Since Bengaluru’s lakes were formed by damming water flowing down valleys, they are typically wedge-shaped, with a gentle slope and a deep basin towards the embankment. This promotes the growth of diverse vegetation and animals, each adapted to a particular water depth. The result is a natural zonation – reedbeds and shoreline vegetation at the edges, floating and submerged vegetation in the middle, and open water at the deepest end. During the Open City biodiversity datajam held in December 2025, our group examined the ecological trends around Bengaluru’s lakes. In an earlier article, we examined how migrant and resident waterbirds…

Over the past few years, maths teacher Usha found her classroom sweltering during her usual 12.50–1.50 pm period, on the second floor of Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Government Girls Higher Secondary School. “It was so difficult to take class during the peak hours,” she says. But this year, she mentions that it feels slightly bearable, and attributes this to the shade of the trees, the wind blowing through the building, and the latest addition — solar-reflective paint on the roof. Data from a state government and UNEP Cooling pilot project at the Ambattur school shows that reflective coating brought the classroom’s internal…