Hridayesh Joshi
As seen in:
NDTV,
CNN-News18,
Firstpost,
Quartz,
Outlook (India),
Mongabay,
Deccan Herald,
The Quint,
Scroll.in,
The Wire (India)
and
Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Hridayesh Joshi
Nepal’s Floods Put Climate Finance Shortfall in Focus Ahead of COP31
Last month, Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah used his address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to highlight concerns shared across South Asia and the wider Global South. The August 26 disaster along the Bhotekoshi–Trishuli river system has killed more than 1,400 people, with thousands still missing. A month after the floods, Shah told the UNGA that recovery could cost as much as 10% of Nepal’s GDP, or roughly $5 billion.
Gurugram is actually drowning in its own real estate boom
Nearly 75 percent of the city’s stormwater drains and a third of its ponds seem to have vanished under concrete. What’s left is a ‘Millennium City’ that can’t survive an afternoon of rain. After heavy rain on Monday, Gurugram – Delhi’s neighbour and India’s “millennium city” – was thrown into chaos. Waterlogged roads caused traffic jams that lasted hours, and vehicles, including cars, buses, autos and two-wheelers, were submerged.
One year after Dharali: The growing cost of building in a fragile Himalaya
A year after the Dharali disaster, the reconstructed road leading to Gangotri has been shifted a few metres away from the banks of the Bhagirathi river. The market, once bustling with tourists during the yatra season, now wears a lifeless look. Most shops and houses still remain buried under debris. Apart from a handful of shops that have reopened, there is little sign of life. People are trying to piece together their lives, but they continue to face challenges.
Cheetahs in Kuno, lions in waiting: Inside India’s most contested conservation project
The government’s celebration of one big cat came even as concern mounted over another. Reports had emerged about Asiatic lions falling ill in Gujarat’s Gir forests. At least eight cubs died in May. More than 20 lions were quarantined. The cause remains disputed – initial reports pointed to babesiosis while the Gujarat government points to extreme heat conditions. In fact, Kuno National Park, where the cheetahs now live, was originally prepared in the 1990s to serve as a second home for Asiatic lions.
A rare natural wonder is unfolding in Delhi’s Lodhi Garden
Nature plays countless games in remote forests that human civilisation may never discover, but there are moments when rare coincidences occur amidst human settlements, as is being witnessed these days in Delhi’s Lodhi Garden. Every morning, around 5 am, birdwatchers, photographers, and ornithologists from across the city and surrounding areas gather here and stare at a hole-like nest built in a silk cotton tree. In this nest, a female Indian Grey Hornbill is raising her chicks.
How Loni Became The World’s New Air Pollution Capital
A ground report from Loni (Ghaziabad), Uttar Pradesh. Nisar Ahmad’s eyes are fixed on the sewing machine in front of him as he deftly guides the cloth under the needle. The 33-year-old works at a garment factory where he puts in 12 hours a day. “I have been working here for the past 15 years. But, I wonder how much longer I can continue doing this, as my lungs and overall health are slowly giving way,” said Ahmad.
Hridayesh Joshi
Hridayesh Joshi is a journalist writing on environment and contributing to On Air, a fortnightly web magazine.
How structural planning—not theme parks—must solve India’s urban heat crisis
Earlier this year in February, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that his government would plant three billion trees over the next five years to increase the state's green cover — an average of 600 million trees every year. Fadnavis is not alone in making such grand declarations. The Uttar Pradesh government has claimed that more than 2.4 billion saplings have been planted in the state over the past nine years.
Beyond Capacity: Unlocking the Full Potential of India’s Clean Energy
As geopolitical tensions rise in West Asia, India finds itself in a paradox — record renewable capacity on one hand, and wasted solar power on the other. To get a clearer picture of India’s energy vulnerability, it is important to not just look at how much oil and gas it imports, but how efficiently it uses the clean power it already produces.
Beyond Capacity: Unlocking the Full Potential of India’s Clean Energy
To get a clearer picture of India’s energy vulnerability, it is important to not just look at how much oil and gas it imports, but how efficiently it uses the clean power it already produces. As geopolitical tensions rise in West Asia, India finds itself in a paradox — record renewable capacity on one hand, and wasted solar power on the other.
क्या भारत के किसानों को मिल सकता है 'निष्पक्ष दाम' का नया हथियार?
भारत अमेरिका ट्रेड डील के बाद भारतीय अर्थव्यवस्था के लिए कड़ी चुनौती है। उसे न केवल एक आर्थिक महाशक्ति के लिए बिना किसी आयात शुल्क (इम्पोर्ट टैरिफ) के दरवाजे खोलने हैं बल्कि अमेरिका यह भी तय कर रहा है कि भारत की एनर्ज़ी (तेल और गैस) का आयात कहां से होगा। यह हमारी अर्थव्यवस्था के लिए दोहरी चोट है विशेषकर कृषि क्षेत्र में। यह ध्यान देने की बात है कि भारत के बाजार को अमेरिकी माल से पाट देने का लक्ष्य साधे डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प का नारा अपने देश में बी अमेरिकन, बाइ अमेरिकन (अमेरिकी बनो और अमेरिका निर्मित...
India’s Climate Disasters Are Triggering a Silent Mental Health Crisis
Pradeep Panwar’s, 32, life collapsed in a matter of seconds on August 5, last year, when a massive flood and landslide tore through Dharali village in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, killing more than 50 lives. His shop and taxi—his family’s only sources of income—were destroyed. “Today, even six months after the disaster, I am paying not only the bank installment on my business, but also the road tax of my taxi which was buried in the debris and never found.
Inside India’s Struggle to Build a Reliable Early Warning System
Part one of CarbonCopy’s two-part series on India’s forecasting challenge explores how the IMD is grappling with climate-fueled extremes, the gaps in early warnings, and what it will take to strengthen the country’s defense against intensifying disasters In the mist-clad valleys of the Himalayas, where villages cling to fragile slopes and rivers roar with monsoon fury, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) is grappling with one of its greatest challenges: predicting the unpredictable.
ग्राउंड रिपोर्ट: 40 सेकंड में तबाह हुई धराली
उत्तराखंड के उत्तरकाशी जिले का धराली कस्बे में मलबे में समाया तीन मंजिला मकान बता रहा है कि शहर में बर्बादी किस कदर हुई है मुझे उस पल एक बम फटने की सी आवाज सुनाई दी और पहाड़ी से धुआं जैसा उठता दिखा। कुछ ही देर में मेरे दोस्त का फोन आया। मैंने पूछा कि क्या बाढ़ आई?
Extreme Weather and Construction Fuel Disasters
On August 22, as the magazine went to press, Chamoli in Uttarakhand joined the growing list of Himalayan regions battered by extreme weather this monsoon. It was, in fact, the fourth major disaster in just over a month, after Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, Dharali in Uttarakhand and Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir. These are not just episodes of heavy rain. They show how altered rainfall, geology and rampant construction are turning landslides and floods into killers.
Crossing rivers, climbing mountains: The story behind the Dharali stories
Disasters in the Himalayas rarely give warnings, only images. The first ones from Dharali arrived on my screen on August 5 – a massive flood smothering a hillside. As a reporter, I knew I had to reach the spot. But Dharali was more than 500 kilometres away, and the last stretch wasn’t measured in kilometres at all, but in landslides, washed-out bridges, and roads barely clinging to the mountain. By 3.30 pm, the tragedy was confirmed.
Inside Dharali’s disaster zone: The full story of destruction, ‘100 missing’, and official apathy
The flood in Dharali, Uttarkashi, is among the most devastating disasters to hit India in the past decade. On August 5, a sudden surge in the Khirganga river unleashed torrents of water, rocks, trees, and mud, destroying over 80 hotels, the local market, and a large stretch of the Gangotri Highway. Nearly 100 people, including migrant workers from Nepal and Bihar, remain missing.
Dharali’s first witnesses: The brothers who recorded the flood viral video
The first images of the recent disaster in Dharali, Uttarakhand, came from two brothers in the village, Sumit and Manmohan. Filming from their rooftop, they captured scenes that would become the earliest visuals to reach social media and newsrooms. Sumit recalls the moment around 1.30 pm, when light rain was falling, and a sudden roar broke the quiet. A haze hid the source, but within 20 seconds, movement stirred in the valley. And then, a torrent of water and debris surged into the marketplace.
Uttarkashi floods: Locals still stranded in Dharali, allege tourists prioritised in rescue operations
Four days after the flash floods tore through Uttarakhand, the Dharali area is still completely cut off from the road. Phone lines were down till Friday evening. The constant helicopter movement gives the impression of large-scale rescue efforts, but locals say the reality is different. They allege that only tourists are being evacuated while villagers remain stranded. Families of those trapped expressed anger and deep concern.
Uttarakhand disaster: Why experts say it was not a cloudburst
Four days after flash floods wreaked havoc in the Dharali area of Uttarkashi, the cause of the incident remains elusive. While initially its cause was said to be a cloud burst, experts are now questioning this theory. According to the scientific definition, rain measuring 100 mm or more per hour is considered a cloudburst. But there has been no such confirmation in this area. Nor is there any metrological data available in support of this claim.
Uttarakhand disaster: Why experts say it was not a cloudburst
With no meteorological data to support the initial assumption, experts explain what might be the real reason behind the tragedy. Four days after flash floods wreaked havoc in the Dharali area of Uttarkashi, the cause of the incident remains elusive. While initially its cause was said to be a cloud burst, experts are now questioning this theory. According to the scientific definition, rain measuring 100 mm or more per hour is considered a cloudburst.
Uttarkashi: No power, no calls, families anxious for news of the missing
Days after the flash floods in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi region, many families remain incommunicado with mobile networks and power supply affected in Harsil, Dharali and Gangotri areas. Newslaundry reached Raithal village near Bhatwadi block of Uttarkashi district, where Chandri Devi, a resident, said, “My nephew Shubham Negi is 25 years old. There is no news of him since the disaster struck.
5 dead, 50 missing: Uttarkashi floods expose cracks in Himalayan planning
At least five people have died and 50 are feared missing in Dharali village of Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district, which was hit by flash floods on Tuesday due to cloudbursts. Newslaundry reached Dharali within 24 hours of the incident and found that the area remains inaccessible by road, with key infrastructure – roads and bridges – swept away. Relief efforts gained pace once the weather cleared after heavy rainfall on Wednesday morning.
A crucial green victory
The notification issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in March 2017 provided a 'one time' six-month window for industries to apply for green clearances even if the work had already begun or expanded beyond the permitted limit without obtaining prior clearance.
From waste to resource: Can urban India turn the tide on its water crisis?
As taps run dry, experts push for reuse, recharge, and a radical rethink of how cities manage water India ranks among the most water-stressed countries. According to the 2023 Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas released by the World Resources Institute (WRI), India stands 24th out of 25 nations facing “extremely high” water stress. According to the report, this means the country is using at least 80% of its available supply. Rapid urbanisation is worsening the crisis.
Pahalgam attack: What suspension of Indus Waters Treaty means for Pakistan?
In Kashmir, longstanding grievances persist regarding the treaty's perceived inequity in water allocation. Following the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22, India has taken decisive diplomatic and strategic measures against Pakistan, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty. This landmark agreement, signed in 1960, has withstood decades of bilateral tensions and conflicts.
पहलगाम हमला: सिन्धु जल समझौता स्थगित होने के क्या हैं मायने?
सिन्धु जल समझौता भारत और पाकिस्तान के बीच 1960 में हुआ था। फोटो: आईस्टॉक पहलगाम में आतंकी हमले के बाद भारत ने पाकिस्तान के खिलाफ जो कूटनीतिक और रणनीतिक कदम उठाये हैं उनमें से एक है सिन्धु जल समझौते को स्थगित करना है। सिन्धु जल समझौता भारत और पाकिस्तान के बीच 1960 में हुआ था और पिछले 65 सालों में तमाम उतार-चढ़ाव और कड़वाहटों के बीच यह कायम रहा है। इस समझौते को स्थगित करने के भारत के फैसले पर पाकिस्तान की ओर से तीखी प्रतिक्रिया हुई है और विशेषज्ञों द्वारा यह आकलन किया जा रहा है कि इसके क्या...
Making sense of ‘middlebrow’ Hindi publications in post-independence India
Exercises in redrawing the contours of the ‘public sphere’, to borrow from German theorist Jurgen Habermas, come with as many possibilities as with risks. This is more often the case when the frames are historical and the gaze is directed at examining the public sphere of an era through a limited prism – such as a certain kind of print publication. Now, such attempts are often besieged by key questions. For instance, to what extent did such publications shape the public sphere of the time?
Looking inward: Can India pave its own path to self-reliant climate finance?
As global climate finance falling woefully short, India may need to start charting its own course to sustainability—leveraging domestic resources, financial innovation, and strategic investments to bridge the funding gap The year 2024, the , marked a turning point in the global climate crisis. The world officially breached the 1.5°C temperature threshold. Climate systems are now closer than ever to irreversible tipping points.
‘A long wait, humiliation’: Poor public transport means cities stay toxic and unequal
What commuters and experts think about the state of public transport and what it means for Indian neighbourhoods. Robust public transport systems can mean fewer vehicles. And fewer vehicles can mean greener neighbourhoods. But in India, public transport is lagging in terms of plugging commuter needs. So commuters are either buying more vehicles or resorting to unsafe public transport.
India’s dilemma: Global Plastic Treaty summit will push to wrap up use, but at what cost?
Global negotiations on plastic pollution are set to begin in Busan as soon as COP29 ends. Petro-states resist production cuts, favouring waste management solutions instead. India is seeking to balance economic growth with sustainability, keeping in mind its large plastic production workforce.
India’s need to step up solar, wind capacity addition
If India is to contribute to limiting global warming under 1.5°C, at the current pace of rollout, it is falling short of the 2030 target capacity by 140 GW of solar power and 70 GW of wind. Another year and another climate conference is upon us, this one in Azerbaijan. It will start off on a positive note for India which recently hit the 200 GW mark in its non-fossil fuels installed capacity, or how much power it can produce from energy sources such as solar and wind.
Ramachandra Guha on climate change, early environmentalists, and Char Dham Highway ‘disaster’
In his latest book Speaking with Nature, Ramachandra Guha profiles 10 people who have extensively written about the environment in the Indian context even before the dialogue became mainstream. These include poet Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi’s disciple Madeleine Slade, former PM Jawaharlal Nehru’s advisor Verrier Elwin, former minister and novelist KM Munshi, and economist JC Kumarappa, who advocated for sustainable rural and urban development.
Biodiversity crisis: Where’s the funding to protect the planet?
Four of the world’s 36 recognised biodiversity hotspots are in India, while the World Wildlife Fund’s latest Living Planet report shows a decline of up to 73 percent in wild animal populations across the world. At a time when the earth is facing its worst biodiversity crisis, the issue of financing looms large. Ahead of the UN climate summit (COP 29) at Baku in Azerbaijan, nearly 200 countries have gathered in Colombia’s Cali to brainstorm on conserving biodiversity.
Rain and ruin: How climate extremes are fueling Marathwada’s agrarian crisis
Marathwada’s agrarian crisis, driven by climate change, economic struggles, and unsustainable farming, has caused widespread farmer suicides, but some women farmers are offering a glimmer of hope by adopting sustainable practices for survival In Pimpalgaon village of Beed district, Archana Mahadev, 30, looks at her cotton fields spread across almost two acres, with a mix of hope and trepidation. Harvest time is imminent but she is more worried about her husband than she is about saving her crops.
India’s oldest and greatest: A new book weaves history and culture with India’s iconic trees
So, he introduces the reader to India’s oldest and largest tree, India’s loneliest tree, the world’s tallest rhododendron. Natesh is aware that superlative honours are always subjective and can be challenged with new knowledge. He knows that “qualifying the age of a tree is very challenging in India” and that local people often make “highly exaggerated claims” about any tree, especially when it’s a “sacred one”.
In India’s ‘Ski Capital,’ Changing Snowfall Pattern Leaves Locals Worried
Environment After two disappointing winters when snowfall was less than adequate, locals living in 'the ski capital of India' are keeping their fingers crossed for the upcoming tourist season Development in Auli has proved to be detrimental Photo: Vikram Sharma Development in Auli has proved to be detrimental Photo: Vikram Sharma Shyam Pandey, 70, stood in front of the huge artificial lake built to create artificial snow in Auli, a hill station nestled in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.
In The Birthplace Of Chipko Movement, People Ask Of The Trees That Could Have Protected
Environment It’s been more than three years since the glacier burst killed more than 200. Geologists have declared Raini unfit for living and recommended rehabilitation of people. Nothing has happened after that Chandra Singh, the son of Gaura Devi. She was a grassroots activist, a community leader, and one of the pioneers of the Chipko movement, which gained significant momentum in 1974. Standing next to him is his wife Ukha Devi Photo: Vikram Sharma Chandra Singh, the son of Gaura Devi.
Questions beyond Wayanad, spilled across the country
Recently, Kerala became the victim of a major landslide which occurred in its Wayanad district, claiming the lives of more than 300 people. This calamity is a grim reminder that India is among those nations who is most vulnerable to natural disasters such as droughts, floods, and landslides. According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)’s 2023 report ‘Landslide Atlas of India’, 147 districts in 17 states were identified and marked as ‘landslide prone’.
India’s urban development model is collapsing Original
Last year, after a rain-deficient June, many parts of the country were flooded by incessant rains in July — remember the devastating Himachal Pradesh floods — with 13 per cent above normal in that month. But then we saw the driest August in 123 years followed by a September with an above normal rain. This erratic rain pattern is increasing, and often attributed to the rising impacts of climate change.
The Wire News India, Latest News,News from India, Politics, External Affairs, Science, Economics, Gender and Culture
We need your support to keep journalism independent. We need your support.
From airports to Ram temple, Central Vista: Why Modi govt’s projects failed rain-test
As rains battered several cities, the canopy of airports collapsed in Jabalpur, Delhi and Rajkot, Ayodhya’s Ram temple priest complained of leakage from the roof and the roads leading to the temple caved in, while roads and buildings flooded in the national capital.
Is pine the real ‘villain’ in the Uttarakhand forest fire saga?
Even as the Uttarakhand govt blames the rapidly growing presence of pine for the uncontrolled forest fires in the region, the absence of fire lines, inadequate forest staff, climate-induced dry weather and inadequate rainfall also need to be acknowledged in order to find a sustainable solution to the issue, say experts In May this year, visuals of Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dham clearing pine leaves (pirul) appeared in the media.
An uneasy qualm surrounds Gorakhpur and Yogi Adityanath’s followers
For an objective and disinterested eye, the 2024 polls are very different from the 2019 polls. In the absence of the wave of nationalism coupled with the Hindutva surge seen five years back — which had blurred the factors such as price rise, unemployment, the caste of the candidate, and factionalism within political parties — the ongoing polls are largely back to the conventional mode where local factors and issues related to the daily life of the voter comes into play.
भारत की कोयला गैसीकरण योजना: संभावनाएं, रोडमैप और चुनौतियां
हाल के वर्षों में भारत ने बड़े पैमाने पर कोयला गैसीकरण पर काम शुरू किया है। इसके कारण स्पष्ट हैं — जीवाश्म ईंधन से ‘ट्रांज़िशन अवे’, यानी प्रयोग कम करके कार्बन उत्सर्जन घटाने का संकल्प भारत ने भी किया है। भारत का इरादा उत्सर्जन हासिल करने का भी है। लेकिन इन संकल्पों के साथ ही यह संभावना उत्पन्न होती है कि भारत में सस्ते घरेलू कोयले की जो प्रचुर आपूर्ति होती है, वह किसी काम में नहीं आएगी। ऐसे में, भारत को कोयला गैसीकरण ‘वास्तव में कोयला जलाने’ की तुलना में उत्सर्जन कम करने का अधिक स्वच्छ...
Uttarakhand: Forests across 1,500 hectares burned in a year. Were fire lines drawn to prevent it?
Fire lines prevent forest fire from spreading from one area to another. About 1,500 hectares of forests got burned in forest fires in Uttarakhand this year, as per government data. Taking cognisance of the damage, the Supreme Court asked tough questions to the state and central governments.
Uttarakhand: Over 1,000 forest fires in 4 months, crisis looms amid poor preparedness
Uttarakhand has witnessed more than 1,000 incidents of forest fire this year, both controlled and reported – most of them in Nainital, Almora, Pithoragarh, Pauri and Uttarkashi districts. With the forest becoming dry due to global warming and climate change, and a lack of rain and strong winds in the winter, the phenomenon has worsened. Five people have lost their lives in forest fires in the state this year so far, and more than 1,400 hectares of forest has burnt down.
‘Tribals hold their pain within’: Hindutva, rumblings of discontent in Birsa Munda’s land
Jharkhand’s Khunti, the birthplace of revolutionary Birsa Munda, is again seeing a tough contest between Union minister and incumbent MP Arjun Munda and Congress’s Kalicharan Munda, who had lost with a thin margin in 2019. For many decades, Adivasi identity hasn’t just shaped politics here but also exposed deepening faultlines in the relationship with political power centres.
Uttarakhand forest fires: Forest staff, vehicles deployed on poll duty in violation of orders
The media must be free and fair, uninfluenced by corporate or state interests. That's why you, the public, need to pay to keep news free. Contribute Forest fires have refused to die down in Uttarakhand for the past 10 days, with four people reportedly dead so far and the Supreme Court set to hear petitions linked to the state government’s role on Wednesday.
Is India’s general election process seeing its last summer?
While the Election Commission of India has constituted a ‘task force’ to help voters deal with the massive heatwave during the ongoing general elections, whispers are slowly turning into demands for the democratic process to be held in less harsh climatic conditions The world’s largest election is currently underway. India is giving nearly a billion (950 million) citizens the chance to exercise their right to vote a government of their choice into power.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Hridayesh
Contact Hridayesh, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack