Blogs
The blogs are part of WRI India’s mission to provide unbiased, expert analysis on the most important environmental issues facing the world today.
In today’s rapid-fire, fragmented information culture, we hope these insights will provide a measure of clarity to decision-makers worldwide.
Featured Posts
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by - For clean air, reform how we travel | Analysis
This blog post originally appeared in Hindustan Times.
Over the past few years, around the time when Diwali ends and winter sets in, Delhi’s plummeting air quality reaches dangerous levels, initiating a series of debates and actions among environmental experts, governments and citizens. Experts have attributed this post-Diwali decline in air quality to polluting firecrackers, crop burning, a change in the wind directions, and vehicular...
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by - Buildings Are a Hidden Source of Indian Cities’ Extreme Heat
This blog post originally appeared in WRI Insights.
India is ground zero for extreme heat. More than 6,100 people have died from heat events since 2010. Half of the country reeled under severe heat waves this summer, when temperatures reached over 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees F) in many places.
The urban...
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by and - Powering Remote Hospitals with Solar: Overcoming the Remaining Challenges
This blog originally appeared in WRI Insights.
It is a humid monsoon afternoon, and Dr. Ann Miriam and Dr. Vijay Anand Ismavel are worried as they check their diesel stocks. It is the fifth day with no electricity, and their hospital is running entirely on backup diesel generators. If this keeps up, they'll soon need to send someone to the nearest fuel station, 25 kilometers (15 miles) away, to buy more diesel. But there's no guarantee they'll be able to get more...
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by - Asia’s Energy Transition: 3 takeaways from the Asia Pacific Climate Week 2019
The Asia Pacific region, which includes India and China, constitutes 60% of the global population and has contributed to nearly half of the global annual CO2 emissions in 2017. It is also the fastest growing region in the world economy, expected to account for 60% of the world’s growth in energy...
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by - India Has the Worst Road Safety Record in the World. A New Law Aims to Change That
This blog post originally appeared in WRI Insights.
India’s parliament approved the Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill on July 31, 2019, the result of a five-year effort to improve national legislation on road safety. After the president’s approval, India’s streets may finally become safer places for both pedestrians and drivers.
Road traffic deaths have reached alarming levels across the world, with...
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by - As India Revises State Climate Plans, Who Should Have a Voice?
This blog post originally appeared in WRI Insights.
After the largest election in history, India's government faces important decisions on how to respond to climate change, including preparing for its increasing impacts on the lives and livelihoods of millions of Indians. While climate and environmental issues such as deforestation, water stress and floods were largely absent in the election campaign, several...
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by - Saving lives through investments in public bus systems
India suffers from the highest burden of road crashes, contributing to nearly 10% of global road deaths. In just the last decade (2008-2017), road crashes in India have increased by 23%, with an average annual increase of about 2% every year. The problem is particularly acute in urban areas, which witness nearly 42% of all crashes in the...
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by - How Does a Flood-prone City Run Out of Water? Inside Chennai’s “Day Zero” Crisis
This blog post originally appeared in WRI Insights.
Chennai, India faced a devastating flood in 2015 that killed hundreds of people and displaced many more. Today, the southern Indian city’s four main reservoirs are virtually dry.
This crisis is not only due to lack of water. Lack of proper management is exacerbating dry conditions in Chennai and many other...
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by - How can India better regulate the water consumption of its thermal power plants?
As India awaits monsoons, many parts of the country are already reeling under drought-like conditions. The government, private agencies and even residential associations are issuing directives and messages, highlighting the need for water conservation and the parsimonious use of water. Thermal power plants in the country constitute a class of water users that is often overlooked.
Thermal power plants consume significant amounts of water during their process of...
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by - India's Environmental Challenges in 10 Images
The last two decades have seen a rampant rise in environmental challenges being faced by cities and countries globally. In India, too, challenges related to air pollution, waste management, scarcity of water, conservation of natural resources, and loss of biodiversity, amongst others have been increasing. This photo essay uses animations based on satellite images to show the effect these challenges have had on our country.
Urbanisation
In the last two decades, India has urbanised at an unprecedented rate. This image shows the growth of Bangalore between 1990 and 2015....
