PARI Contributors 

large_01-IMG_6818-PS-Its_raining_sand_in_Rayalaseema_FzWv5UT.jpg

medium_01-IMG_6818-PS-Its_raining_sand_in_Rayalaseema_FzWv5UT.jpg

small_01-IMG_6818-PS-Its_raining_sand_in_Rayalaseema_FzWv5UT.jpg

thumbnail_01-IMG_6818-PS-Its_raining_sand_in_Rayalaseema_FzWv5UT.jpg

01-IMG_6818-PS-Its_raining_sand_in_Rayalaseema_FzWv5UT.jpg

<h2><a id="24146" linktype="page">Arunachal’s birds: canary in the coalmine</a></h2><p>Birds in this biodiversity hotspot are shifting their ranges upslope, signalling serious ecological damage in the eastern Himalayas. Alarmed at the change, local people are actively participating in conservation efforts<br/></p><h5>August 4, 2023 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/authors/vishaka-george/">Vishaka George</a></h5><p></p>

Arunachal’s birds: canary in the coalmine

<h2><a id="17460" linktype="page">&#39;Oh, that house? It’s in the sea now – there!&#39;</a></h2><p></p><p>In AP’s East Godavari district, residents of Uppada village rely on instinct to tell what the sea will claim next. The fast-receding shoreline has altered their livelihoods, social relations and collective memory</p><h5>February 28, 2022 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/authors/rahul-m/">Rahul M.</a></h5><p></p>

'Oh, that house? It’s in the sea now – there!'

<h2><a id="12030" linktype="page">Battle of the bugs: on wings of climate change</a></h2><p></p><p>India is seeing huge declines in native insect species – several of them tied closely to our food security. But it’s hard to get humans viewing insects with the warmth they reserve for, say, furry mammals</p><h5>September 22, 2020 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/priti-david/">Priti David</a></h5><p></p>

Battle of the bugs: on wings of climate change

<h2><a id="11984" linktype="page">The Great Coral Grief of Lakshadweep islands</a></h2><p></p><p>India’s smallest union territory, just 1-2 metres above sea level on average – and where every seventh person is a fisherman – is losing its coral reefs and facing the impact of climate change at multiple levels</p><h5>September 12, 2020 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/sweta-daga/">Sweta Daga</a></h5><p></p>

The Great Coral Grief of Lakshadweep islands

<h2><a id="11861" linktype="page">In Thane, the rain has gone rogue</a></h2><p></p><p>Dharma Garel and others in the Adivasi hamlets of Shahapur taluka of Maharashtra may not speak of ‘climate change’, but are daily confronting its effects directly, including erratic rainfall and falling yields</p><h5>August 25, 2020 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/jyoti-shinoli/">Jyoti Shinoli</a></h5><p></p>

In Thane, the rain has gone rogue

<h2><a id="10862" linktype="page">Churu: Blowing hot, blowing cold – mainly hot</a></h2><p>In June 2019, Churu, Rajasthan, recorded a global high of 51°Celsius. For many here though that was just one milestone in an expanding summer and other odd changes in seasons that clearly point to climate change  <br/></p><p></p><h5>June 02, 2020 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/sharmila-joshi/">Sharmila Joshi</a><br/></h5><p></p>

Churu: Blowing hot, blowing cold – mainly hot

<p></p><h2></h2><h2><a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/when-yamunas-dead-fish-will-be-fresher/">When Yamuna’s ‘dead fish will be fresher’</a></h2><p></p><p></p><p>Effluents and apathy have reduced Delhi&#39;s lifeline to a sewer. Thousands of fish die annually while the Yamuna&#39;s original custodians have nowhere to go. It all feeds into and spurs a climate crisis</p><p></p><p></p><h5>January 22, 2020 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/shalini-singh/">Shalini Singh </a></h5><p></p>

When Yamuna’s ‘dead fish will be fresher’

<h2><a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/big-city-small-farmers-and-a-dying-river/">Big city, small farmers, and a dying river</a></h2><p></p><p>City farmers? Yes, sort of – in the national capital, struggling as a choked Yamuna river and the destruction of its floodplains spur the region’s climate crisis and devastates their livelihoods</p><p></p><h5>December 19, 2019 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/shalini-singh/">Shalini Singh </a></h5>

Big city, small farmers, and a dying river

<h2><a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/the-shrinking-pomfret-of-suburban-mumbai/">The shrinking pomfret of suburban Mumbai</a></h2><p></p><p>Many in Versova Koliwada have a story to tell of dwindling fish – the reasons range from local-level pollution to global-scale warming. Both have combined to bring the impact of climate change to the city’s shores</p><h5>December 4, 2019 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/subuhi-jiwani/">Subuhi Jiwani</a></h5><p></p>

The shrinking pomfret of suburban Mumbai

<h2><a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/tamil-nadus-seaweed-harvesters-in-rough-seas/">Tamil Nadu’s seaweed harvesters in rough seas</a></h2><p></p><p>An unusual activity of the fisherwomen of Bharathinagar in Tamil Nadu keeps them more in the water than on boats. But climate change and overexploitation of marine resources are eroding their livelihoods</p><p></p><h5>October 31, 2019 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/m-palani-kumar/">M. Palani Kumar</a></h5>

Tamil Nadu’s seaweed harvesters in rough seas

<h2><a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/belated-rains-beleaguered-farmers-in-bhandara/">Belated rains, beleaguered farmers in Bhandara</a></h2><p>This district in Vidarbha, which for long had adequate water resources, is seeing new rainfall patterns. Now listed as a &#39;climate hotspot&#39;, the changes in Bhandara are bringing uncertainty and losses for paddy farmers</p><h5>October 23, 2019 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/jaideep-hardikar/">Jaideep Hardikar</a> </h5>

Belated rains, beleaguered farmers in Bhandara

<h2><a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/cotton-has-now-become-a-headache/">‘Cotton has now become a headache’</a></h2><p>A chemical-intensive Bt cotton monoculture is spreading through Odisha’s Rayagada district – harming health, deepening debt, irreversibly eroding indigenous knowledge, and sowing the seeds of a climate crisis</p><h5>October 7, 2019 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/aniket-aga/">Aniket Aga</a> and <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/chitrangada-choudhury/">Chitrangada Choudhury</a></h5><p></p>

‘Cotton has now become a headache’

<h2><a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/sowing-the-seeds-of-climate-crisis-in-odisha/">Sowing the seeds of climate crisis in Odisha </a></h2><p>In Rayagada, Bt cotton acreage has risen by 5,200 per cent in 16 years. The result: this biodiversity hotspot, rich in indigenous millets, rice varieties and forest foods, is seeing an alarming ecological shift<br/></p><h5>October 4, 2019 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/chitrangada-choudhury/">Chitrangada Choudhury</a> and <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/aniket-aga/">Aniket Aga</a></h5><p></p>

Sowing the seeds of climate crisis in Odisha

<h2><a id="7741" linktype="page">Counting sheep as grasslands shrink in Gujarat</a></h2><p>Pastoralists from Kachchh walk great distances in search of grazing lands for their sheep in Gujarat, even as pastures disappear or become inaccessible, and climate patterns get ever more erratic</p><h5>September 23, 2019 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/namita-waikar/">Namita Waikar</a></h5>

Counting sheep as grasslands shrink in Gujarat

<h2><a id="7676" linktype="page">Sundarbans: ‘Not a blade of grass grew…’</a></h2><p>People in the Sundarbans of West Bengal, for long living on the edge, are now facing climate change – recurring cyclones, erratic rain, growing salinity, rising heat, depleting mangroves and more</p><h5>September 10, 2019 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/urvashi-sarkar/">Urvashi Sarkar</a></h5><p></p>

Sundarbans: ‘Not a blade of grass grew…’

<h3></h3><h2><a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/the-happy-days-are-now-just-nostalgia/">‘The happy days are now just nostalgia’</a></h2><p></p><p>In the high mountains of the eastern Himalayas in Arunachal Pradesh, the nomadic Brokpa community is recognising climate change and devising coping strategies based on traditional knowledge</p><h5>September 2, 2019 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/ritayan-mukherjee/">Ritayan Mukherjee</a></h5><p></p>

‘The happy days are now just nostalgia’

<h3></h3><h2><a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/hailstorms-at-43-degrees-celsius-wreck-farming-in-latur/">Hailstorms at 43°C wreck farming in Latur</a></h2><p></p><p>Villagers in Maharashtra’s Latur district are baffled by the heavy and intense hailstorms in summer that have hit them this past decade. Some farmers are giving up on orchards altogether</p><h5>August 26, 2019 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/parth-mn/">Parth M.N.</a></h5><p></p>

Hailstorms at 43°C wreck farming in Latur

<h3></h3><h2><a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/everything-has-turned-upside-down-in-sangole/">‘Everything has turned upside down’ in Sangole</a></h2><p></p><p>Villages in Sangole taluka of Maharashtra’s Solapur district are brimming with stories of how the old cyclical pattern of good rainfall and dry spells has been broken – and why and with what impact</p><h5>August 19, 2019 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/medha-kale/">Medha Kale</a></h5><p></p>

‘Everything has turned upside down’ in Sangole

<h3></h3><h2><a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/today-we-seek-those-fish-in-discovery-channel/">‘Today we seek those fish in Discovery Channel’</a></h2><p></p><p>Kadal Osai, a community radio of and for fisherfolk on Pamban island of Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram district, turns three this week. And it&#39;s making waves – with climate change as its latest focus</p><h5>August 12, 2019 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/kavitha-muralidharan/">Kavitha Muralidharan</a></h5><p></p>

‘Today we seek those fish in Discovery Channel’

<h3></h3><h2><a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/why-is-the-climate-changing-like-this/">‘Why is the climate changing like this?’</a></h2><p></p><p>Coffee and pepper farmers in Wayanad, Kerala, are reeling under losses caused by a rise in temperatures and erratic rainfall in a district whose residents once boasted of its ‘air-conditioned climate’</p><h5>August 5, 2019 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/vishaka-george/">Vishaka George</a></h5><p></p>

‘Why is the climate changing like this?’

<h3></h3><h2><a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/perhaps-we-made-the-mountain-god-angry/">‘Perhaps we made the mountain god angry’</a></h2><p></p><p>Nomadic Changpa pastoralists at the high grazing grounds of Ladakh find their yak-related economy in a crisis that is driven by major climatic shifts in their fragile mountainous ecosystems</p><h5>July 22, 2019 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/ritayan-mukherjee/">Ritayan Mukherjee</a></h5><p></p>

‘Perhaps we made the mountain god angry’

<h3></h3><h2><a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/buffaloed-by-the-climate-in-kolhapur/">Buffaloed by the climate in Kolhapur</a></h2><p></p><p>Human-wildlife conflict is escalating in Radhanagari, Kolhapur, where the gaur buffalo are raiding nearby farms. This is spurred by deforestation, cropping changes, drought and fluctuating weather patterns</p><h5>July 17, 2019 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/sanket-jain/">Sanket Jain</a></h5><p></p>

Buffaloed by the climate in Kolhapur

<h3></h3><h2><a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/its-raining-sand-in-rayalaseema/">It’s raining sand in Rayalaseema</a></h2><p></p><p>Crop pattern changes, waning forest cover, an explosion of borewells, the death of a river, and more – have produced dramatic effects on land, air, water, forests and climate in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district</p><h5>July 8, 2019 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/p-sainath/">P. Sainath</a></h5><p></p>

It’s raining sand in Rayalaseema

Chronicling climate change: Everyday lives, extraordinary stories

બદલાતા વાતાવરણનો વરતારો: રોજબરોજનું જીવન, અસામાન્ય વાતો

জলবায়ু পৰিৱৰ্তনৰ ইতিবৃত্ত: সাধাৰণ জনতাৰ অসাধাৰণ কাহিনী

ಹವಾಮಾನ ಬದಲಾವಣೆ: ದೈನಂದಿನ ಜೀವನ, ಅಸಾಧಾರಣ ಕಥೆಗಳು

കാലാവാസ്ഥാമാറ്റത്തെ രേഖപ്പെടുത്തുമ്പോൾ: ദൈനംദിന ജീവിതങ്ങൾ, അസാധാരണമായ കഥകൾ

ਜਲਵਾਯੂ ਤਬਦੀਲੀ ਦਾ ਬਿਰਤਾਂਤ: ਰੋਜ਼ਮੱਰਾ ਦਾ ਜੀਵਨ, ਅਸਧਾਰਨ ਕਹਾਣੀਆਂ

క్రమానుగత వాతావరణ మార్పు: రోజువారీ జీవితాలు, అసాధారణ కథలు

காலநிலை மாற்றத்தை ஆவணப்படுத்துதல்: அன்றாட வாழ்க்கைகள், அசாதாரண கதைகள்

জলবায়ু বিবর্তনের দাস্তান: আমজনতার একদিন প্রতিদিন

ଦଶନ୍ଧି ଧରି ଚାଲିଆସୁଥିବା ଜଳବାୟୁ ପରିବର୍ତ୍ତନ: ଦୈନନ୍ଦିନ ଜୀବନ, ଅସାଧାରଣ କାହାଣୀଗୁଡ଼ିକ

जलवायु परिवर्तन का वृत्तांत: रोज़मर्रा की ज़िंदगी, असाधारण कहानियां

ماحولیاتی تبدیلی کا روزنامچہ: روزمرہ کی زندگی، شاندار کہانیاں

वातावरण बदलाच्या मागावरः रोजच्या जगण्यातल्या विलक्षण कहाण्या

<p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:400;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.</span></span></p>


India is bigger than New Delhi. And people need to know more about the rest of this vast nation.


<p style="line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0pt;margin-top:0pt;" dir="ltr"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:400;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.</span></span></p><p style="line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0pt;margin-top:0pt;" dir="ltr"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:400;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">PARI exists to change that.</span></span></p><p style="line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0pt;margin-top:0pt;" dir="ltr"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:400;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.</span></span></p><p style="line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0pt;margin-top:0pt;" dir="ltr"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:400;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.</span></span></p><p style="line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0pt;margin-top:0pt;" dir="ltr">&nbsp;</p>

Donate FAQs


Let’s get you acquainted

Welcome to PARI

All our content is, and will forever be free to consume. If you enjoy our work, you can support us by becoming a volunteer or by donating to help fund our work.

<p><i>Want to republish this article? Please write to </i><a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a><i> with a cc to </i><a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a></p>

Chronicling climate change: Everyday lives, extraordinary stories

PARI’s reports on climate change from multiple climate and agro-ecological zones across the country – through the voices and lived experiences of ordinary Indians

Related stories

A rain-scented walk in Sivagangai

Living on ravaged land

Biswas and the bamboos on his bike

Recycling energy, Godda style

Bhadels of Goa

Pookadai: still throbbing with morning life

Koli Kadlas

Malnourishment high among children of migrants: study

Wheels of the rural Indian West

Living Under a Red Cloud in Bellary

Vedla – earrings of the Maher community

Dreaming of water, drowning in debt

Kali: the dancer and his dreams

Farmer's diet worse than a convict's

In Yavatmal, life goes on

Suicides are about the living, not the dead

Death of a carpenter

Hoisa Shigmo!

Women farmers: weaving a life in Anantapur

Defiant in Dhinkia

Spice and all that's nice

Kerala's Green Army

The ‘jugaad’ not-a-mobile

Health as someone else's wealth

Calibrating in a Kudumbashree assembly unit