Human mobility in the context of environmental impacts has been gaining increasing attention. Our blog series ‘Under the Weather, On the Move’ seeks to demystify climate migration by exploring some of its key aspects, intersectional variations, and policy angles.

In this first article, we discuss how climate migration can be broadly defined.

India became the fifth largest economy surpassing the UK recently, recording a greater-than-expected 7.2% GDP growth rate in FY 2022–23. Also, as per the latest State of World Population (SOWP) report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), India is the most populous country on the planet, leaving behind China.

World Environment Day reminds us—the contributing species to pollution on planet Earth—that the environment can be preserved through mindful actions and addressing harmful human activities.

In the context of this year's focus on combating plastic pollution, the United Nations Environment Programme has strongly emphasised the significant role of individuals in accelerating the shift to a plastic-free world.

At the Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference held in New Delhi in May, the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, said that the demand for petrochemicals is expected to nearly triple by 2040 in India.

India is committed to its net-zero goals by 2070, and the decarbonisation of the transport sector through vehicular electrification is a major cornerstone.
Evidently, this is expected to increase the demand for batteries in future. Among the available battery technologies, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are most suitable for electric vehicles (EVs). EVs are mainly powered by lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery chemistries.

It will be fair to say that many of us are looking forward to the monsoon season this year, eager to put behind us one of the hottest summers ever on record. With each passing year, India has been experiencing more and more instances of severe heatwaves, rendering these months more and more dreadful.

About a year ago, Bengaluru witnessed some of the worst floods in its history. Amidst many ad hoc measures, the state responded with excavators, removing encroachments on storm water drains (SWDs). It is clear now that none of the piecemeal solutions have worked. Rainfall over the last couple of weeks has seen flooding reoccur in the same parts of the city as the previous year. We often blame climate change for the mess we are in, and to some degree, this is justified. However, climate change always manifests through complex socio-ecological changes on the ground.

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Bengaluru witnessed a 16% spike in car registrations during FY 2021–22. With the addition of about 1 lakh cars annually over the past few years, several parts of the city continue to experience severe traffic congestion. A few initiatives are underway to ease this problem.

There is a need for the citizens of Bengaluru to become more environmentally conscious and adopt sustainable mobility options. Aggressive awareness campaigns and investments in this direction are required from policymakers.