Health

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November 6, 2022 In 2020, 559 million children were affected by four to five heatwaves a year; numbers could increase four-fold by 2050, as per a report by UNICEF
Heat-related mortality is four times higher among children under 1 year of age than in persons aged 1–44 years (Image: Taqver, Wikimedia Commons)
September 26, 2022 This study found that the sanitary quality of neighbourhood drains, in addition to toilets, affected sanitation and hygiene and incidences of ill-health in rural households.
Dirty drainages, harbingers of illhealth. Image for representation only (Image Source: SuSanA Secretariat via Wikimedia Commons)
September 9, 2022 Highlights from a new report released by iFOREST
An old coal-fired power plant has been dumping vast quantities of ash out in the open for many years. (Image: Lundrim Aliu/ World Bank; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
August 19, 2022 Better access to clean water coupled with health education to bring about changes in behaviour are critical to prevent exposure to dangerous cholera bacteria that lurk in untreated waters.
The hidden threat of cholera in India (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos)
July 20, 2022 This study found a high concentration of trihalomethanes (THMs) in water treatment plants in Delhi that were associated with increased risk of cancer.
What's in your tap water (Image Source: India Water Portal)
July 5, 2022 Studies reveal that children are the most vulnerable to the health risks associated with groundwater contamination due to nitrate and fluoride, highlighting the need for urgent remedial measures.
POisoned waters, dangerous outcomes (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Monitoring guidelines for sand mining released
Policy matters this week Posted on 29 Jan, 2020 11:39 PM

Guidelines to monitor illegal sand mining released

For the first time, the Environment Ministry has released Enforcement and Monitoring Guidelines for Sand Mining 2020 to monitor and check illegal sand mining in the country.

Illegal sand mining continues in the country unabated (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
A climate change wake-up call
Climate change can lead to large-scale economic knock-on effects, says a McKinsey Global Institute report. Posted on 21 Jan, 2020 06:53 AM

A new McKinsey Global Institute report, ‘Climate risk and response: Physical hazards and socioeconomic impacts’, suggests that many assumptions about the pote

Heat-exposed work has produced about half of India’s GDP, and employs about 75 percent of the labor force. There will be a need to shift working hours for outdoor workers and undertake heat management efforts (Image: Ian D Keating, Flickr Commons, CC BY 2.0)
Kerala tops SDG index by NITI Aayog
Bihar, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh are at the bottom of NITI Aayog's SDG Index, released recently. Posted on 08 Jan, 2020 03:36 PM

Kerala retains the top slot with a score of 70, followed closely by Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana in the latest edition of NITI Aayog’s annual assessment of progress made by states in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDG).

Considering the poor performance on SDG implementation in many critical areas such as hunger, there is a need to focus on these (Image: The future of food)
If she built a country: A film review
The film looks at corporate grab of forest and private lands in the Scheduled Areas of Chhattisgarh. Posted on 04 Jan, 2020 10:49 AM

Maheen Mirza’s film ‘Agar wo desh banati/ If she built a country’ looks at the widespread displacement on an unprecedented scale for mines and industries in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh.

The documentary brings attention to how development interventions changed gender relations (Image courtesy: People's Film Collective)
Nilogon for fluoride removal from groundwater
This unique low cost fluoride removal technology is not only affordable, but is also easy to operate as a water treatment filter with high efficiency suitable for rural application. Posted on 01 Jan, 2020 10:41 AM

Groundwater contamination has emerged as an alarming issue in India and a recent UN report reveals that India ranks 120th among the 122 countries in terms of water quality index.

Studies by the Central Ground Water Board in November 1999 confirmed the presence of fluoride in Assam which paved the way for the UNICEF and the government to collaborate on fluoride mitigation. (Image: India Water Portal)
Junk food red alert
A study by CSE rings the alarm bells on processed food responsible for obesity and non-communicable diseases. Posted on 29 Dec, 2019 12:50 PM

A new study by the Centre for Science and Environment has exposed that levels of salt and fat in junk food is far higher than proposed thresholds in the country.

The study by CSE underlines the need to regulate bad food (Image: Ankur Gulati, Flickr Commons)
India has most pollution-related deaths in the world
News this week Posted on 26 Dec, 2019 02:07 PM

India leads the world in pollution-linked deaths: Study

Delhi-NCR shrouded under toxic haze (Source: India Water Portal)
The poisoned landscapes of Punjab
Excessive and unregulated pesticide use has not only poisoned the soil, water and environment in villages in Punjab’s Malwa region – it has also increased health risks for the people. Posted on 21 Nov, 2019 12:18 PM

Punjab, riding high on pesticides

Farmer spraying pesticide (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
When the sewers get blocked: sanitation labour in urban India
On World Toilet Day, we bring to light the labour of India’s sewer workers - those who do the unclean work that a Clean India relies on. Posted on 15 Nov, 2019 12:07 PM

Photo credit: Sharada Prasad
NGT pushes to ban RO purifiers for water with TDS below 500 mg/l
Policy matters this week Posted on 13 Nov, 2019 10:45 AM

NGT pushes MoEF to issue notification to ban unnecessary use of RO purifiers

A domestic RO water purifier
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