The Indian monsoon, which sees much variability, has been crucial to the country's economy. It affects 42% of employed individuals in the country — farmers and those working in the agricultural sector. At times, a 'normal' monsoon brings enough rain to keep everyone happy, but sometimes, there is either a deluge or a drought. With recent meteorological advances, these variations can be predicted and recorded. But, how do we go back hundreds of years in time to understand the historical variability in Indian monsoon? Corals in the Red Sea may have answers, says a study by American researchers.

In a recent study, researchers from Anna University, Chennai, quantified the volume of virtual water trade in India. The study, published in the journal Groundwater for Sustainable Development, focussed on the trade exchange of popular crop and livestock products during the years 2006–2016.

It’s getting tougher for the Royle’s pikas to survive in the Himalayas. But, these tiny, herbivores wouldn't move as they are particular about where they live. Restricted to rocky, mountainous terrains, they are now facing the wrath of rising temperatures and fluctuating environments. What would become of them in a few more decades? Can these fussy relatives of the rabbit find new homes and thrive? A new study by researchers from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru and the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun tries to find out what the future holds for them, and that the findings are not good news.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar,  Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, and the University of Southampton, UK have tried to understand the effects of changes in land use and land cover on regional temperatures in Odisha, which frequently experiences heatwave, cyclones, droughts and floods.

Every year, the 5th of June is observed as the World Environment Day to “encourage worldwide awareness and action to protect our environment”. For 2019, the theme is ‘Air Pollution’, and the host country is China. On this occasion, Research Matters caught up with three leading scientists from the country that are actively pursuing research on different aspects of air pollution. The three researchers, Prof. A R Ravishankara, Prof. S K Satheesh and Prof. Navakanta Bhat shared their work and thoughts on the ‘burning’ problem of air pollution.

Researchers from Biodiversity International and collaborators from Norway, Nicaragua, Italy, Ethiopia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Germany, and India have described how participation of farmers as citizen scientists can help to address this challenge.

Report suggests that the Hindu Kush Himalayan region is facing imminent threat due to climate change.

Researchers from IIT Kanpur, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, USA, University of Hyderabad, and IIT Delhi have tried to understand how aerosols affect the Indian monsoon season.

Scientists from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, study how climate change is affecting small herbivores in the Himalayas. 

An international team of scientists study how temperature over India has changed over the span of 7 decades and point of the role of geography in changing temperatures.