The impact of a warming climate on reefs is already upon us — complex changes have begun that could fundamentally change what reefs look like in the future. This in turn could impact on fish populations and their availability. That was the overarching message from a panel of coral reef experts, who are on the forefront of understanding the impact of a rising seawater temperatures and ocean acidification.

 

The El Nino weather phenomenon is unlikely to hit monsoon rains, the weather office chief said on Wednesday.  El Nino, also called “Little Boy” or “Christ Child”, is a warming of ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific. 

More than 2,600 of the world’s top marine scientists today warned coral reefs around the world were in rapid decline and urged immediate global action on climate change to save what remains. The consensus statement at the International Coral Reef Symposium, being held in the northeastern Australian city of Cairns, stressed that the livelihoods of millions of people were at risk.

Top Marine Scientists Warn Reefs in Rapid Decline 

The world is warming, incomes are rising, and smaller families are living in larger houses in hotter places. One result is a booming market for air conditioning — world sales in 2011 were up 13 percent over 2010, and that growth is expected to accelerate in coming decades.

Extreme heat can accelerate wheat aging, an effect that reduces crop yields. The overall decline could be as much as 50 per cent with two degree increase in temperature and is way above than what has been anticipated in existing crop forecasting models.

A boulevard is a walkers’ joy. From time immemorial planting trees on either side of the road to give shade to travellers is considered a noble act. In modern times, Salumarada Thimmakka, who planted hundreds of trees by the roadside received worldwide accolade.  Bangalore earned its famed name – the garden City – mainly due to its greenery. 

Two Maharashtra villages recently experienced electricity for the first time — thanks to Tata Power Community Development Trust’s (TPCDT) new initiative ‘Project Suryaprakash’. Remotely located Limbarvadi and Bhadaskonda villages in the Mulshi region of Pune benefitted from the project.

The Karnataka government’s opposition to UNESCO’s heritage tag for the Western Ghats is being strongly criticised by greens and environmental scientists as illogical and another example of the BJP administration’s ignorance about global issues.

Melting sea ice and global warming are elevating Arctic temperatures up to four times faster than the global average, according to latest research.  Ian Simmonds, professor from the University of Melbourne School of Earth Sciences and study co-author, said the findings showed this combination at ground and atmospheric levels played a key role in elevating Arctic warming rates.

The 160,000sqkm Western Ghats, which are older than the Himalayas, has been included in the prestigious World Heritage List. On July 2, the world heritage committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) recognised 39 sites of the Western Ghats as being among the rare natural heritage spots in the world. Of the 39 sites, six are in Maharashtra.