improving access to drinking water, and integrating climate-responsive planning into future urban development

The Roar Beneath the Noise: Nagaland’s Climate Reckoning on World Environment Day

The Capital as a Frontline: In Kohima, the frequency of cloudbursts exploded from just 7 incidents in 2018–19 to 49 in 2020–21. According to the Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE) Climate India Report 2025, Kohima also recorded the highest number of warm monsoon days among all Indian state capitals, with higher-than-normal minimum temperatures occurring on 98% of the monsoon days. This trend culminated in July 2025, when the capital experienced a staggering 10°C spike in minimum temperatures compared to historical averages. This dramatic shift indicates that Kohima is experiencing rapid urban climate warming and severe ecological disruption.

World Environment Day 2026: Odisha in Top-5 Environmental Performer Still Battling Extreme Heat, Dirty Air| Special Feature

Bhubaneswar: Few Indian states tell the story of climate change as vividly as Odisha. Over the last three decades, the state has transformed from being a disaster-prone coastal region into one of India's most closely watched laboratories for climate adaptation. Yet, even as Odisha earns recognition for its environmental governance, fresh data show that the battle against climate and pollution risks is far from won. The contradiction is striking. The Centre for Science and Environment's (CSE) State of Environment Report 2026 ranks Odisha among the country's top five states in overall environmental performance, reflecting sustained investments in disaster preparedness, waste management, climate budgeting, forest protection and renewable energy initiatives. At the same time, Odisha remains among India's most climate-stressed states. Data from CSE's climate vulnerability indicators show Odisha recorded 18 extreme weather days between January and March 2026, placing it among the states witnessing frequent weather disruptions. The report's heat-related indicators also place Odisha in the higher-risk category, underlining how rising temperatures continue to threaten public health, agriculture and livelihoods. For a state that endured the devastating 1998 heatwave and the 1999 Super Cyclone, these numbers are more than statistics. They are reminders of why Odisha began investing in climate resilience. The State That Learned From Disaster Environmental experts often point to Odisha's response to successive climate shocks as a model of institutional learning. The 1998 heatwave exposed the state's vulnerability to rising temperatures. A year later, the Super Cyclone claimed thousands of lives and reshaped the state's development priorities. Since then, Odisha has built one of India's most sophisticated disaster management architectures. Cyclone shelters, early warning systems, evacuation protocols, climate-resilient infrastructure and dedicated disaster funds have significantly reduced mortality from extreme weather events. The state's climate strategy has gradually expanded beyond disaster response to include environmental governance, renewable energy, urban waste management and climate budgeting. That transition is reflected in Odisha's strong performance in the State of Environment Report 2026. Air Pollution Remains Odisha's Weakest Link Yet, while Odisha scores well on several environmental governance parameters, air quality remains a major concern. The latest global assessment from IQAir paints a sobering picture of pollution across the state's industrial and urban centres. Among the 9,446 cities monitored worldwide, several Odisha cities continue to rank among the world's most polluted urban locations.

No longer a dirty fuel: Why India is backing coal to survive the global gas crisis

Coal gasification, one of the solutions being touted now to offset the crude vulnerabilities, produces more carbon dioxide than a conventional coal-powered thermal power plant, according to an assessment by the think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). “It remains a carbon-intensive pathway. Without carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), coal gasification can lead to substantial CO emissions and lock in high-carbon infrastructure,” says Parth Kumar, Programme Manager Sustainable Industrialisation Unit, CSE.

Is Pune turning into a heat trap?

A survey by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) shows that the condition of the rivers in a city are also responsible for the rising local temperatures. "The high level of untreated sewage turns rivers into open sewers, along with rapid infrastructural growth along its banks. This untreated sewage system releases a large amount of greenhouse gases, further contributing to the increase in heat," the research states. The study also states that constant building of dams and other concrete structures has resulted in the stagnation of the river blocking its flow along with the polluted water resulting in a rise in its temperature.

Bengal lags in green action as report flags poor climate record and weak enforcement

Bengal was among the poorest-performing states in taking action on key environmental agendas last year, a recent report has revealed. The report titled "State of India's Environment 2026: In Figures", prepared by the magazine linked to environmental think tank Centre for Science (CSE) and Environment, found that Bengal ranked 24th among 28 states, followed by Punjab, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan in the green performance sector during 2024-25.

The roar beneath the noise: Nagaland’s climate reckoning

As we mark World Environment Day 2026 (WED-2026), under the theme #NowForClimate, humanity stands at a definitive crossroads, To a casual observer, June 5th might seem like just another date on the calendar. But for those witnessing the rapid, violent transformation of our ecosystems, this day carries unprecedented weight. It is no longer a day for mere celebration; it is a global reckoning with our responsibility to the only home we have. For decades, the climate crisis was told in the future tense—a series of distant warnings, abstract targets, and elusive deadlines muffled by the “noise” of political delay, corporate distraction, and public denial. But nature does not negotiate. Today, the planet speaks a brutal language of extremes: rising seas, melting glaciers, aggressive wildfires, devastating landslides, destructive floods, and erratic and extreme weather patterns that push human endurance to its absolute limits. We once spoke of 1.5°C as a distant boundary line; today, we are actively crossing it. Yet, if we listen closely, a different signal is also rising beneath the noise. Worldwide, positive tipping points are beginning to outweigh the negative. We see solar arrays reclaiming rooftops, wind turbines lining horizons, systematic urban redesigns prioritizing people over pollution, and massive reforestation efforts taking root. However, while global progress offers a glimmer of hope, the reality in Nagaland is far more immediate and visceral. Here, the abstract “noise” of climate change has been replaced by the roar of flash floods, the sudden collapse of mountain highways, and the silent, cracking earth of unseasonal droughts. The theme for World Environment Day 2026 focuses squarely on climate change and the signals we choose to send back to Earth. The question is no longer whether change is coming—the crisis is already here. Our recent scars show us that we have moved from seasonal expectations to a state of constant vigilance. The true test is how fast we move, and whether we possess the collective courage to steer a world already in motion towards survival. The Data of Disaster: Nagaland’s Intensifying Emergency While international summits debate future targets, the first Nagaland Disaster Statistics Report 2023, and the subsequent Reports of 2024 and 2025 released by the Directorate of Economic & Statistic, Government of Nagaland, provides a sobering reality check. Our state is in the grip of a rapidly accelerating climate emergency. Between 2018 and 2021, water and climate-related incidents in Nagaland surged by a staggering 200%, climbing from 337 annual incidents to a record 814. The empirical evidence paints a terrifying picture of our new climate reality: • The 393% Rainfall Surge: Extreme cloudbursts and flash floods have evolved from rare anomalies into consistent seasonal threats. In a historic deluge during the 2025 monsoon, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded that Nagaland received 49.8 mm of rain in a single 24-hour window compared to the normal baseline of 10.1 mm—firmly placing the state in the “large excess” category. These events triggered devastating flash floods in Dimapur and Niuland, submerging homes and livelihoods. • The Capital as a Frontline: In Kohima, the frequency of cloudbursts exploded from just 7 incidents in 2018–19 to 49 in 2020–21. According to the Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE) Climate India Report 2025, Kohima also recorded the highest number of warm monsoon days among all Indian state capitals, with higher-than-normal minimum temperatures occurring on 98% of the monsoon days. This trend culminated in July 2025, when the capital experienced a staggering 10°C spike in minimum temperatures compared to historical averages. This dramatic shift indicates that Kohima is experiencing rapid urban climate warming and severe ecological disruption. • Thermal Extremes and Anomalies: Paradoxically, while summers burn hotter, official data highlights an escalating trend of cold wave incidents in several high-altitude districts. Concurrently, hailstorms rose from 26 cases in 2018–19 to 55 in 2020–21, with Mokokchung district bearing the highest volume of hailstorm-induced destruction. • A Landscape in Motion: Landslides are now a permanent structural crisis rather than an occasional inconvenience. In 2023 alone, Nagaland recorded 964 active and reactivated landslides. This geological instability continued unabated through 2024 and 2025, highlighted by the tragic September 2024 landslide series on National Highway-29 that claimed six lives and completely severed the vital lifeline between Dimapur and Kohima. Furthermore, landslides are aggressively eating away at food security, destroying 412.5 hectares of paddy land between 2022 and 2025, with the damage scaling exponentially each year (47.79 ha in 2022–23; 143.99 ha in 2023–24; and 220.7 ha in 2024–25). • The complex water crisis: In a cruel paradox, a state battered by excess rainfall faces a water-stressed future, as ground water levels in urban centers are dropping rapidly and rural natural springs are drying up, leaving the state to alternate between extreme dry season water shortages and destructive monsoon flash floods. Water levels are decreasing due to a combination of climate induced erratic rainfall, which causes high runoff on steep terrain and the drying mountain springs due to deforestation. Unchecked urbanization and ground water over extraction in hubs like Dimapur, paired with Kohima’s aging leaky infrastructure, severely worsens the regions water crisis. Compounded by heavy waste contamination Nagaland’s once pristine rivers and streams our only source of sustainable water, have degenerated into open sewage and garbage drains. As per the Nagaland Action Plan on Climate Change and Human Health, drought across Nagaland are likely to increase by 25-50% by 2050s sWhile the reform-linked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on June 2, 2026 under the Central government’s Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 framework is a highly welcome structural intervention, the ongoing depletion of local water sources threatens its long-term viability. Without proactive groundwater replenishment and watershed protection, newly installed rural pipeline infrastructure risks becoming a network of empty, non-functional fixtures rather than reliable utilities.. • Agricultural and Biological Disruption: From the high-altitude apple orchards to the low-lying rice terraces, farmers report completely disrupted harvest cycles and the sudden emergence of novel pests. Centuries-old traditional ecological knowledge is being broken by a climate that no longer follows the old rules. Biological epidemics and pest infestations are now frequently triggered by these volatile climate shifts. The most recent incident reported is the 40% maize yield loss feared in Mokokchung due to the invasive Fall Army Worm (FAW). • Unregulated Stone Quarrying and River bed stone and Sand Mining The localized boom in construction has triggered rampant, unregulated surface mining along critical ecological zones. Hillside stone quarrying and riverbed stone/sand mining operate with minimal environmental oversight, particularly along vulnerable river channels and steep highway corridors. Stripping hillsides destabilizes fragile geological formations, directly accelerating the frequency of devastating landslides. Simultaneously, deep riverbed mining alters natural river hydrology, triggering severe downstream erosion and intensifying flash floods during heavy downpours. Biological related incidences (epidemics, pest infestations, etc) and Geological related incidences (landslides ) are mostly triggered by climate change The Convergence of Vulnerabilities These disasters do not exist in a vacuum. Nagaland’s climate crisis represents a dangerous convergence where fragile geological conditions meet rapid unplanned population growth, a lack of resilient infrastructure, and the systemic disregard and destruction of our natural resources and land. Compounding this vulnerability is a severe ecological deficit. Nagaland has recorded one of the highest rates of forest cover loss in India, losing approximately 800 square kilometers of forest between 2013 and 2023—representing roughly 6.11% of the state’s total forest area. Driven by unsustainable shifting cultivation (Jhum), infrastructure expansion, and timber harvesting, this rapid deforestation degrades local biodiversity, triggers massive carbon emissions, and accelerates soil erosion, which directly fuels the landslide crisis. Nagaland is thus experiencing severe land degradation, with approximately 47% to 50% of its total geographical area classified as degraded or highly vulnerable to risk. [Source: Down to Earth] These recurring destructive patterns clearly demonstrate that we are facing the harsh realities of climate change. While these shifts are largely driven by global trends, we must recognize that localized environmental degradation plays a significant role too. Acknowledging our internal impact is essential if we are to implement effective, proactive measures to mitigate these natural disasters Harnessing ELIONA: Moving from Predictive Data to Strict Enforcement The Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority’s (NSDMA) recent launch of ELIONA, an AI-driven disaster intelligence supercomputer, marks a revolutionary shift from reactive rescue to proactive mitigation. By delivering a 48-to-72-hour window of hyper-local, predictive data, ELIONA provides Nagaland with a mathematical blueprint for survival and rapid financial recovery through parametric insurance. Yet, a stark reality remains: the world’s most advanced technology is only as good as the human action following it. Precise prediction cannot prevent a catastrophe if human-induced environmental destruction goes unchecked. Translating ELIONA’s simulations into real-world safety requires absolute political will and strict local enforcement. Concerned authorities can utilize the supercomputer’s dynamic hazard maps to enforce unyielding, evidence-based building bans on “structurally unsafe” urban patches across steep terrains like Kohima and other hill areas as well as in low lying areas, firmly resisting commercial and political pressures. Urban planners can also leverage these virtual simulations to audit existing infrastructure, identifying and retrofitting roads, bridges, and buildings that actively choke critical natural drainage paths. Crucially, the state can regulate unscientific hill-cutting, quarrying, and riverbed mining for stone and sand, which destabilize mountain slopes, alter river courses, and directly trigger the flash floods and landslides that ELIONA is trying to predict. While ELIONA offers the perfect tool for simulation-driven governance, stopping human-induced environmental degradation remains a policy and community enforcement challenge. The 72-hour data window is an invaluable asset, but its ultimate success hinges on how effectively we rewrite our building codes, protect our slopes, and enforce accountability on the ground. Ownership as the Anchor for Resilience Sustaining life in Nagaland requires moving beyond simple environmental awareness; it demands a radical, structural redesign of our relationship with the land. Because 88.3% of the land in Nagaland is community/private-owned, rigid, top-down climate mandates are fundamentally designed to fail. The state’s ecological survival strategy must hinge entirely on decentralized, community-centric models. To align with India’s 2030 carbon sink targets, targeted internationally funded initiatives are actively collaborating with indigenous institutions to transform traditional, short-cycle Jhum cultivation into sustainable, climate-resilient agroforestry ecosystems. Concurrently, the strategic expansion of Community Conserved Areas (CCAs) proves that local clans and village councils remain the most effective guardians of regional biodiversity. It is hoped that these targeted, localized interventions provide a scalable roadmap to systematically regenerate our depleted forest cover, stabilize fragile terrains, and restore the vital balance of our state’s ecosystems.