A coal power plant set up in the Tharparkar desert by Engro Powergen Thar Private Limited. Part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, it was completed just before China announced it would stop financing overseas coal projects. (Image: Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company)

China’s coal exit will not end Pakistan’s reliance on dirty fuel

Pakistan will continue to develop under-construction coal plants and even turn to highly polluting local sources of the fossil fuel

Nepal’s climate action plan: progressive on paper only

Updated Nationally Determined Contribution set out plans to reduce emissions and electrify railways, but the gap between ambition and implementation is growing

India announces net-zero target at start of COP26 summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment for India to be net zero by 2070 at the World Leaders Summit raises hope for success at COP26

Afghanishtan: Winter is coming

South Asia faces a perfect storm with the growing risk of an unstable Afghanistan, coupled with divided views in the international community on who must take responsibility for the strategic rubble of the American exit from the country

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The many stories of Diwali share a common theme of triumph of justice

As many Indian Americans celebrate the election of the first Black and South Asian woman, Kamala Harris, to the White House, many will also be celebrating the festival of Diwali on Saturday, Nov. 14

Rare green immersion stands out after Durga Puja

The immersion of idols to mark the end of Durga Puja festival continued to pollute the Ganga this year in Kolkata – the epicentre of the annual event

Air pollution could worsen COVID-19 outbreak in South Asia

The dramatic drop in air pollution after large swathes of South Asia shut down in response to COVID-19 was short-lived

Border Haats on Bangladesh-Myanmar Border Opportunities and Challenges

Nazneen Ahmed, Senior Research Fellow, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies

Three women: stories of Indian trafficked brides

“I tried to escape in the middle of the night,” Mahira* recalled. “With a small packed bag, I tiptoed towards the door thinking that he was asleep

A million deaths from coronavirus: seven experts consider key questions

The pandemic has reached a grim milestone: one million people have now died of COVID-19, according to Worldometers

India: why secrecy over Narendra Modi's coronavirus relief fund damages democracy

Since India overtook Brazil in September to become the country with the second largest number of coronavirus cases in the world (after the US), the response of the government of Narendra Modi has come under even tighter scrutiny

India-US relations, Indian Americans will fare much better under Biden

On November 3, Americans will decide whether to give another four years to Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, or to give the Oval Office to former vice-president Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate

Bangladesh PM’s ‘martial law’ comment reflects people’s deeply held belief

The blunt statement on September 7 of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a virtual meeting with the Armed Forces Selection Board—that "we should exclude Martial Law from military lexicon"—was both surprising and refreshing

Pakistan’s centuries-old Bakarwal community faces dual threat

Even as the summer drew to an end in the last week of July, the snow had not completely melted in the pastures of Deosai in northern Pakistan

Bangladeshi fishers cannot find Hilsa in peak season

“Half the season is gone. Where are the Hilsa?” asked Abu Jaher, a 40-year-old fisher from Samraj in Bangladesh’s coastal district Bhola. “There was a 65-day ban on fishing

Can Pakistan go beyond chemical pesticides for locust control?

Pakistan is facing one of its biggest threats yet from crop-ravaging locusts, which have dire consequences for the livelihoods and food security of millions of people

Biogas makes big waves in rural Bhutan

Bhim Maya, a 72-year-old farmer in Hangey village in Samtse, is unconcerned about the spiraling price of cooking gas. Her small biogas plant has freed her of dependence on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)

Two-thirds of glacier ice in the Himalayas will be lost by 2100 if climate targets aren't met

In the world of glaciology, the year 2007 would go down in history. It was the year a seemingly small error in a major international report heralded huge changes in our understanding of what was happening to the Himalayan glaciers

Coronavirus: how countries aim to get the vaccine first by cutting opaque supply deals

The University of Oxford recently published promising news about the results from the phase one/two trials of the vaccine it is developing for COVID-19