State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

India4

  • Photo Essay: When People Must Make Way for Nature

    Photo Essay: When People Must Make Way for Nature

    The forested Kanha Tiger Reserve, in the highlands of central India, is home to an abundance of rare wildlife. It also used to be home to thousands of people—that is, until they were moved out by the government to make way for endangered creatures.

  • In Jharkhand, Using an Old Technique for Sustainable Water

    In Jharkhand, Using an Old Technique for Sustainable Water

    The Indian state of Jharkhand has plentiful rainfall, but most of that water runs off before it can be put to use by farmers, who struggle to make a living. To help improve irrigation and crop productivity, the Centers for International Projects Trust and Ranchi’s Birsa Agricultural University turned to a simple traditional technology, “dobhas,”…

  • Empowering Girls by Learning About Puberty

    Empowering Girls by Learning About Puberty

    When Sunita, a student in rural South India, got her period for the first time she was sure she was on the brink of death.

  • The Coming Great Quakes in India and Bangladesh?

    The Coming Great Quakes in India and Bangladesh?

    A new film takes viewers from the eastern highlands of India to the booming lowland metropolis of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh–and explores an ever-more detailed picture of catastrophic earthquake threat that scientists are discovering under the region.

  • Earth Institute Summer 2016 Internships

    Earth Institute Summer 2016 Internships

    This summer, the Earth Institute is offering Columbia students opportunities to intern within various departments and research centers at the institute. All full-time Columbia and Barnard students are eligible to apply.

  • Genetic Analysis of Asian Elephants in India Reveals Some Surprises

    Researchers find one population actually two; suggest strategies for future elephant conservation

  • Last Sample and Home

    Last Sample and Home

    We finished our work at the river transect. Now we had one more sample to collect. Alamgir had arranged for drillers at this new site, but they were delayed because of a knife fight between two villages over some property.

  • OSL Samples at Last

    OSL Samples at Last

    The success of the tube wells for drilling and obtaining samples was a great boon to our field program. We drilled three additional tube wells to complete a five-well transect across the abandoned river valley. When we date the samples, we will find out if the river switched position suddenly, possibly from an earthquake.

  • Tubewells to the Rescue

    Tubewells to the Rescue

    The resistivity testing was hampered by bad roads and flooded fields. The augering was proving similarly difficult in the thick muds of the abandoned channel. It was time to change to our alternative plan: drilling with tube wells. That worked better and we had turned a corner.

Columbia Climate School Giving Day on October 28, 2026, featuring students and renewable energy imagery

October 28, 2026 is Columbia Giving Day! Your gift to Columbia Climate School helps advance interdisciplinary research, educate the next generation of leaders, and transform bold ideas into real-world solutions for climate, Earth, and society.

  • Photo Essay: When People Must Make Way for Nature

    Photo Essay: When People Must Make Way for Nature

    The forested Kanha Tiger Reserve, in the highlands of central India, is home to an abundance of rare wildlife. It also used to be home to thousands of people—that is, until they were moved out by the government to make way for endangered creatures.

  • In Jharkhand, Using an Old Technique for Sustainable Water

    In Jharkhand, Using an Old Technique for Sustainable Water

    The Indian state of Jharkhand has plentiful rainfall, but most of that water runs off before it can be put to use by farmers, who struggle to make a living. To help improve irrigation and crop productivity, the Centers for International Projects Trust and Ranchi’s Birsa Agricultural University turned to a simple traditional technology, “dobhas,”…

  • Empowering Girls by Learning About Puberty

    Empowering Girls by Learning About Puberty

    When Sunita, a student in rural South India, got her period for the first time she was sure she was on the brink of death.

  • The Coming Great Quakes in India and Bangladesh?

    The Coming Great Quakes in India and Bangladesh?

    A new film takes viewers from the eastern highlands of India to the booming lowland metropolis of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh–and explores an ever-more detailed picture of catastrophic earthquake threat that scientists are discovering under the region.

  • Earth Institute Summer 2016 Internships

    Earth Institute Summer 2016 Internships

    This summer, the Earth Institute is offering Columbia students opportunities to intern within various departments and research centers at the institute. All full-time Columbia and Barnard students are eligible to apply.

  • Genetic Analysis of Asian Elephants in India Reveals Some Surprises

    Researchers find one population actually two; suggest strategies for future elephant conservation

  • Last Sample and Home

    Last Sample and Home

    We finished our work at the river transect. Now we had one more sample to collect. Alamgir had arranged for drillers at this new site, but they were delayed because of a knife fight between two villages over some property.

  • OSL Samples at Last

    OSL Samples at Last

    The success of the tube wells for drilling and obtaining samples was a great boon to our field program. We drilled three additional tube wells to complete a five-well transect across the abandoned river valley. When we date the samples, we will find out if the river switched position suddenly, possibly from an earthquake.

  • Tubewells to the Rescue

    Tubewells to the Rescue

    The resistivity testing was hampered by bad roads and flooded fields. The augering was proving similarly difficult in the thick muds of the abandoned channel. It was time to change to our alternative plan: drilling with tube wells. That worked better and we had turned a corner.