Author: Deshwale Science and Environment Desk

Manipal, March 24, 2026: Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) has inaugurated the Manipal Global SDG Convergence 2026 (MAGSCON 2026), a three-day international conference aimed at advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The event is being held at Dr TMA Pai Auditorium in Manipal, Karnataka, and runs from March 24 to 26. MAGSCON 2026 brings together academicians, policymakers, industry leaders, and global partners to explore collaborative solutions for sustainable development. The conference focuses on the role of higher education and innovation in accelerating progress towards the 17 SDGs, which address key global challenges such as climate change, health,…

At 2 in the afternoon, the road outside a residential block in Delhi lies unusually silent. A tea seller, who would normally expect a small crowd at this hour, wipes sweat from his forehead and looks at the empty pavement. It is only mid March, yet the heat carries the weight of peak summer. A delivery rider pauses under a shrinking patch of shade, checking his phone before stepping back into the glare. The calendar says spring. The body says something else. Across India, this scene is repeating itself. From Mumbai to inland cities, March has arrived not as a…

In the still waters of freshwater ponds and streams resides a remarkable, almost invisible organism: the hydra. Despite its tiny size, this simple, tentacled creature has fascinated scientists for decades due to a rare and extraordinary trait it appears to resist aging almost entirely. Unlike most animals, which experience gradual physiological decline over time, hydra shows no measurable signs of biological ageing under laboratory conditions. Hydra is closely related to jellyfish and corals, yet it possesses a simplicity that is key to its longevity. Its body is made up of just a few cell types arranged in a tubular structure,…

The city used to get a warning before the heat came. Not anymore. For as long as most people can remember, Mumbai’s March arrived gently. The worst of winter was gone but summer had not yet shown its teeth. Mornings were soft. The sea breeze came in before ten o’clock. Schoolchildren played outside after lunch without it being a problem. Women hung laundry on terraces and it dried slowly, without the smell of scorched cotton. March, in the lived memory of older Mumbaikars, was almost a gift. This March, Santacruz Observatory recorded 40 degrees Celsius on March 11. The Ram…

Mumbai is hot. That is not news. But when the India Meteorological Department issues a yellow alert for Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad in the first week of March, before summer has even properly arrived, it is worth paying attention. Mumbai experienced its first heatwave of the 2026 season on 6 March, with maximum temperatures reaching 38.9 degrees Celsius in the suburbs and 36.2 degrees Celsius in South Mumbai. The Santacruz weather station recorded a maximum temperature of 38.7 degrees Celsius, significantly higher than the seasonal average, while the Colaba Coastal Observatory recorded around 35.7 degrees Celsius, several degrees above…

There is a moment, usually in late July, when Mumbai holds its breath. The rain hammers down in sheets. The streets flood. And somewhere beneath the noise of a city of 20 million people, a small and battered river quietly decides how bad the next few hours will be. The Mithi River is 17.8 kilometres long. It begins at Powai Lake, slides through some of the city’s most densely populated neighbourhoods and empties into Mahim Creek. By the standards of India’s great rivers, it barely qualifies as a waterway. Yet what happens inside that narrow channel shapes the fate of…

मरोल ही क्यों, और क्यों अभी? मुंबई के अंधेरी पूर्व इलाक़े में मरोल की एक ज़मीन पर इन दिनों कुछ हो रहा है। वहाँ क़रीब १५० पेड़ हैं, मलबे का एक ढेर है, और एक ऐसी योजना है जो इस शहर में एक पीढ़ी पहले शुरू हो जानी चाहिए थी। मिठी नदी के किनारे बसी यह १२,९६४ वर्गमीटर यानी क़रीब ३.२ एकड़ की ज़मीन डेवलपमेंट प्लान के तहत ROS 1.4 के अंतर्गत मनोरंजन स्थल के रूप में वर्षों से आरक्षित है। लेकिन यह ज़मीन असल में खाली पड़ी रही। वीरान और उपेक्षित। जो भूमि काग़ज़ों पर एक उद्देश्य के लिए…

A 3.2-acre plot in Marol has 150 trees and a pile of debris. It is also, if things go to plan, the beginning of something this city should have started a generation ago. There is a certain cruelty to the location, and also a certain logic. Marol, in Andheri East, is one of the hottest, most concrete-saturated pockets in an already blazing megacity. After Metro Line 1 was constructed through the area, land surface temperatures climbed from a recorded average of 29.27°C in 2005 to a punishing 38.8°C in subsequent years. The K East Ward, which houses the Marol Cooperative…

The Manipal Academy of Higher Education celebrated National Science Day 2026 with a vibrant science exhibition and a distinguished lecture at its Manipal campus on February 28. The Institution of Eminence Deemed to be University welcomed nearly 350 high school students and teachers from the Academy of General Education, Dr TMA Pai Foundation schools, and other institutions, offering them an opportunity to explore its advanced science and technology facilities. The celebration aimed to spark curiosity and strengthen scientific thinking among young learners. A series of competitions, including science seminars, drawing contests, and model making events, encouraged students to present ideas…

More than 200 residents recently formed a human chain along Palm Beach Road in Navi Mumbai to protest against the proposed felling of 440 trees for an underpass project at Sanpada. The gathering was peaceful and notably silent. Children, senior citizens and joggers stood shoulder to shoulder, holding placards that asked a simple question: can a city grow without cutting down its shade? At one level, this is a local planning dispute. At another, it reflects a familiar tension in Indian cities between infrastructure expansion and ecological stability. A Community Draws a Line The protest was organised by local environmental…