The emperor penguin gives birth during the Antarctic winter and requires solid sea ice from April through December to nest fledgling chicks. If the sea freezes later or melts prematurely, the emperor family cannot complete its reproductive cycle. "If the water reaches the newborn penguins, which are not ready to swim and do not have waterproof plumage, they die of the cold and drown," said a biologist.

Many reptiles are being pushed to the brink, the researchers said, by factors similarly imperiling the world's other land vertebrates - amphibians, birds and mammals - namely, deforestation for agriculture, logging and development, urban encroachment and hunting by people. Climate change and invasive species also present ongoing threats, they added.

The weather department attributed the unusual heat to the lack of rainfall due to the absence of active western disturbances over north India and any major system over south India. The country as a whole recorded a rainfall of 8.9 mm, which was 71 per cent less than its long period average rainfall of 30.4 mm. It was also the third-lowest precipitation in March since 1901 after 7.2 mm in 1909 and 8.7 mm in 1908.

In the first detailed "inventory of glaciers" at the Alaknanda river basin, which contributes the maximum water to river Ganga, scientists from IISc and IITs discovered a reduction of 59 sq km in the glacier area over a period of almost 50 years, between 1968 and 2020. This meant that 8% of the total area of glaciers decreased.

The western US, northern Siberia, central India, and eastern Australia already are seeing more blazes, and the likelihood of catastrophic wildfires globally could increase more than 50% by the turn of the century, according to the report from the UN Environment Programme.

The India State of Forest Report (ISFR) has for the first time mapped climate change hotspots in the country in three future time period scenarios of 2030, 2050 and 2085. It observed that Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are projected to witness the highest temperature increase whereas Andaman & Nicobar Islands, West Bengal, Goa, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh may face least temperature rise over these short, medium and long time periods.

India’s green cover has touched nearly one-fourth of its geographical area with "forests" and "trees outside recorded forest areas" put together recording an increase of 2,261 sq km (0.3%) in 2021 compared to the previous assessment in 2019, shows the latest India State of Forest Report (ISFR 2021) released on Thursday.

The data compiled by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Nasa also revealed that the last eight years were the eight hottest and the last decade was the warmest since record-keeping began in 1880, officials said.

The projected emissions increase shows the US is now further off the target set by the Biden administration under the Paris climate agreement to slash emissions 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030. US greenhouse gas emissions were 17.4% below 2005 levels in 2021, up from 22.2% below 2005 levels in 2020, according to the Rhodium Group, a research organization.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday predicted a wet spell over northwest India, including Delhi-NCR, Punjab and Haryana, and central India till January 9 due to two consecutive active western disturbances. It, however, said that there may not be cold wave conditions over north India during the next five days.

Data sourced from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) till December 29 this year revealed that 60 of the 124 big cats that died fell prey to poachers, accidents and man-animal conflict outside protected areas. Statewise, Madhya Pradesh, with 526 tigers, had the highest loss at 42, followed by Maharashtra, which has 312 tigers, at 26, and Karnataka, which hosts 524 tigers, at 15.

Major multilateral organisations will launch a new initiative next week aimed at developing a system of standards for companies, investors and financial institutions to measure their impact on global sustainability. The new Impact Management Platform is founded by four UN agencies, the OECD, and the World Bank.