Preetha

Why Bengaluru’s Thigala community worships Draupadi & protects nature through Karaga festival The 800-year-old tradition transforms Cubbon Park into a sacred landscape, combining tree protection, water rituals & deep relationship with ecosystem, reports @preetha___ downtoearth.org.in/environment/wh…

Karnataka faced acute energy shortage just a decade ago but is now power surplus for most of the year, with half of its electricity coming from renewables. In October 2025, DTE reporter @puja_das12 travelled to the state to understand the transition. This is the story of how Karnataka overcame curtailment challenges, reduced bureaucratic delays and improved reliability perception 📜

Hey @wordpressdotcom, why has my blog been taken down? And sans intimation? (And what terms of service did I violate? All I do here is aggregate links to my journalism) PS: Folks, their contact form is not accepting my complaint either. Could you amplify this message please?

The initial two weeks of US and Israel's assault in Iran produced over 5 million tonnes of CO2e, greater than Iceland's annual emissions. The emissions were primarily from destroyed infrastructure and fuel. 🖊️ @preetha___ downtoearth.org.in/environment/co…

WATCH | @sunitanar, @CSEINDIA Director-General and @down2earthindia Editor, talks about Delhi, where she grew up, and other Indian cities, all of which are facing multiple crises today. India must ensure that its cities do not become mega-messes as they grow—even implode, says Narain. @JoelMichaelhps @sukanyanair3007

Interview: ‘Rivers need to run free’ @SanjoyHazarika3 on the risks the Brahmaputra faces from human interventions downtoearth.org.in/rivers/rivers-…

Heat stress due to anthropogenic global warming is increasingly being recognised as a major global health challenge and one that disproportionately affects the poor. A new study measures 'livability' based on climatic conditions as well as physiological parameters such as age and sweating limits, and maps regions where dangerous heats restrict activity for people. 👉 India, the report shows, faces severe limitations on daily activities due to extreme heat, affecting both younger and older adults. The Indo-Gangetic Plain and eastern lowlands are particularly impacted. Due to a high population and severity of livability reduction overlap, the country sees 100 billion people-hours of limitation for younger adults and over 1 trillion people-hours of limitation for older adults. This exacerbates inequality, as poorer populations are less able to adapt. Read the full analysis: downtoearth.org.in/health/extreme… 🖊️ @preetha___

Himachal Pradesh is experiencing its earliest heatwave in five years. This year, the Himalayan state recorded 'heatwave' to 'severe heatwave' conditions on March 6, 2026 — a month earlier compared to last year and 74 days earlier compared to 2024! downtoearth.org.in/climate-change… First heatwave dates in Himachal Pradesh (2022–2026) 👇

Photo of the Day: Death of a Delhi wetland Where once water and wildlife thrived, there is now only plastic Photos by Vikas Choudhary downtoearth.org.in/water/death-of…

🚨BREAKING: If you've used ChatGPT for writing or brainstorming in the last 6 months, your creative ability may already be permanently damaged. A controlled experiment just proved the effect doesn't reverse when you stop using it. 3,302 creative ideas. 61 people. 30 days of tracking. Researchers split students into two groups. Half used ChatGPT for creative tasks. Half worked alone. For five days, the ChatGPT group outperformed on every metric. Higher scores. More ideas. Better output. AI was making them better. Then day 7. ChatGPT removed. Every creativity gain vanished overnight. Crashed to baseline. Zero lasting improvement. But that's not the bad part. ChatGPT users' ideas became increasingly identical to each other over time. Same content. Same structure. Same phrasing. The researchers called it homogenization. Everyone using ChatGPT started producing the same ideas wearing different clothes. When ChatGPT was removed, the creativity boost disappeared -- but the homogenization stayed. 30 days later, same result. Their creative range had been permanently compressed. Five days of use. Permanent damage 30 days later. A separate trial confirmed it. 120 students. 45-day surprise test. ChatGPT users scored 57.5%. Traditional learners scored 68.5%. AI reduces cognitive effort. Less effort means weaker encoding. Weaker encoding means less creative raw material. You're not renting a productivity boost. You're financing it with your originality. The interest rate is permanent.

Anil Agarwal Dialogue 2026 | From respiratory illnesses and asthma to heart disease, stroke risk, weakened immunity, and long-term impacts on children and the elderly, @BagaiDri talks about the growing health burden of toxic air in India at #AAD2026. @down2earthindia

Plastics constitute 60%-80% of marine debris. One truckload of plastic reaches the ocean every minute. 80% of marine litter originate in the land, says Manju Lekshmi N, senior scientist, Central Institure of Fisheries Technologies, Kochi. At AAD 2026, she demonstrated how livelihood of India's fisherfolk is directly impacted by this crisis and the interventions that are needed. @CSEINDIA

In India's megacities like Delhi that are congested, only as much as 6.4% use the car daily! Non-motorised transport and metro still dominate the modal share. Yet, our mobility plans are car oriented. We already have a walking habit, but it's unused in policy: @sunitanar

Anil Agarwal Dialogue 2026 kicks off with Sunita Narain's spirited appeal for urgent climate action. In the panel: Justice Deepak Gupta, Ashok Lavasa and Richard Mahapatra

The Centre for Science and Environment’s (@CSEINDIA) annual Anil Agarwal Dialogue (AAD) returns this year with a sharp focus on a planet under strain and a media landscape in flux. From February 25-27, 2026 at the Anil Agarwal Environment Training Institute (AAETI) in Nimli, Rajasthan, AAD 2026 promises three days of intense deliberation, field immersion and conversations that bridge science, policy and journalism. 👉Read curtain raiser by @preetha___ : shorturl.at/0kuuW

Environmental change is no longer a distant concern, it is reshaping how humans and animals coexist across shared landscapes. Addressing climate change today requires not only scientific insight, but also thoughtful communication that bridges ecology, development, and justice. Jagdish Krishnaswamy, Dean – IIHS School of Environment and Sustainability, will deliver the Chair’s Address at Anil Agarwal Dialogue 2026, the Centre for Science and Environment’s annual conclave of communicators engaging with issues of environment, development, and sustainability. In Session 2, 'Humans, Animals & Climate Change', he will reflect on the interconnected futures of biodiversity, climate systems, and human societies, and the role of science-led dialogue in shaping informed and equitable responses. 🗓️ Wednesday, 25 February 2026 🕛 2:00–2:30 PM 📍 Anil Agarwal Environment Training Institute (AAETI), Nimli, Rajasthan

As the #AlSummit kicks off in Delhi today, it’s time to revisit a less-talked about reality of India’s tech boom: Water footprint of data centres. Our four-part reported series digs into how digital growth is putting stress on water resources, especially in already vulnerable regions. 👇

As a river shifts, swallowing homes and schools, people living on the banks a lot more than houses. This is the story of Dhulian in West Bengal's Murshidabad district, where 55% of the families have been displaced six times. shorturl.at/LfgGU #River #Erosion #Displacement #Ganga

In #Budget2026, the health ministry’s allocation crossed Rs 1 lakh crore for the first time, with focus on biopharma, mental health, caregiving, AYUSH. However, overall, health accounted for 1.96% of the Union Budget 2026-27. @preetha___ with the major takeaways for the health sector Read the detailed analysis: downtoearth.org.in/health/union-b… #Health #UnionBudget2026 #AYUSH #NIMHANS2 #Caregivers #AHPs #Cancer #MentalHealth #Biopharma @CSEINDIA

@hussain786_fkh @Mishi_2210 34

@Mishi_2210 1 + 4 = 5 2 + 5 = 12 3 + 6 = 21 5 + 8 = ? Solve this: 97% will fail to Solve this test.

Answer is not "300" Tell me the answer and win $1000