India's monsoon floods kill at least 22 people in the country's northeast
Five people, including three from a single family, were killed on Saturday when their homes were buried in a mudslide in Assam state's Guwahati city, an official flood bulletin said. In neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh state, which borders China, seven people were killed on Friday when their vehicle was swept away by floodwaters. Two others drowned in a separate incident in the state.
Eight people were killed in the states of Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya in the last 24 hours due to floods and mudslides brought on by the rains, according to official figures.
Meanwhile in Assam, authorities disconnected the electricity in several areas to reduce the risk of electrocution, state Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. Heavy rains also led to flooding in many urban areas of Assam's capital city of Guwahati, leading to long power outages Friday night and prompting authorities to shut schools and colleges on Saturday.
India's weather agency has forecast more heavy rains in the region in the coming days.
India's annual June-September monsoon season offers respite from intense summer heat. But the rains that are crucial for crops planted during the season often cause extensive damage, particularly in the northeast, which is considered one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change.
Scientists say monsoons are becoming more erratic because of extreme weather and global warming, leading to frequent landslides and flash floods in India's Himalayan north.
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Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Otters spotted in Kashmir waters, and residents are both thrilled and wary
Hugam, Indian-administered Kashmir – Nasir Amin Bhat, 17, was barely ankle-deep in the water when his school friend and neighbour Adil Ahmad shouted from the riverbank on a breezy summer evening in May. 'Turn back! There's something in the water.' Across the Lidder, a tributary of the Jhelum River, in Hugam village of Indian-administered Kashmir's Anantnag district, a Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) plunged into the glacial waters and started paddling furiously against the current with all four limbs. 'I had no idea what it was,' Bhat, a high school student, told Al Jazeera, 'but I grabbed my smartphone and turned on the camera.' The grainy, nine-second video shows the creature with a fur coat – classified as 'near threatened' on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List – gliding out of the water and jumping onto the riverbank. After a few clumsy steps, the semiaquatic animal, which can reach elevations of 3,660 metres (12,000 feet) in the Himalayas during the summer, disappears behind a thick grove of bushes, bringing the video to an uneventful end. Long believed to have gone extinct, Eurasian otters seem to be showing signs of resurgence in Kashmir, with three individuals spotted by Indian wildlife officers in two places since 2023. The chance sightings have excited environmentalists and wildlife conservationists while raising hopes of a better future for the Himalayan region's fragile freshwater ecosystems, which have been battered by climate change in recent years. 'Habitat has improved' Indian wildlife biologist Nisarg Prakash believes the sighting of otters in Kashmir was an indicator of high-quality aquatic habitats. 'The reappearance of otters might mean that poaching has come down or the habitat has improved, and maybe both in some cases,' Prakash, whose work focuses on otters in southern parts of India, told Al Jazeera. Protected under India's Wildlife Protection Act, otters were once widely distributed across north India, including the Himalayan foothills, the Gangetic plains and parts of the northeast. A peer-reviewed study by IUCN in November last year noted that the Eurasian otter, known among Kashmiri locals as 'voddur', was found in water bodies of Lidder and Jehlum valleys, including Wular Lake, one of Asia's largest freshwater lakes. However, over the years, their population became 'patchy and fragmented due to habitat loss, pollution and human disturbances', says Khursheed Ahmad, a senior wildlife scientist at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST-K). Ahmad said that, due to habitat alterations from human activities and the encroachment of their ideal habitats along riverbanks and other water bodies, Eurasian otters retreated and became confined to areas that were least accessible to humans. 'Although they were not extinct, sightings and occurrences had become extremely rare and they were never documented,' said Ahmad, who heads the Division of Wildlife Sciences at SKUAST-K. Less than two years ago, a research team led by Ahmad accidentally stumbled on otters during a study on musk deer in Gurez, a valley of lush meadows and towering peaks split into two by the Kishanganga River along the Line of Control, the de facto border between India and Pakistan in the Himalayas. Past midnight on August 6, 2023, two individual otters were captured in a riverine habitat at an altitude of 2,600 metres (8,530 feet) in the valley near the 330MW Kishanganga Hydro Electric Project built by India following a prolonged legal battle with Pakistan at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. After that sighting, the research team focused on documenting the presence of otters on the Indian side of Kashmir. 'Unfortunately, due to heavy disturbance from fishing and other local and paramilitary activities, no further presence was documented,' the IUCN study notes. Ahmed said Bhat's video is only the second photographic evidence of otters in Kashmir.'Too terrified to go there' But in the large farming village of Hugam, comprising some 300 families, residents are both excited and worried. At the crack of dawn, Muneera Bano, a homemaker, wakes to the flutter of crows cawing furiously on the willow trees lining the tributary's banks outside her home in Hugam, located some 58km (36 miles) south of the main city of Srinagar. Bano has stopped washing clothes and utensils on the riverbank after the otter was discovered, something she had done for years. 'There are underwater caves [in the tributary], and it is hiding in one of them. When it comes out in the morning, crows see it and they start screaming. I am too terrified to go there,' she said. Bhat, the teenager who filmed the video, said he often used to bathe in the tributary's glacial waters and sometimes also caught fish. 'Now I can't even think about going there,' he said. The grainy video led to rumours about the presence of crocodiles in the tributary, prompting Indian wildlife officials to set up a camera trap, which confirmed that it was a Eurasian otter – also seen in Bhat's video – and not a crocodile. Some wildlife officials even bathed in the river in the presence of village elders to demonstrate that the water was completely safe. Although otters do not pose any threat to humans, they can turn unpredictable, especially when close to humans. But scientists say these animals can grow accustomed to the presence of humans. Wildlife biologist Prakash said rather than being scared or fearful, curiosity about otters can make them a sight to be enjoyed while watching them fish or swim. 'Otters are largely active around dawn, dusk and after dark, though they can sometimes be seen during daytime as well. Eurasian otters largely prey on fish, eels, and sometimes, waterfowl,' he said. Kashmiri farmer Wasim Ahmad remembers a summer day in the early 1990s when he was on the way back from school situated along the banks of Doodhganga, a major tributary of the Jhelum River. As Ahmad, now in his 40s, turned the corner, he saw a large procession of people walking jubilantly. One man was holding a dead otter while another was walking a dog on a leash. Bagh-e-Mehtab in Srinagar is home to a community of poachers who, in the past, made a living by selling skins of animals such as cats, otters, and other animals. With stricter animal welfare laws in force in India now, the community has given up the old profession. 'Our elders warned us that otters skinned the children and ate them raw,' said Ahmad, who was in ninth grade then. 'But as I grew up, I didn't come across even one person who was harmed by otters. It was basically a tactic to keep the children away from the river.' Ahmad, the wildlife scientist, said the reappearance of otters in Kashmir was a positive sign. 'Now we should see to it that the new habitat is protected from uncontrolled pollution, garbage accumulation, increased carbon emissions and habitat degradation. Addressing these challenges is crucial for their conservation and wellbeing,' he told Al Jazeera. Solve the daily Crossword
Forbes
35 minutes ago
- Forbes
Cricket Has A Huge Climate Change Problem
Virat Kohli of India, one of cricket's biggest stars, suffered from heat exhaustion at the 2023 ICC ... More World Cup in India. Cricket is facing its ultimate challenge: climate change. The second most popular sport in the world (2.5 billion fans) is being played in dangerously hot and humid conditions that increasingly put its players and fans at risk. The new Hit for Six: The Danger Zone report, authored by non-profits Climate Central, FrontRunners, The British Association for Sustainability in Sport (BASIS), and The Next Test, analyzes the increase in extreme heat and humidity on the Indian subcontinent and in other cricket-loving regions like the United Kingdom, the West Indies, and Australia. According to Hit for Six, nearly 50% of the Indian Premier League's (IPL) 2025 matches were played in conditions of 'Extreme Caution' or 'Danger' on the Heat Index — a measure that combines air temperature and humidity to assess heat-related risk. The IPL is a global juggernaut, similar in scale and quality to the English Premier League and the NFL. It is a country-wide obsession that breeds fame and fortune for players and captures the hearts of fans worldwide with every match. Unfortunately, as heat, humidity, and air pollution continue to increase, it faces an uncertain future despite its vast economic resources. Reflecting on the challenge cricket faces, former West Indies Captain Daren Ganga says, 'This challenge is an existential one...I have seen the unbridled joy and enthusiasm that this game of ours brings to different generations and nations. It is a pleasure to behold and cherish, and it saddens me deeply to see it threatened by a worsening climate crisis.' Cricket in Extreme Heat The implications of 'Extreme Caution' and 'Danger' conditions are stark for cricket players and fans. According to the National Weather Service, 'Extreme Caution' is the classification for heat index temperatures between 90°F and 102°F (32 °C to 39.4 °C). The effects on the human body can range from cramps to heat stroke, and are exacerbated by prolonged exposure or physical activity. 'Danger' is denoted as a heat index temperature from 103F to 124F (39.4C to 51C). 12% of the IPL matches in 2025 were played in this temperature range, one that seems unbearable to sit in, let alone bat, bowl, and run in. England international Maia Bouchier has been subject to these temperatures, calling them 'incredibly hard to play in.' Bouchier says, 'We played in Dubai for the Twenty20 World Cup in October and after one game, where I had only really been batting for about 45 minutes to an hour, I couldn't breathe in the humidity and I had to sit down for 15 minutes after we had finished because I felt light headed and physically couldn't stay standing.' PERTH, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 12: Marnus Labuschagne of Australia feels the heat during day one of the ... More First Test match between Australia and New Zealand at Optus Stadium on December 12, 2019 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by) The conditions are not foreign to Ganga either. The Caribbean native says, 'I have played in blistering heat and vividly recall he nausea, the dizziness, the cramps that come with feelings of heatstroke.' As heat and humidity increase, player reaction times increase, concentration goes down and reflexes are impaired. Dehydration causes cramps, and overall performance deteriorates the longer the athlete is in the heat, exerting themselves. For a sport like cricket, which can last between three and eight hours depending on the format, heat can be deadly. India's Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill, both of whom are elite athletes accustomed to the subcontinent's harsh heat index, suffered debilitating cramps during the ICC World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, with Gill forced to retire for several innings. The Data The Hit for Six researchers collected heat index temperatures from 1970 through 2025 from all of India's major cricket cities, and from other countries around the world. In that time, Mumbai has seen its high-risk heat days jump by 125%. Every major cricketing nation has seen a surge in extreme heat days as a direct cause of climate change. Thiruvananthapuram in India's southern Kerala region recorded more than 100 hazardous heat days in 2024 alone. According to the report, 'these are days when temperatures exceed safe limits for human health, dramatically increasing the risk of heat-related illness.' Dr. Kaitlyn Trudeau is the Senior Research Associate at Climate Central. Trudeau synthesized the temperature data for the report, but admits that temperatures in the study and their impacts could be even greater than reported. Speaking to me via video call, Trudeau said Heat Index is the easiest and most accessible climate-related figure to calculate in different parts of the world; however, it assumes the person is in the shade, and it underestimates the impact of heat on the body. Heat Index does not adequately account for latent heat, which is the moisture in the air that can lead to greater total heat accumulation. Nor does it factor in elements like wind and radiation. In cricket, players are in sunny areas for the duration of the game, often in padded gear, which adds extra heat as they bat, none of which is truly accounted for. Sri Lanka's players attend a practice session amid smoggy conditions on the eve of their 2023 ICC ... More Men's Cricket World Cup one-day international (ODI) match against Bangladesh at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on November 5, 2023. Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha admitted on November 5 his team has "no choice" but to play Sri Lanka in smog-choked New Delhi as their failed World Cup mission winds down. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP) / — IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE — (Photo by ARUN SANKAR/AFP via Getty Images) Heat is also just the tip of the climate iceberg. The T20 World Cup hosted in the U.S. and the Caribbean last summer was disrupted by multiple times by increasingly unpredictable and devastating thunderstorms. The enduring image of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India is of Bangladesh players wearing masks as they trained in a smog-filled Delhi ahead of their World Cup match against Sri Lanka. If air pollution in India were to be reduced, heat and humidity could actually increase on the subcontinent, as currently the particulate matter is reflecting some of the sun's rays into space. What's even more concerning, according to Trudeau, is that the world is already reaching temperatures that were expected in 2050. Changes in climate, and especially its upper limits, are taking place faster than expected. As she says, 'It's hard to imagine we won't be seeing more of this unless we dramatically do something.' Recommendations for Cricket The most obvious recommendation the report makes, albeit one that is out of the cricket industry's hands, is to reduce carbon pollution by stopping the exploration, refining, and burning of fossil fuels. As Kristina Dahl, Climate Central's VP of Science, explains: 'Across India, climate change is increasing the number of days when extreme heat threatens the health of both cricket fans and cricket players. This trend toward more frequent, more extreme heat will continue as long as we keep burning fossil fuels, so preserving the future of cricket will require both cutting carbon pollution and considering ways to adapt cricket seasons to keep players and fans safe." If climate change is not arrested and temperatures continue to rise, governing bodies will need to consider playing games at cooler times of day or indoors to avoid potential heat exhaustion. In line with this, Hit for Six recommends that national federations follow the leadership of Cricket Australia and England and Wales Cricket Board and publish guidelines for playing in extreme heat, something Bouchier says she would welcome. The report also pushes for governing bodies to sign up to the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework, review their heat policies annually, review their commercial sponsors, such as the International Cricket Council's partnership with Saudi oil major Aramco, and invest in eco-conscious infrastructure. In the words of Selwin Hart, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Climate Action, 'If cricket is to survive and thrive, it needs to adapt. But, like any good team, it also needs major cricket powers to play their respective parts in tackling the root causes of the climate us harness the unifying power of cricket to drive meaningful change, ensuring that present and future generations can continue to enjoy the game under clear skies and on firm ground.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
The voices in the cockpit fuelling controversy over Air India crash
When the preliminary report into the crash of Air India Flight 171 - which killed 260 people in June - was released, many hoped it would bring some measure of closure. Instead, the 15-page report added fuel to a firestorm of speculation. For, despite the measured tone of the report, one detail continues to haunt investigators, aviation analysts and the public alike. Seconds after take-off, both fuel-control switches on the 12-year-old Boeing 787 abruptly moved to "cut-off", cutting fuel to the engines and causing total power loss - a step normally done only after landing. The cockpit voice recording captures one pilot asking the other why he "did the cut-off", to which the person replies that he didn't. The recording doesn't clarify who said what. At the time of take-off, the co-pilot was flying the aircraft while the captain was monitoring. What we know so far about Air India crash investigation Read the preliminary report Are India's skies safe? Air safety watchdog responds amid rising concerns The switches were returned to their normal inflight position, triggering automatic engine relight. At the time of the crash, one engine was regaining thrust while the other had relit but had not yet recovered power. The plane was airborne for less than a minute before crashing into a neighbourhood in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad. Several speculative theories have emerged since the preliminary report - a full report is expected in a year or so. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and Reuters news agency have reported that "new details in the probe of last month's Air India crash are shifting the focus to the senior pilot in the cockpit". Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera claimed that its sources had told them the first officer repeatedly asked the captain why he "shut off the engines". Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, was the captain on the flight, while Clive Kunder, 32, was the co-pilot who was flying the plane. Together, the two pilots had more than 19,000 hours of flight experience - nearly half of it on the Boeing 787. Both had passed all pre-flight health checks before the crash. Understandably, the wave of speculative leaks has rattled investigators and angered Indian pilots. As theories swirl about Air India crash, key details remain unknown Last week, India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), the lead investigator, stated in a release that "certain sections of the international media are repeatedly attempting to draw conclusions through selective and unverified reporting". It described these "actions [as] irresponsible, especially while the investigation remains ongoing". Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the US's National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is assisting the investigation, said on X that the media reports were "premature and speculative" and that investigations of this magnitude take time". Back in India, the Indian Commercial Pilots' Association condemned the rush to blame the crew as "reckless" and "deeply insensitive", urging restraint until the final report is out. Sam Thomas, head of the Airline Pilots' Association of India (ALPA India), told the BBC that "speculation has triumphed over transparency", emphasising the need to review the aircraft's maintenance history and documentation alongside the cockpit voice recorder data. At the heart of the controversy is the brief cockpit recording in the report - the full transcript, expected in the final report, should shed clearer light on what truly happened. A Canada-based air accident investigator, who preferred to remain unnamed, said that the excerpt of the conversation in the report presents at several possibilities. For example, "if pilot 'B' was the one who operated the switches - and did so unwittingly or unconsciously - it's understandable that they would later deny having done it," the investigator said. "But if pilot 'A' operated the switches deliberately and with intent, he may have posed the question knowing full well that the cockpit voice recorder would be scrutinised, and with the aim of deflecting attention and avoiding identification as the one responsible. "Even if the AAIB is eventually able to determine who said what, that doesn't decisively answer the question 'Who turned the fuel off?'". "We may even never know the answer to that question." Investigators told the BBC that while there appeared to be strong evidence the fuel switches were manually turned off, it's still important to keep "an open mind". A glitch in the plane's Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) system - which monitors engine health and performance - could, in theory, trigger an automatic shutdown if it receives false signals from sensors, some pilots suggest. However, if the pilot's exclamation - 'why did you cut-off [the fuel]?' - came after the switches moved to cut-off (as noted in the preliminary report), it would undermine that theory. The final report will likely include time-stamped dialogue and a detailed analysis of engine data to clarify this. Speculation has been fuelled less by who said what, and more by what wasn't said. The preliminary report withheld the full cockpit voice recorder (CVR) transcript, revealing only a single, telling line from the final moments. This selective disclosure has raised questions: was the investigation team confident about the speakers' identities but chose to withhold the rest out of sensitivity? Or are they still uncertain whose voices they were hearing and needed more time to fully investigate the matter before publishing any conclusions? Peter Goelz, former NTSB managing director, says the AAIB should release a voice recorder transcript with pilot voices identified. "If any malfunctions began during take-off, they would be recorded in the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and would likely have triggered alerts in the flight management system - alerts the crew would almost certainly have noticed and, more importantly, discussed." Investigators are urging restraint in drawing conclusions. "We have to be cautious because it's easy to assume that if the switches were turned off, it must mean intentional action - pilot error, suicide, or something else. And that's a dangerous path to go down with the limited information we have," Shawn Pruchnicki, a former airline accident investigator and aviation expert at Ohio State University, told the BBC. At the same time, alternative theories continue to circulate. Indian newspapers includig the Indian Express flagged a possible electrical fire in the tail as a key focus. But the preliminary report makes clear: the engines shut down because both fuel switches were moved to cut-off - a fact backed by recorder data. If a tail fire occurred, it likely happened post-impact, triggered by spilled fuel or damaged batteries, an independent investigator said. Last week, AAIB chief GVG Yugandhar stressed that the preliminary report aims to "provide information about 'WHAT' happened". "It's too early for definite conclusions," he said, emphasising the investigation is ongoing and the final report will identify "root causes and recommendations". He also pledged to share updates on "technical or public interest matters" as they arise. Summing up, Mr Pruchnicki said the probe "boils down to two possibilities - either deliberate action or confusion, or an automation-related issue". "The report doesn't rush to blame human error or intent; there's no proof it was done intentionally," he added. In other words, no smoking gun - just an uneasy wait for answers that may never even fully emerge. Air India crash report live updates Fuel to engines cut off before Air India crash, preliminary report says Who are the victims of the Air India plane crash? Solve the daily Crossword
