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Meet Hikmet Kaya: The Turkish forester who planted 30 million trees and turned 25,000 acres of barren hills into a forest
A once barren landscape in Turkey has become a vast forest after decades of effort. Hikmet Kaya helped plant 30 million trees there. How did this quiet mission transform thousands of acres?
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Called crazy, now the ‘Forest Man of India’: Meet Jadav Payeng, who turned hot sand into a forest larger than New York’s Central Park
Once mocked as crazy, Jadav Payeng quietly planted trees for decades on a barren sandbar in Assam. Today, his lone effort has grown into a forest larger than Central Park.
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China’s tree-planting drive turns the harsh Taklamakan desert from a biological void into a carbon sink
China’s vast tree-planting drive around the Taklamakan Desert may be turning shifting sands into a carbon sink. But can forests truly tame one of Earth’s harshest landscapes?
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Meant to burn for few days but ‘Door to Hell’ has blazed for over 50 years — The mystery of Darvaza Gas Crater
Lit in 1971 to burn for weeks, Turkmenistan’s “Door to Hell” has blazed for over 50 years. Now fading, the fiery crater still hides mysteries beneath its flames and desert myths.
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ESA plans a controlled crash in space as Draco satellite heads for destruction
Europe plans to crash a satellite on purpose in 2027. Named Draco, the mission will watch a spacecraft burn from inside, raising questions about space debris and future orbits.
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This desert blooms overnight and turns into a sea of colours, where does it exist?
Rare monsoon rains have briefly turned Rajasthan’s Thar Desert green, awakening dormant seeds and wildlife, offering a striking glimpse into how one of India’s driest landscapes can suddenly burst with life.
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‘Beyond Reckless’: Drunk fishermen climb onto dead whale for photos as viral video triggers outrage
A viral clip showing drunk fishermen posing on a dead whale has sparked widespread outrage, raising questions about wildlife respect, hidden dangers of carcasses, and the growing impact of clout-driven behaviour online.
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Microplastics in city skies: How everyday breathing introduces tiny plastics into lungs
Researchers in Xi’an found city air microplastics tripled after COVID-19, with masks and pollution driving fibers into lungs, raising new questions about health risks and urban pollution patterns.
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ISRO rings in the new year with PSLV-C62, launching EOS-N1 and 18 satellites into orbit
India opens 2026 with a crucial PSLV launch carrying a powerful surveillance satellite and experimental payloads, marking a comeback mission that could reshape how the country watches Earth from space.
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A timing shift in stubble burning could be worsening North India’s air, NASA says
Satellite data show stubble fires across northern India shifting later daily, complicating pollution tracking, worsening smog risks and raising new questions about farmer behaviour, monitoring gaps, and Delhi’s air crisis.
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Parliament panel pulls up IREL over board-level vacancies, Odisha mining JV stuck awaiting clearances
The minerals and rare earths company under the Department of Atomic Energy is under review for slow progress on key fronts.
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Parliament panel seeks faster clearances of coal mine, flags delays in green approvals
The Standing Committee on Coal, Mines and Steel has recommended overhaul of clearance framework as forest approvals stretch up to 34 months
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Plants failed to absorb carbon 56 million years ago — Are we near a repeat?
Plants pull carbon from air during photosynthesis. They store carbon in leaves, wood and roots. This process supports the global carbon cycle.
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World’s most expensive satellite Nisar sends first sharp look at India as science phase begins
Nisar’s S-Band radar captured the Godavari River Delta with striking detail, showing mangroves, fields, arecanut crops and aquaculture ponds.
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Ozone layer on track to heal as 2025 Antarctic hole becomes fifth smallest since 1992, says NASA
NASA and NOAA teams reported an annual maximum of 8.83 million square miles on September 9. They said this made it the fifth smallest hole since 1992.
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Watch: Wolf outsmarts crab trap for a snack in what may be first tool use by a wild canid
A remote camera captured a wild wolf skillfully pulling a crab trap ashore, revealing rare tool-like behaviour that researchers say may be the first recorded in wild canids.
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Massive hidden heat ‘burp’ building in Southern ocean could reignite global warming
Under current warming, the ocean stores heat as deep waters mix with warmer layers above. At the same time, the loss of reflective sea ice allows more solar radiation to penetrate and be absorbed.
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Mysterious mass stranding leaves 26 killer whales dead in Argentina, scientists seek answers
Killer whales, also known as orcas, are apex predators and key indicators of marine health. They are the largest members of the dolphin family and are easily recognised by their black-and-white colouring.
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Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites are crashing into Earth, worry scientists
SpaceX’s Starlink programme operates over 6,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit, the largest satellite constellation ever built.
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Conservation success: Green turtle returns from the brink of extinction, say scientists
New global data reveals green turtle numbers are rising after years of targeted protection. The species, long listed as endangered, has now been reclassified as least concern on the IUCN Red List.
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Hidden treasure in waves: Earth’s ocean water holds tons of gold, but why it’s difficult to extract
Gold is present in seawater at unimaginably low levels. Scientists measure concentrations in femtomoles per litre, tiny beyond normal detection tools. Rivers, dust, and hydrothermal vents constantly supply trace amounts of gold.
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Meet Attwater’s Prairie-Chicken: The rare bird that looks surprisingly like a vibrant rabbit
This rare prairie-chicken baffles birdwatchers with its rabbit-like look. With vibrant features and surprising charm, it’s one of nature’s most unusual optical illusions.
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We’re killing animals smarter than Dogs’: Scientists warn of ‘octopus farming horror’
Octopuses have around 500 million neurones in their bodies. Many of these neurones are spread through their arms. This allows them to act and sense independently.
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NASA's picture of the Day, September 1: Jupiter’s Moon Callisto, a dirty iceball, may hide ocean beneath its surface
Callisto's surface is the Solar System's most heavily cratered. Voyager 2 took a dramatic photo of this cratered world in 1979.
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Lightning pollution tracked in real time by NASA Satellite Observations
When lightning strikes, air molecules are split by heat. The reaction produces nitrogen oxides, gases also created by car exhausts. Lightning contributes 10% to 15% of global nitrogen oxides.
