While they await orders which would see the area around Corbett National Park being declared an ecologically-sensitive zone, Uttarakhand forest officials have come up with a proposal to prohibit construction of buildings higher than two storeys within a 2-km radius of the tiger reserve.

In a release on Wednesday, a senior forest department official said that the final orders implementing the above proposal have been issued following a nod from Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna.

Meanwhile, in a separate announcement, the official added that 228 Van Gujar families living inside the Rajaji National Park would soon be relocated to the Shahmansur reserve forest in Haridwar.

These 228 families are the ones which were overlooked when a previous count of dwellers inside Rajaji National Park was taken.

The families in question are to be relocated to the reserve in Haridwar within a month’s time after the orders for the same were approved by the chief minister.

Noida :  Steria, a leading provider of IT-enabled business services, today achieved a position on CDP’s SBF 250 Climate Change Performance Leadership Index (CPLI) and Climate Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI).  This recognition reflects Steria’s efforts in tackling climate change. It is announced today in the CDP France Climate Change Report 2013 (French).

Steria is one of only 11 companies out of over 4,500 across the world to achieve a band A for performance and a disclosure score of 100.  This places Steria on the SBF 250 CPLI and CDLI, annual indices compiled by CDP, the international NGO that providers the only global environmental disclosure system formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project.  The CPLI highlights those companies listed on the Société des Bourses Françaises 250 Index that demonstrate strategies committed to improving their impacts on the environment.  The CDLI recognises those that have displayed a strong approach to the disclosure of information regarding climate change.  CDP indices provide an evaluation tool for institutional investors and stakeholders tracking corporate efforts to mitigate climate change. Through various channels, including Bloomberg terminals, company scores are communicated to investors and other decision makers that need to assess corporate preparedness for changing market demands and emissions regulation.

Paul Simpson, the CEO of CDP, commented: “Steria’s commitment over the past five years to climate change and sustainability, both inside the company and in their services to clients, is reaping benefit with outstanding results in both disclosure and performance”.

Steven Tebbe, CDP Managing Director Europe, added: “The perfect score of 100A is a truly excellent performance and Steria becomes the first French company to achieve this feat”.

As an international IT Group, Steria has always considered it vital to share its sustainability strategies, plans and achievements with its stakeholders.  Its participation in CDP enables it to do this.

“We are particularly proud of this achievement, which we consider to be the fruit of our global CR policy, implemented daily by the talented people of Steria,” stated François Enaud, Steria Group CEO. “This award also recognises the fact that a strong environmental policy is an integral part of a strong business strategy,” he added.

Steria’s ranking in first place across both CDP’s 2013 SBF 250 indices is the culmination of its long-standing commitment to empowering a group-wide Sustainability Committee and its associated network of green ambassadors throughout the company who drive the changes behind its achievement.

By engaging suppliers through CDP’s supply chain programme, Steria supports them to consider and become accountable for their environmental impact. The Group puts a particular focus on transparency, governance and progression. This is reflected in Steria’s procurement policy and an increasing number of emissions reductions has been reported by their suppliers this year.

Steria – a long-standing commitment to the environment

For many years now, environmental responsibility has been embedded in Steria’s approach to business. Whilst improving our sustainability by adopting greener working practices and reducing our CO2 emissions (“Living Green”), we also help our clients become more sustainable in a profitable way (“Green Solutions”).

Our partner, The CarbonNeutral Company acknowledges the success of Steria’s approach; their Managing Director, Jonathan Shopley stated: “Steria continues to demonstrate impressive environmental leadership in the IT service sector. Building on its programme to manage and reduce company emissions, Steria is now focused on ensuring customers have the lowest CO2 impact by rolling out CarbonNeutral® datacentres across their global network”.

Living Green – How Steria people are all involved in the Group’s commitment to the environment

Steria runs many programmes helping to reduce the impacts of its business on the environment. ‘Living Green’ engages employees in the governance and management of sustainability initiatives. Employee engagement has always been an integral part of this programme, and today ‘Living Green’ involves employees in all the countries in which Steria operates and at all levels of the organisation, from the Group CEO to the most recent recruit.  ‘Living Green’ has delivered many benefits for the company, its staff and clients, as well as the environment.

Sanctuary Asia, supported by DSP Blackrock and Deutsche Bank, will present the 14th Sanctuary Wildlife Awards. The awards were constituted to recognise the best-in-the-field of wildlife conservation and to shine a spotlight on the unsung heroes who are defending the wildernesses and thus the food and water security of the Indian subcontinent. The awardees are nominated by Sanctuary Asia readers and supporters from across the country.

In addition to the Wildlife Service Awards, the Green Teacher Award and the prestigious Lifetime Service Award, the awards will also present three bright and young people with the Young Naturalist Awards. Other awards include a Special Tiger Award, a Wind Under the Wings Award and the Best Protected Area Award.

Speaking about the awards, Bittu Sahgal, Editor, Sanctuary Asia, said, “The Sanctuary Wildlife Awards celebrate the ordinary Indian, the quiet Indian. The one on whose shoulders this country really runs. In an ocean of dark daily news, these earth heroes who defend natural India as an article of faith, are nation builders, climate warriors, and conscience keepers. History will remember them well.”

Hemendra Kothari, Chairman, DSP Blackrock said, “From its inception, DSP BlackRock has supported Indian wildlife organisations and wildlife departments because this is in the financial and social self-interest of our country. Protecting India’s wildlife will ensure the nation’s water and food security. This can provide millions of jobs, help us counter climate change and enhance the fertility of our farmlands. I congratulate all the winners of the Sanctuary Wildlife Awards 2013 and wish them the very best as they carry on their good work.”

Ravneet Gill, CEO – India, Deutsche Bank, said: “We are committed to supporting sustainability and conservation in India through our biodiversity-climate programme GreenKarbon, together with Sanctuary Asia. We are proud of those being recognised as earth heroes today. They are our true conscience keepers and will inspire coming generations to build a more enlightened and sheltering planet.”

Source : Lokesh Shastri

When South Asia’s largest exhibition on Air Conditioning, Refrigeration & Building Services, ACREX India 2014, will open its doors February 27 to March 1, 2014 it will set an example for moving towards a carbon-neutral HVAC&R industry. ACREX India is going to reduce its carbon footprint with the help of its exhibitors from Asia, Europe and North America. 10,000 trees will be planted all over India to compensate CO2 emissions created in the course of the event. ACREX India 2014 is organized by the Indian Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ISHRAE) and NürnbergMesse India.

The construction industry is India’s second largest industry after agriculture, which has traditionally been the country’s largest economic factor. With its expanding economy and its high urbanization rate, India is in need of extended infrastructure, a requirement strongly supported by government funding. Today, 32 million people in India are employed by the construction industry, whose growth is expected to stay strong over the coming years.

From Delhi, we have top HVAC industry players like Mittal Refrigerations, Munchur Machines Pvt. Ltd., Precise Air Terminal Products Pvt. Ltd., Rapid Cool, Sea Bird Refrigeration Pvt. Ltd., Smoke Solution India/ S.N. Global, Sphere Equipments Pvt. Ltd., Spirotech Heat Exchangers Private Ltd., Standard Refrigeration Pvt. Ltd., The Designo International, The Refrigeration House, UP Twiga Fiberglass Ltd., VK Building Services Pvt. Ltd., Weldon Engineers India, Xtreme Cooler (Xtreme Gaming Pvt Ltd.), Zamil Air Conditioners India Pvt. Ltd. participating in the exhibition and showcasing their products and technologies.

ACREX India 2014 offers the construction industry the perfect platform to link its various sectors with international partners. The exhibition, which has grown rapidly over the last few years, will host country pavilions from the USA, Germany, Italy, Korea and China. Additionally, exhibitors from Czech Republic, France, Malaysia, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Thailand, UAE, UK and Ukraine have already signed up for participation. “With ACREX India, we provide a platform for our local products and services while also exchanging expertise and information in the building services sector internationally,” says Sonia Prashar, Managing Director of NürnbergMesse India.

ACREX India 2014 not only showcases products and developments from the HVAC&R industry but also from allied building services including plumbing and fire safety, and window and facade products. These are at the centre of the concurrent exhibition fensterbau/frontale india, which ACREX India participants can visit free of charge.

Plant a tree for carbon neutrality

In line with ACREX India’s traditional focus on energy-efficient technologies, its organizer ISHRAE will set an example for responsible use of natural resources. The organizer will sponsor the planting of 10,000 trees across India, resulting in a huge reduction of the trade show’s carbon foot print. The trees will be planted by the Indian NGO Sankalp Taru. ISHRAE is subsidizing the costs for most trees, supplemented by contributions from the exhibitors. The trees can be located via GPRS and their growth can be monitored over time. The names of those contributing will be tagged on the trees which will be looked after by local farmers, who will in the end also harvest the yield.

By planting a tree, exhibitors therefore not only reduce the carbon emissions of the trade fair, but also contribute to the environment on a long-term basis, while supporting local farmers and their families. “With this initiative we want to set an example not only for our show, but for the whole industry. At ACREX India 2014, we are taking a great step towards the future,” explains Ashish Rakheja, Chairman of ACREX India 2014.

Focus on renewable energies

In addition to reducing its carbon footprint, the exhibition also focuses on renewable energies, such as photovoltaic, tidal and wind energy, and their use and application fields in the HVAC&R industry. To visualize this endeavor, the organizers of ACREX India will be establishing an Innovation Gallery – A pavilion constructed from reusable bamboo poles and jute rope, showcasing India’s first (Self-) Sustainable Township of its kind. The pavilion will highlight both passive and active design strategies to be used on both an architectural as well as on an urban design scale. Furniture made from waste material will decorate the pavilion along its axis, transforming the passage into a comfortable stay. An interplay of corridor space and niches on both sides, by varying the width of the structure, will provide for zones where one can rest and enjoy both the local scenery and exhibition. Ashish Rakheja says: “It is our aim to encourage the industry to follow the principle of three R’s in their business as much as possible: Reduce, Recycle and Reuse!”

Thinking the future at ACREX India 2014

The exhibition not only provides an internationally renowned setting to showcase products and developments; concurrent to ACREX India ISHRAE also organizes a rich Workshop and Conference programme too. One of the key Conferences is on “Green Buildings” and it is supported by the Indian Ministry of New & Renewable Energy. Its aim is to raise interest of engineers, students and industry experts towards energy efficient buildings. There will be several other workshops on topics like – Geothermal Systems-Design Considerations, Energy Security – Renewable or Hydrocarbon, Hospitals & Critical Healthcare Facilities – HVAC systems design, Cool Thermal Energy Storage in the Era of Sustainability, BIM – Building Information Modelling and Seismic Considerations in Building Design.

A remote region in East Antarctica has set a new record for the coldest place on Earth, with temperatures dipping to a bone-chilling minus 93.2 degrees Celsius.

The temperatures in several hollows of a high ridge in Antarctica on the East Antarctic Plateau can dip below minus 92 degrees Celsius on a clear winter night.

The new record of minus 136 Fahrenheit (minus 93.2 C) was set on August 10, 2010, NASA said.

That is several degrees colder than the previous low of minus 128.6 F (minus 89.2 C), set in 1983 at the Russian Vostok Research Station in East Antarctica.

Scientists made the discovery while analysing the most detailed global surface temperature maps to date, developed with data from remote sensing satellites including the new Landsat 8, a joint project of NASA and the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Ted Scambos, lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, joined a team of researchers who turned to sensitive satellite instruments that can pick up thermal radiation emitted from Earth’s surface, even in areas lacking much heat.

Using these sensors to scan the East Antarctic Plateau, Scambos detected extremely cold temperatures on a 997 km stretch of the ridge at high elevations between Argus and Fuji, and even colder temperatures lower elevations in pockets off the ridge. Then, with the higher resolution of the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) aboard Landsat 8, the research team pinpointed the record-setting pockets.

Researchers analysed 32 years’ worth of data from several satellite instruments. They found temperatures plummeted to record lows dozens of times in clusters of pockets near a high ridge between Dome Argus and Dome Fuji, two summits on the ice sheet known as the East Antarctic Plateau.

The coldest permanently inhabited place on Earth is northeastern Siberia, where temperatures in the towns of Verkhoyansk and Oimekon dropped to a bone-chilling 90 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (minus 67.8 C) in 1892 and 1933, respectively, NASA said.

The quest to find out just how cold it can get on Earth – and why – started when the researchers were studying large snow dunes, sculpted and polished by the wind, on the East Antarctic Plateau.

When the scientists looked closer, they noticed cracks in the snow surface between the dunes, possibly created when wintertime temperatures got so low the top snow layer shrunk. This led scientists to wonder what the temperature range was, and prompted them to hunt for the coldest places using data from two types of satellite sensors.

The findings were presented at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.

Northern India shivered in the intense cold on Tuesday with snowfall and rain hitting the region where fog returned to affect normal life at several places.

In Delhi, fog disrupted operations at IGI Airport where over a dozen flights were delayed Tuesday morning.

Three flights had to be diverted as the pilots were not trained to land aircraft in visibility of less than 200 metres, airport sources said. However, there was no suspension of flight operations due to fog, an airport official added.

Temperatures in the national capital stayed by and large within the normal range on Tuesday with the minimum recorded at 8.5 degrees Celsius, one degree above normal. The maximum was at 19.7 degrees, two notches below normal.

Intermittent snowfall continued in the higher reaches of Kashmir for the third day on Tuesday while showers lashed the lower areas, including Srinagar, which received 1.8mm rainfall.

The mercury settled at a low of 0.6 degrees in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, as against -0.4 degrees the night before.

The ski resort of Gulmarg received around 12.2mm snowfall and registered a minimum of -9.2 degrees.

Pahalgam hill resort got 18mm snow and saw the mercury settle at a low of -3.0 degrees, an increase of one degree from -4.0 degrees the previous night. Leh, in Ladakh, remained the coldest place in J-K with a low of -8.9 degrees.

Piercing cold wave conditions persisted in Himachal Pradesh with the mercury hovering around freezing point at many places even as the weather cleared in the state and bright sunshine greeted the people.

Four persons, who were caught in a blizzard and stranded for the past three days at Rakshi Dhank, 5km from Rohtang Pass, were rescued on Tuesday.

The four survivors, whose vehicle was buried under almost six feet of snow, had a miraculous escape.

As the cold tightened its grip, the mercury dipped to -8.2 degrees at Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti while Kalpa in Kinnaur district recorded a low of -4.2 degrees.

Water pipes were frozen at many places in Shimla and surrounding areas while the formation of thick ground frost in the morning hours hampered vehicular traffic.

Meanwhile, a thick blanket of fog across Punjab and Haryana on Tuesday morning threw normal life out of gear even as minimum temperatures dipped further across the two neighbouring states.

Fog considerably reduced visibility at several places like Chandigarh, Ambala, Karnal, Hisar, Bathinda, Ludhiana, Amritsar and Jalandhar.

Narnaul in Haryana was the coldest place across the two states with a minimum of 3.3 degrees, a drop by four notches.

In Punjab, Amritsar recorded a low of 4.2 degrees while Ludhiana and Patiala registered minimums of 7.6 and 7 degrees, respectively. Chandigarh recorded the mercury at a low of 8.4 degrees.

In Rajasthan, the mercury dropped further in some areas with Mount Abu recording the coldest temperature in the state at 2.4 degrees.

Bikaner, Sriganganagar, Jaisalmer, Jaipur and Barmer recorded minimums of 4.9, 5.9, 6, 7.3 and 7.5 degrees, respectively. Fog also created adverse conditions in Uttar Pradesh where the minimum dipped appreciably in many parts of the state.

Temperatures fell in the Varanasi, Allahabad, Agra and Meerut divisions but rose in the Gorakhpur and Faizabad divisions. The lowest temperature recorded in the state was 6 degrees at Muzaffarnagar.

In Lucknow, the district administration has ordered closure of all schools up to Std VIII till 10th January in view of the cold wave.

School for students in higher classes is to start only at 9 A.M. or after.

On a leaf-covered dirt path overlooking lush paddy fields in western Indonesia, the world’s rarest rhino had left a trail of hoofprints in the soft mud and bite marks on foliage. For people seeking a glimpse of the Javan rhino – revered in local folklore as Abah Gede, or the Great Father – such small signs are likely to be the closest they get.

There are thought to be only around 50 of the animals left in existence, all living in the wild in Ujung Kulon National Park, an area of stunning natural beauty on the western tip of Indonesia’s main island of Java.

But now conservationists are hoping that the country’s first ever Javan rhino sanctuary, which will open in the park in the coming months, can pull the animal back from the brink of extinction. The shy creature, whose folds of loose skin give it the appearance of wearing armour plating, once numbered in the thousands and roamed across Southeast Asia.

But, like other rhino species across the world, poaching and human encroachment on its habitat has led to a dramatic population decline, with the International Union for Conservation of Nature saying the animal is “making its last stand”.

The new sanctuary will encompass 12,600 acres of lush rainforest, freshwater streams and mudholes in the park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is not due to open until March but park officials say that from hoofprints and bite marks, they believe nine rhinos have already wandered into new areas set aside for them.

“It means our scheme to turn this sanctuary into a comfortable home for them is working,” the park’s habitat manager Rusdianto, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. The rhinos were already living mainly in one corner of the park. But the new sanctuary has expanded the area suitable for them and relocated farmers who were living there to reduce the chances of animal-human conflict.

An electric fence is also being constructed – the final piece of work that needs to be completed – to mark the boundary and prevent the rhinos from straying out of the sanctuary and humans from coming in.

Park officials, who are government employees, have also been planting suitable food for the rhinos. During a recent visit, workers were seen clearing palm trees from the area and replacing them with shrubs and small trees. “We hope this sanctuary will hasten breeding and lead to more births of this treasured rare animal,” park chief Moh Haryono said.

National capital Delhi and the whole of north India continues to reel under severe cold as the temperature plummeted further, claiming more lives in the past few days.

The maximum temperature was at 20.6 degrees Celsius while the minimum was recorded at 6.2 degrees Celsius, two degrees below the normal level, the Meteorological department said.

Freezing cold conditions continued to sweep most places in Punjab and Haryana with Adampur reeling at 1.1 degrees Celsius. Adampur in Punjab was the coldest place in the two states, though the minimum temperature of the town in Jalandhar district witnessed a slight increase over yesterday’s low of minus 1.2 deg C.

Ludhiana recorded the season’s coldest night so far as minimum temperature dipped further today to settle at 1.6 deg C, down five notches than normal.

Amritsar, too, braved a cold night at 3 deg C, while Patiala reeled at a low of 4 deg C, down three degrees, the MeT office here said.

While sun has been shining here brightly for the past three days, the night temperatures have witnessed a steady drop.

Today, Chandigarh recorded the season’s coldest night so far at 3.8 deg C, down two notches.

Piercing cold continued to sweep Haryana as well with Hisar recording a bone-chilling low of 1.7 deg C, down four notches.

Ambala recorded a low of 5 deg C, while Narnaul also experienced a cold night at 3.9 deg C, down two degrees. Bhiwani’s minimum settled at 5.4 deg C.

A MeT official said here that fog had lifted from most places in the two states and the weather was clear since yesterday.

He said that cold conditions would continue in the region during the next few days.

Cold wave today further tightened its grip in Kashmir as mercury dipped by several degrees in most parts of the Valley with Kargil, in Ladakh region, recording the coldest night of the winter so far.

Kargil, in the frontier Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded the coldest night of the season at minus 15.7 degrees Celsius, a drop of almost seven degrees from the previous nights low of minus 8.9 degrees Celsius, an official of the MeT Department here said.

The town was also the coldest place in the state. The nearby Leh town registered a minimum temperature of minus 14.8 degrees Celsius last night as against minus 14.1 degrees Celsius the previous night.

The night temperature in Srinagar, the summer capital of the state, dropped over two degrees to settle at a low of minus 0.6 degree Celsius as compared to 1.8 degrees Celsius the previous night.

The night temperature in Pahalgam hill resort, which serves as a base camp during the annual Amarnath yatra, plummeted by over seven degrees to settle at a low of minus 9.6 degrees Celsius as compared to the previous night’s minus 2.4 degrees Celsius.

The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg registered a drop of over a degree in the minimum temperature as the mercury settled at a low of minus 8.6 degrees Celsius as compared to minus 7.4 degrees Celsius the previous night.

Qazigund, the gateway town to the Kashmir Valley, recorded a low of 0.2 degrees Celsius, same as the previous night, the official said.

Kokernag, in south Kashmir, which recorded a low of minus 0.2 degree Celsius the previous night, registered a low of minus 3.0 degrees Celsius last night.

Kupwara, in north Kashmir, recorded a minimum of minus 3.4 degrees Celsius as compared to minus 3.0 degrees Celsius the previous night.

Kashmir Valley is currently going through ‘Chillai-Kalan’, considered as the harshest 40-day winter period, which started on December 21.

However, the MeT Department has said the weather in the Valley would mainly remain dry for the next 24 hours and there would not be any change in it for the next few days.

President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday inaugurate the 37th Indian Social Science Congress-2013 at Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh.

President Pranab Mukherjee called upon the international community to view the issue of climate change not just as a threat but also as a unique opportunity to work together.

India, as a developing country with climate vulnerability, has an important stake in the evolution of equitable and multilateral response to climate change, the President said after inaugurating the 37th Indian Social Science Congress at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU.

“Climate change is a threat but also a unique opportunity to work together. Asa developing country on the frontlines of climate vulnerability, India has a vital stake in the evolution of a successful, rule-based, equitable and multilateral response to climate change,” he said. Mukherjee said the country has made a promising start at the domestic level with the launch of the ‘National Action Plan on Climate Change’ (NAPCC).

“The Action Plan sets out a comprehensive response to climate change in the overall context of development, identifying measures that promote our development objectives while also yielding co-benefits for addressing climate change effectively.

“The eight missions under the Action Plan cover both adaptation and mitigation, in addition to scientific research. India intends to reduce the emissions intensity of our GDP by 20-25 per cent by the year 2020 taking 2005 as the reference level,” he said.

Highlighting the need for ensuring growth in harmony with nature, he said the government has put in place institutional arrangements and mechanisms to promote policy development and stakeholder engagement on sustainable management of commons.

Mukherjee said setting up of the National Green Tribunal was a clear pointer to the fact that India had set out a comprehensive response to climate change in the overall context of development.

“The National Green Tribunal set up under the NGT Act, 2010 provides for the effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources,” he said.

The theme for 37th Social Science Congress was ‘Building an Ecologically Sustainable Society’. The President also inaugurated a social science cyber library on the occasion.

Heavy snowfall brought New Year’s cheer to Kashmir Valley and Himachal Pradesh while rainfall elsewhere added to the chill on the last day of 2013 as the cold wave kept up its intensity in northern India.

The weather gods did not disappoint tourists thronging to the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh with the hopes of ringing in a ‘White New Year’, but the heavy snowfall severely affected communications and traffic movement.

Kashmir was cut off from the rest of the country as heavy snowfall forced closure of several roads, including the arterial Srinagar-Jammu national highway, and led to the cancellation of all flights into and out of the city.

The snowfall, which began in the wee hours, also disrupted normal life in the Valley with authorities snapping power to several areas as a precautionary measure.

Many far-flung areas in the Valley, too, remained cut-off in the heavy snowfall, ranging between six inches to 3ft. Over six inches snowfall was recorded in Srinagar while the high altitude areas of the Valley recorded more than 3ft snowfall.

The snowfall brought about a jump in the mercury with Srinagar witnessing a nearly four degree rise in the minimum which settled at -1.4 degrees Celsius in the city, up from the -5.3 degrees recorded on Monday.

Although the weather in Ladakh remained dry, the minimum there rose by several degrees with Leh town seeing a low of -12.0 degrees, as against the -17.7 degrees recorded there the previous night. The hills and valleys of Himachal Pradesh groaned under the biting cold amidst another spell of snowfall and widespread rain in the state.

Icy, strong velocity winds accompanied by rainfall and snow lashed Narkanda, Sarahan and other areas in the upper Shimla region with the Hindustan-Tibet National Highway blocked beyond Matiana as a result of fresh deposits.

Keylong and Kalpa in the Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur districts, respectively, experienced moderate to heavy snowfall with the sky remaining largely overcast.

The lower and middle hills were lashed by intermittent rainfall with showers in Chamba measuring 13mm.

Further down, there was no respite from the cold in Delhi with the minimum settling three notches below normal at 4 degrees.

The mercury had on Monday dropped to a 17-year low of 2.4 degrees in the national capital.

The city also received 6.4mm rainfall in the last 24 hours with the inclement weather adding to the winter chill.

The maximum was recorded at 19.7 degrees, a notch below normal.

Light to moderate rainfall also hit several places across Punjab and Haryana, leaving both states reeling under the chilly conditions.

Among the places which received rainfall were the Union Territory of Chandigarh, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Pathankot, Phagwara, Jalandhar, Ambala, Panchkula, Sonepat and Karnal.

Narnaul in Haryana registered a low of 0.5 degrees while Hisar shivered at 1.5 degrees.

In Punjab, Ludhiana and Amritsar saw the mercury settle at lows of 1.6 and 1.8 degrees, respectively. Western parts of Rajasthan continued to be in the grip of the intense cold with Jaisalmer recording the lowest minimum in the state at 1.7 degrees.

The night temperature at Ajmer touched 5.7 degrees while Jaipur and Kota were comparatively warmer at 10.2 and 12.3 degrees, respectively.

The weather was mainly dry over eastern Uttar Pradesh even as light to moderate rainfall occurred at a few places in the western parts of the state.

Bareilly, Jhansi, Agra, Aligarh, Shahjahanpur and Orai received 10mm rainfall each with Etawah recording the coldest temperature in the state at 5.6 degrees.

A rare odonate species, which is known to use tree holes as a larval habitat, has been found in the southern parts of Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot.

 Experts claim that it is for the first time that such an odonate variety has been found in the Indian sub-continent. A team of scientists, including K S Anoop Das, K A Subramanian, K G Emiliyamma, Muhamed Jafer Palot and K A Nishadh, chanced upon ‘Lyriothemis tricolor’ in the region during a recent field study.

Many species of odonates are known to use ‘phytotelmata’,plant-held waters, as a breeding habitat worldwide. But no species are known to breed in phytotelmata in India, researchers said.

The species were found to be bred in the tree holes of evergreen and semi-evergreen forests in the southern Western Ghats, they said.

Its presence was mainly reported in New Amarambalam, Silent Valley and Thattekkad areas of Western Ghats, they said. A detailed report about its finding and habitat was published in the ‘Journal of Threatened Taxa’, an international publication, last month.

Piercing cold wave conditions continued unabated in Himachal Pradesh as tribal areas and other higher hills had fresh spell of snowfall while the mid and lower hills received moderate rains.

 The sky remained heavily overcast and icy winds swept the region forcing peopleto stay indoors.

The tribal Bharmaur valley witnessed 21 cm of snow while Keylong and Kalpa in Lahauland Spiti and Kinnaur received 11 cm ad five cm of snow and Dhauladhar and Churdharranges experienced moderate snow fall.

Manali and Shimla which had snowflakes recorded 11 mm and 3 mm rains while Dalhousie, Una and Dharamsala had 5 mm, 4 mm 3 mm rains.

The minimum temperatures rose marginally and Keylong, Kalpa and Manali recorded a low of minus 6.8 deg, minus 2.4 deg and minus 0.6 deg while Solan, Shimla, Una, Sundernagar and Bhuntar shivered with minimum temperature at 2.2 deg, 2.7 deg, 3.0 deg, 3.7 deg and 3.9 deg C respectively.

Palampur recorded a low of 6.2 deg while Dharamsala was marginally colder with minimum temperature at 5.4 deg, three degrees below normal.

Unawas hottest with maximum temperature at 21.2 deg, while Sundernagar, Solan and Bhuntar recorded a high of 18.7 deg,17.7 deg and 16.0 deg, followed by Nahan15.6 deg, Dharamshala15.2 deg, Shimla13.1 deg and Kalpa3.0 deg C. The local MeT office has predicted dry weather for next two days and rains, thunderstorm and snowfall from January8 onwards.

The mercury continues to be in a free fall in Kashmir and Ladakh divisions as Leh was the coldest recorded place at minus 17.4 degrees Celsius in the state.

 Last night Leh recorded a plunge of almost 10 degrees from the previous nights minus 7.9 degrees Celsius, an official of the MET Department said.

Temperature in the nearby Kargil town settled at a low of minus 19.0 degrees Celsius, almost six degrees down from minus 13.1 degrees Celsius the previous night, the official said.

Kargil had recorded the lowest temperature of the season at minus 19.8 degrees Celsius on January 3. Srinagar, the summer capital of J-K, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 3.3 degrees Celsius, one degree down from the previous night’s minus 2.3 degrees Celsius.

The official said the mercury in the nearby Kargil town settled at a low of minus 19.0 degrees Celsius, almost six degrees down from minus 13.1 degrees Celsius the previous night.

The official said the minimum temperature in Pahalgam, in south Kashmir, decreased by over seven degrees from the previous nights minus 7.4 degrees Celsius to settle at the seasons lowest of minus 14.7 degrees Celsius last night.

The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg registered a low of minus 11.6 degrees Celsius, as against the previous nights minus 9.7 degrees Celsius.

The official said the minimum temperature in Qazigund – the gateway town to Kashmir valley – settled at minus 4.4 degrees Celsius, while Kokernag recorded a low of minus 5.2 degrees Celsius.

The minimum in Kupwara, in north Kashmir, settled at minus 4.6 degrees Celsius compared to the previous nights minus 1.8 degree Celsius. The MeT Department has forecast moderate to heavy rainfall or snow over the state for three days from Wednesday.

A moderate rise in temperatures on Wednesday did not translate into any great relief from the cold in northern India where fresh snowfall led to the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway and prompted authorities to issue an avalanche warning in Himachal Pradesh.

Delhi saw the minimum temperature registering a dip from the 6.1 degrees Celsius recorded on Tuesday to settle at 4.4 degrees, which was three degrees below normal.

The maximum in the national capital was normal for this time of the year at 20.7 degrees.

Higher up, about three inches of snow had accumulated around Jawahar Tunnel the gateway to Kashmir Valley as snowfall led to the suspension of traffic on the Srinagar- Jammu National Highway, the only all-weather road link between Kashmir and the rest of the country.

“The highway was closed to traffic at around 2 P.M. after heavy snowfall between Qazigund and Banihal rendered the arterial road unsafe,” a traffic spokesman told, adding that dozens of Jammu-bound passenger and heavy vehicles had been left stranded as a result.

The weatherman has predicted moderate to heavy snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir due to a fresh western disturbance between 8th January and 10th January.

Kashmir Valley on Wednesday, meanwhile, saw temperatures headed upwards under overcast conditions.

Srinagar recorded a minimum of -1.7 degrees Celsius as against -3.3 degrees the previous night while the mercury in Pahalgam jumped by over eight degrees from the -14.7 degrees recorded there the night before to settle at -6.2 degrees.

Kargil town saw the mercury rising by over six notches to settle at a low of -12.4 degrees as compared to -19 degrees recorded there on Tuesday.

An avalanche threat loomed large over the high-altitude areas of Himachal Pradesh as the cold wave continued to trouble the state despite a marginal rise in temperatures.

The high reaches of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Pangi and Bharmaur, Rohtang Pass and Churdhar and Dhauladhar range have experienced intermittent snowfall since morning.

Manali SDM Vinay Dhiman has warned the people living in high-altitude areas against venturing out during daytime given the avalanche threat.

Manali and Dalhousie received mild snowfall while Rohtang Pass recorded fresh deposits of 60cm.

Biting cold conditions persisted in the region even as the minimum increased by a few notches.

Bharmaur recorded a minimum of -12.1 degrees while Keylong and Kalpa in Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur, saw the mercury settle at, respectively, -9.7 and -4.0 degrees.

 In the plains, too, minimum temperatures registered a rise across Punjab and Haryana while cloudy weather prevailed in the Union Territory of Chandigarh, the common capital of the two neighbouring states.

The minimum at Adampur in Punjab’s Jalandhar district, the coldest place across the two states on Tuesday at -0.5 degrees, rose to 7 degrees on Wednesday, four notches above normal.

The mercury in Amritsar jumped from 0.8 degrees the night before to 3.5 degrees.

Hisar and Narnaul in Haryana, however, continued to reel under the biting cold, recording below normal minimums of 1.1 and 1.2 degrees, respectively.

Rajsthan continued to shiver with icy winds blowing across the state where Churu recorded the lowest minimum at 1.7 degrees, which was about 5 degrees below normal.

Fog and mist continued to affect normal life in the state even as the mercury rose slightly at many places.

About five North Western Railways trains were running late and traffic jams were observed due to the dense fog in the early hours on Wednesday on the Jaipur-Delhi and the Jaipur-Agra road via Bharatpur.

Cold wave continued in Uttar Pradesh as temperatures in most parts of the state remained below normal with Kanpur being the coldest at 0.7, followed by Muzaffarnagar at 1.0 degrees Celsius.

MeT office said that several districts of the state witnessed a sharp fall in the maximum temperature with Gorakhpur and Bahraich recording 13.5 and 12.8 degrees Celsius respectively which were nine degrees below normal. Kanpur City was the coldest place in the state recording the minimum temperature at 0.7 (-6) followed by Muzaffarnagar at 1.0 (-5) degree Celsius.

The state capital Lucknow was also reeling under cold with seasons lowest at 3.0 (-4) and maximum 18.1 (-4) deg C, with fog in the morning.

Night temperature fell appreciably in Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Lucknow, Allahabad, Lucknow, fell in Faizabad, Jhansi, Agra, Meerut and changed little in the remaining divisions of the state.

They were appreciably below normal over Varanasi, Lucknow, Meerut, below normal in Gorakhpur, Faizabad, Allahabad,Kanpur, Bareilly and Moradabad.

MeT officials have forecast that fog would occur over the state in the next 24 hours.

Scientists have discovered the first-ever dinosaur fossils in Saudi Arabia, dating back to 72 million years. Dinosaur fossils are exceptionally rare in the Arabian Peninsula and the newly identified specimen were excavated in the northwest part of Saudi Arabia along the coast of the Red Sea.

 An international team of scientists from Uppsala University, Museum Victoria, Monash University, and the Saudi Geological Survey unearthed a string of vertebrae from the tail of a huge “Brontosaurus-like” sauropod and some shed teeth from a carnivorous theropod.

“Dinosaur fossils are exceptionally rare in the Arabian Peninsula, with only a handful of highly fragmented bones documented this far,” said Dr Benjamin Kear, based at Uppsala University in Sweden and lead author of the study.

“This discovery is important not only because of where the remains were found, but also because of the fact that we can actually identify them. “Indeed, these are the first taxonomically recognisable dinosaurs reported from the Arabian Peninsula,” Kear said.

“Dinosaur remains from the Arabian Peninsula and the area east of the Mediterranean Sea are exceedingly rare because sedimentary rocks deposited in streams and rivers during the Age of Dinosaurs are rare, particularly in Saudi Arabia itself,” added Dr Tom Rich from Museum Victoria in Australia.

When these dinosaurs were alive, the Arabian landmass was largely underwater and formed the north-western coastal margin of the African continent. The teeth and bones are approximately 72 million years old, researchers said.

The theropod is believed to be a 6-metre-long bipedal meat-eater distantly related to Tyrannosaurus rex, while the sauropod was a plant-eating titanosaur that may have been up to 20 metres in length.

Temperatures plummeted further in the hilly areas of northern India on Sunday even as fog affected normal life at several places in the plains under the unrelenting cold wave sweeping the region.

 Delhi woke up to a shallow fog cover in the morning although the conditions cleared as the day progressed.

The minimum in the national capital was recorded at 6.3 degrees Celsius, a notch below normal, while the maximum settled within the normal range at 20.6 degrees.

In Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar recorded a minimum of -3.0 degrees, a drop by over two notches from the -0.3 degrees recorded there the night before.

Leh in Ladakh experienced its coldest night of the season, recording the lowest minimum in the state at -18.9 degrees after having shivered at -15.6 degrees the previous night.

The mercury in Kargil dipped by over six degrees from the previous night’s -9.0 degrees to settle at a low of -16.6 degrees.

Meanwhile, the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, which connects the Valley to the rest of the country, was today reopened to traffic after having remained closed for two days due to snowfall.

Traffic on the 294-km arterial road was stopped on Friday following snowfall in the areas around Jawahar Tunnel.

“The highway has been reopened and vehicles are being allowed to ply from Srinagar towards Jammu,” a traffic official said.

The weather in the Valley has remained dry for the last 24 hours.

The intense cold wave continued in most parts of Himachal Pradesh as the mercury stayed close to freezing point at several places across the state.

The higher reaches and tribal areas of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Pangi and Bharmaur received another spell of mild snowfall, further adding to the miserable weather conditions.

The minimum dipped to -13 degrees at Bharmaur while Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti registered a low of -12.8 degrees as against the -8.7 degrees recorded there on Saturday.

Although bright sunshine greeted the people in Shimla and other lower hills in the morning, the sky became heavily overcast as the day advanced.

Thick fog engulfed the towns lying on river banks in the morning while ground frost occurred in the middle and higher hills.

Unabated cold wave claimed six lives in Northern plains on Thursday and temperature in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh hovered around freezing point throwing normal life out of gear.

The mercury in Leh, in the frontier region of Ladakh, was recorded at a low of minus 13.6 degrees Celsius while Kargil town recorded minus 12.8 deg C.

Six persons were killed in different parts of Uttar Pradesh during the last 24 hours.

However, people of the national capital were relieved as the minimum temperature settled two notches above normal at 9 degree Celsius.

The maximum temperature also rose by 1.2 deg C from yesterday’s 16.5 deg C. The day temperature was recorded at 17.7 deg C which was three notches below normal.

Kashmir Valley and Ladakh division were worst hit by the cold as the mercury in most parts stayed below freezing point.

Srinagar recorded a low of 1 deg C, slightly lower than previous night’s minimum of 1.5 deg C, MeT Department said.

Pahalgam hill resort in south Kashmir saw the mercury plunging by four degrees to settle at a low of minus 10.4 deg C last night.

Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 7.8 deg C last night as compared to minus 7.6 deg C previous night.

The mercury in Leh, in the frontier region of Ladakh, dipped slightly to settle at a low of minus 13.6 deg C as compared to the previous night’s minus 12.8 deg C.

Nearby Kargil town recorded a low of minus 12.8 deg C as against the previous night’s minus 13.0 deg C.

In most parts of UP, cold wave and fog continued to affect normal life.

The cold claimed lives of three persons in Bhadohi district, sources said.

Another three persons were today killed in Firozabad district when a motorcycle was hit by a truck due to fog.

Lowest minimum temperature of the state was recorded in Etawah district at 4 deg C.

While in Rajasthan, icy winds and dense fog made a comeback, with Mount Abu recording the lowest and near- freezing temperature of 1.0 deg C.

Most parts of Punjab and Haryana today remained enveloped under dense fog throwing normal life out of gear.

The tiny ‘Nymphaea Thermarum’ was stolen on Thursday from the Princess of Wales Conservatory, a giant glass house at the gardens in the southwest of the capital, a Scotland Yard statement said.

“Officers have been informed that the plant would have had to have been dug, or pulled up, from a shallow water lily pond,” the force said.

Richard Barley, director of horticulture at Kew Gardens, said the theft was a “blow to morale” of his staff who are “dedicated to the conservation of plants”.

“We take theft of our invaluable scientific collection of plants very seriously and this matter is with the Metropolitan Police,” he added.

The white and yellow lily has pads just one centimetre (0.39 inches) in diameter, compared to three metres (9.8 feet) for the largest water lily species.

The flower was discovered in 1987 and is native to just one location, Mashyuza in southwest Rwanda, but disappeared from the site two years ago due to over-exploitation of a hot spring, according to Kew.

It now longer exists in the wild and Kew has the world’s largest remaining cultivated collection, with 50 examples.

There are also a few examples at the Bonn Botanic Gardens in Germany, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Dubai, UAE :  Dimension Data, the USD 5.8 billion global IT services and solutions provider, said today that it has been awarded a score of 94 (out of 100) by CDP* for disclosure of its climate change strategy.

Colin Curtis, Dimension Data’s Global Director for Sustainability said, “This is the sixth year that Dimension has responded to CDP’s questionnaire, and our score of 94 is our highest to date. We are firmly committed to looking at ways that ICT can tackle not only economic, but also environmental and social issues – not just in our own business, but also for our clients.”  According to the Global

e-Sustainability Initiative, the use of ICT could cut global greenhouse gas emissions by 16.5%, amounting to USD 1.9 trillion in energy and fuel savings, by 2020.

Daniel Turner, Head of Disclosure at CDP said: “Dimension Data’s score is once again comparable to the top 10% of FTSE 350 companies that make up the FTSE 350 Climate Disclosure Leadership Index. This improved rating shows that the Group continues to honour its high level of commitment to tackling climate change, and that it understands the risks and opportunities represented by a changing world.”

When Dimension Data delisted from the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges in 2010, the company was no longer obligated to participate in the CDP report.  However, the Group committed to making a voluntary submission every year so that it can measure its own commitment to sustainability and related reporting.

Source :  Nirmala D’Souza

The cold conditions relented in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh with the minimum temperature rising up by four degrees Celsius above normal at some areas on Wednesday even as fog enveloped a few parts of the region.

The minimum temperatures hovered between one to four degrees Celsius above normal in most parts of Punjab and Haryana, the MeT office said in Chandigarh.

Adampur in Punjab was the coldest place in the region with a low of 5.5 degrees Celsius.

While Narnaul settled at a low of seven degrees Celsius, one notch above normal, the minimum temperature at Amritsar and Ludhiana was an identical low of 7.8 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal.

Among other places, Hisar had a low of 7.9 degrees Celsius, one notch above normal, followed by 8.4 degrees Celsius at Karnal, 8.8 degrees Celsius a Bhiwani, 9.1 degrees Celsius at Patiala, two notches above normal, 9.6 degrees Celsius at Chandigarh, four notches above normal and 10.2 degrees Celsius at Ambala, two notches above normal.

However, some areas in Punjab and Haryana, including Ludhiana, Patiala, Amritsar, Ambala and Karnal remained engulfed under fog.

The MeT forecast cloudy weather with rise in minimum temperatures in the region.