Green Cover: The Key to Cooling a Warming World

Environmentalist Prof SL Madivalar emphasized that expanding green cover via large-scale tree plantations is the most effective strategy against rising global temperatures. Speaking at an event in Dharwad, he highlighted that increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide traps heat, leading to climate change and erratic weather patterns. This poses crises in agriculture and other sectors, with those in slums and economically weaker sections suffering the most. Madivalar stressed the urgent need to expand green cover and protect natural ecosystems as forests and wetlands, which absorb carbon, are shrinking.

In a related issue, Senior Environmental Officer I H Jagadish reported that the Hubballi-Dharwad twin cities generate approximately 450 tonnes of waste daily, making scientific disposal a considerable challenge. New solid waste management rules, implemented on April 1, 2026, following Supreme Court directives, require households to segregate dry waste into recyclable categories like paper, plastic, and metal. Additionally, sanitary waste must be treated as biomedical waste, and items like chemical containers and paint cans are classified as hazardous waste.