India's AC dilemma: How it cools the heat and heats the planet
The more the planet warms, the more people need ACs. The more ACs run on a coal-heavy grid with leaking refrigerants, the more emissions rise, and the cycle deepens.
Aryan Rai
Hello there!
I am a journalist with over 5 years of experience covering multiple beats and their intersections.
Covering the environment, primarily climate change, is what I do best. My recipe includes localised narratives constructed using the voice of experts, decision-makers, and those often unheard.
Featured Work
10,000 litres water for one litre of ethanol: India's fuel push to worsen water crisis
India’s push to mix ethanol with petrol, something pitched as a clean energy fix, is deepening the country’s water crisis.
Why your vacation won’t feel the same
Climate change is reshaping India's travel patterns, shortening traditional peak seasons, and intensifying pressure on fragile ecosystems already facing over-tourism. What's ahead?
A day in the world's most polluted city: What it takes to breathe in UP's Loni
A town near Delhi was ranked the most polluted city in the world. I spent a day there trying to understand what's behind the toxic air that its residents have made peace with.
Sinking cities, poisoned water: India’s groundwater crisis is deeper than we imagined
Beneath India’s crowded cities, an invisible crisis is unfolding. Aquifers that took centuries to fill are being drained in decades, leaving the ground itself to bear the cost.
US-Iran war reveals why India urgently needs to look at clean energy
As a country that imports nearly 90% of the crude oil it consumes, India is largely exposed to geopolitical turbulence occurring far from home.
Point of no return: The disasters waiting for India if Earth gets 1.5°C hotter
The world is already facing extreme consequences. But what exactly can India expect when the world fails to limit Earth's warming to 1.5°C?
Rice or ruin: How India's favourite grain is feeling and fuelling climate crisis
India runs on rice. But the country's paddy fields are a significant driver of climate change. And the climate change that rice is fuelling is coming back to hurt the grain that feeds millions.
People facing extreme heat will double by 2050. What will happen in India?
About 3.8 billion people, roughly 41 per cent of the world’s population, will be exposed to dangerous heat conditions by mid-century, compared with 1.54 billion (23 per cent) in 2010.
Earth is looking at water bankruptcy, warns UN in new report
As the global population surges, along with the demand and consumption of resources, rivers, lakes, and other aquifiers are depleting at an alarming rate.
What is greenwashing and how does it undermine India's climate fight?
Greenwashing might sound like an eco-friendly trend, but it’s anything but green.
Increased workload, poor income: How climate change is hitting rural woman more
Climate impacts usually affect sectors traditionally associated with rural women, such as paddy cultivation, cotton and tea plantations, and fishing.
GDP not enough: New metrics needed to measure development, environmental decline
As climate change threatens nations and communities, humanity needs to look in the mirror and revise the traditional metrics to measure development and progress. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is where it should aim to start.
World is losing $5 billion every hour due to fossil fuel use, food production
A hefty assessment for humanity estimates that the world is losing around USD 5 billion every hour due to environmental damage caused by unsustainable food production and fossil-fuel use.
India’s climate exodus: The growing crisis pushing millions from their homes
Climate shocks are already nudging millions to move within the country, often without formal recognition or long-term state support.
India’s ancient buildings survived invasions. Can they survive climate change?
India’s historic buildings have survived invasions, dynasties and centuries of wear and tear. But they haven't faced a rapidly warming planet.
Coffee, cocoa, wine may be beyond saving, thanks to climate change
Three commodities woven deeply into global culture and economies are facing a dangerous future, and even the advanced geoengineering interventions may not be enough to protect them.
Richest 1% drive 41% of global emissions, says climate inequality report
The richest 1 per cent are responsible for 41 per cent of emissions owned capital; nearly 680 times more per person than the poorest half of humanity.
Renewables globally overtake coal: Can India lead the green energy transition?
For the first time ever, solar and wind generation have surpassed coal in the global electricity mix, signalling a turning point in the fight against climate change.
Composting company now collects food scraps from customers in central Maine
Residents in the Kennebec Valley in Maine, U.S., now have a more sustainable alternative to chucking food waste into a trash bin: composting.
State grant program helps central Maine communities meet climate goals
An electric vehicle charging station has been installed in a city, costing over $10,000, but was reimbursed by the state grant program that helps municipalities across Maine.
Monmouth considers water solutions amid high ‘forever chemical’ levels in wells
Alarming levels of so-called “forever chemicals” have been detected in the wells of more than a dozen residents near a textile mill.
When snails invade, locals take matters into their own hands
At the Washington Pond, a small group of locals congregated with paddle boards, buckets and boats to collect and dispose of invasive snails threatening the ecological balance in the region.
