Times of India, the

New research reveals that when Delhi faces long heat spells, electricity consumption rises exponentially. Officials should look into cooling designs to reduce AC consumption.

In anticipation of the spread of Fall Armyworm in India, agriculture officials recommend that farmers use summer ploughing.

New research warns that if a severe earthquake hits the seismically-fragile Himalayan state, those who are mandated to provide help would themselves be among the worst-affected. A seismic vulnerability assessment study shows that up to 67% of public service buildings could be critically damaged and 14% could collapse.

In India, Umesh Prasad Verma, a Motihari schoolteacher, has developed an earthquake forecasting method that has been successful twice and has received recognition from seismologists and even NASA. But the government has yet to give him a facility for carrying out research.

A new report posits that the recent floods in Kerala have exposed the failure of the state government in alerting local bodies about the impending disaster. Even though there were warnings and data that a major flood event would occur, the state government did not take precautions to mitigate losses.

India experienced 167 cold waves, the highest in 13 years, across different stations in December - a stark jump from 2017, which saw only 30 instances. The winter was marked by frequent western disturbances that generated rain and snow in parts of the north, as well as cold northerly winds that affected many regions for longer.

The Indian government has revealed that over 6,100 people have died due to heat waves in the last nine years, with Andhra Pradesh recording the maximum casualties during 2013-2015. But the Indian Meteorological Department and health departments have developed a heat action plan that has resulted in the consistent decline of casualties since 2015.

As Cyclone Gaja batters India, the Tamil Nadu government has launched a pilot project for an early warning system in the districts of Cuddalore and Nagapattinam. The system is being implemented under the Coastal Disaster Risk Reduction Project.