As Chennai’s sizzling summer days have ended, work has begun on the northeastern monsoon across the city’s 15 zones. This year, experts and weather bloggers are calling attention to the Super El Niño (a weather pattern brewing in the tropical Pacific Ocean). Anticipating heavy storms, the Tamil Nadu government constituted an expert advisory committee under the Tamil Nadu Disaster Risk Reduction Agency to strengthen disaster preparedness and climate resilience, at the end of July. “Tamil Nadu will face the El Niño effects till September 2027, and we could potentially face a super cyclone forming in the Bay of Bengal during…

Over 200 citizens, resident groups, environmental organisations and civil society groups have urged the Karnataka government to roll back its decision to amend the Karnataka Government Parks (Preservation) Act, 1975, which would allow portions of parks and gardens to be used for concrete-heavy infrastructure projects. Gathering at Lalbagh Botanical Garden in Bengaluru, the groups showcased a banner saying: NOT 5%. NOT 1 INCH. LEAVE OUR PARKS ALONE. "Bengaluru is becoming hotter and more climate vulnerable, yet the Karnataka government is making it easier to take away one of the city’s most important forms of natural infrastructure. Parks help cool neighbourhoods,…