Madhya Pradesh Public Works Department Minister Rakesh Singh has said that the state is set to develop the country's first state-level, multi-national park Tiger Corridor in collaboration with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Minister Singh announced while addressing a press conference at the Kushabhau Thakre Convention Centre in the state capital Bhopal, on Thursday. The minister said the corridor would serve as a model for integrating modern infrastructure with environmental responsibility. Highlighting the features of the tiger corridor, Minister Singh said, "It is the country's first state-level multi-national park tiger corridor, which is being developed in coordination with NHAI and PWD. It will incorporate underpasses in forest areas, slow-traffic zones, and wildlife-safe designs to balance tiger movement, tourism, and local connectivity. This will also promote eco-tourism and strengthen the local economy." The minister further said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, roads in Madhya Pradesh were no longer merely means of transport but had become a strong foundation for economic growth, investment, and new opportunities. He also outlined an ambitious roadmap for the next three years, from 2025 to 2028, under which six major expressways and pragatipath projects with a combined length of 3,368 kilometres will be constructed. These projects include the Narmada Pragatipath, Vindhya Expressway, Malwa-Nimar Vikaspath, Atal Pragatipath, Bundelkhand Vikaspath and Madhya Bharat Vikaspath. The total estimated cost of these projects is Rs 36,483 crore, and most of them are targeted for completion by June 2028. The minister added that the projects would significantly reduce travel time, enhance road safety, and provide fresh momentum to industrial, agricultural, and tourism activities across the state. Minister Singh also said they signed an MOU worth Rs 1 lakh crore with NHAI, and that works worth Rs 28,000 crore were approved under it to develop 948 kilometres of new national highways in the state. It will strengthen interstate connectivity, logistics efficiency, and industrial investment potential. The Minister further highlighted that the Madhya Pradesh government signed an MOU with the Government of India's National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML) for the construction of four ropeways in Madhya Pradesh. Of these, the construction of the ropeway in Ujjain from the Railway Station to Mahakal Temple is underway. "In the last two years, we have worked at a rapid pace, and approximately 10,000 kilometres of roads have been constructed at a cost of Rs 17,284 crore alone in 2024-25. Additionally, 739 buildings have been constructed at a cost of Rs 6,627 crore in the state," Singh said. Additionally, the minister said that several initiatives were planned under the Hybrid Annuity Model over the next three years. Within the next six months alone, five major projects covering 285 kilometres, with an estimated cost of Rs 15,000 crore, are proposed. These projects are expected to boost logistics, agriculture and trade at the regional level. "822 new rural roads with a total length of 11,310 kilometres will be constructed over the next three years to ensure that every village in Madhya Pradesh is connected to national and global markets," he said. The minister further emphasised that the Lokpath App 2 would soon be launched, providing information on routes, toll plazas, and police stations along the route. It will also send an alert if there is any black spot on that route before the commuters. He added that the state government was committed to quality construction, timely execution, and the use of advanced technology, and that the PWD's forward-looking roadmap would lay the foundation for a new era of speed, safety, and prosperity in the state. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
19 December,2025 11:22 AM IST | Bhopal | ANITamil Nadu researchers have sounded a fresh warning over the continued threat posed by a banned veterinary drug to India’s critically endangered vultures, after a major new study confirmed that diclofenac — prohibited nearly two decades ago — is still being used to treat livestock across several regions in the country. The findings are part of the study: "The continued threat of toxic NSAIDs to Critically Endangered Gyps vultures in South Asia", conducted by 13 researchers between 2012 and 2024 and published recently in Bird Conservation International. The study reveals that three Gyps species endemic to Asia — the white-rumped vulture, red-headed vulture, and long-billed vulture — continue to suffer population decline due to unintentional poisoning. When these birds feed on carcasses of cattle treated with diclofenac, they suffer fatal kidney failure, a phenomenon identified as the primary cause of the rapid crash in vulture numbers since the 1990s. Despite the Union government’s ban on veterinary use of diclofenac in May 2006 and additional restrictions on multi-dose vials in 2015, the drug is still being stocked illegally. Researchers found that Rajasthan - a state where intensive conservation advocacy has not been undertaken - recorded the highest prevalence, with up to 25 per cent of surveyed pharmacies offering diclofenac. Tamil Nadu’s Vulture Safe Zones (VSZs) fared better, but enforcement challenges persist. According to S. Bharathidasan, secretary of conservation organisation Arulagam, which helped survey VSZs in the state, more than 100 court cases have been filed against suppliers, manufacturers, and retailers. He said the diclofenac vials detected in Tamil Nadu originated largely from Karnataka, outside the VSZ, where conservation outreach remains limited. The study also reveals that access to veterinary NSAIDs varies widely, with 64.3 per cent of pharmacies in Tamil Nadu and 100 per cent in Rajasthan offering them. Much of the diclofenac found was stocked in 3-ml vials — legal for human use but illegal for veterinary treatment, making them a loophole for misuse. While the Centre has additionally banned ketoprofen and aceclofenac since July 2023, Tamil Nadu has taken proactive steps by restricting the use of flunixin in key vulture habitats such as The Nilgiris, Erode and Coimbatore from 2019, and curbing ketoprofen as early as 2015. However, researchers warn that banning known toxic drugs is not enough if untested substitutes with similar risks enter the market. They emphasised the need to curb pilferage of human-use vials for veterinary purposes and ensure strict enforcement, warning that vulture populations will remain vulnerable unless the illegal use of diclofenac is eliminated statewide and nationally. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
19 December,2025 11:02 AM IST | Chennai | IANSYes the darkest day of the year is here, but that means brighter days are ahead. Sunday, December 21, is the shortest day of the year north of the equator, where the solstice marks the start of astronomical winter. It's the opposite in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the longest day of the year and summer will start. The word 'solstice' comes from the Latin words 'sol' for sun and 'stitium' which can mean 'pause' or 'stop'. The solstice is an end of the sun's annual march higher or lower in the sky. The winter solstice is when the sun makes its shortest, lowest arc. The good news for sun lovers: It then starts climbing again and days will get a little longer every day until late June. People have marked solstices for eons with celebrations and monuments such as Stonehenge, which was designed to align with the sun's paths at the solstices. But what is happening in the heavens? Here's what to know about the Earth's orbit. What is the solstice?As the Earth travels around the sun, it does so at an angle, making the sun's warmth and light fall unequally on the northern and southern halves of the planet for most of the year. The solstices mark the times when the Earth's tilt toward or away from the sun is at its maximum. This means the hemispheres are getting very different amounts of sunlight ¿ and days and nights are at their most unequal. At the Northern Hemisphere's winter solstice the upper half of the Earth is at its furthest lean away from the sun ¿ leading to the shortest day and longest night of the year. The winter solstice falls can fall between December 20 and 23 ¿ this year it's the 21st. The opposite happens at a Northern Hemisphere summer solstice: The upper half of the Earth is leaning toward the sun, creating the longest day and shortest night of the year. This solstice falls between June 20 and 22. What is the equinox?During the equinox, the Earth's axis and its orbit align so that both hemispheres get an equal amount of sunlight. The word equinox comes from two Latin words meaning equal and night. That's because on the equinox, day and night last almost the same amount of time ¿ though one may get a few extra minutes, depending on where you are on the planet. The Northern Hemisphere's fall or 'autumnal' equinox can land between September 21 and 24, depending on the year. Its spring or 'vernal' equinox can land between March 19 and 21. What's the difference between meteorological and astronomical seasons?These are just two different ways to carve up the year. While astronomical seasons depend on how the Earth moves around the sun, meteorological seasons are defined by the weather. Meteorologists break down the year into three-month seasons based on annual temperature cycles. By that calendar, spring starts on March 1, summer on June 1, fall on September 1 and winter on December 1. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
18 December,2025 01:03 PM IST | New York | APThe mating season of Olive Ridley turtles has begun near Rushikulya river mouth in Odisha's Ganjam district, as the administration increased patrolling to keep away poachers, an official said. Berhampur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Sunny Khokkar said that many pairs of turtles were seen in the area, and mating might pick up in the last week of December. Nesting of turtles usually takes place for 45 days after mating, he said. After mating, female turtles lay eggs by digging pits in the sand and return to the sea, with the hatchlings emerging 45-50 days later. "We hope Olive Ridley turtles turn up in large numbers this year as well. Mass nesting is expected to take place in the third week of February," the DFO said. Last year, a record number of over 9.04 lakh turtles had laid eggs in around a seven-km-long beach stretch from Bateswar to Gokharakuda in two phases of the mass nesting. As many as 6,98,698 turtles had laid eggs from February 16-23 in the first phase, while 2.05 lakh turtles laid eggs in the second phase from March 16 to 23, sources said. Meanwhile, patrolling has been intensified in the sea for protecting the mating Olive ridley turtles from poachers, Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF), Khallikote range, Dibya Shankar Behera, said. During patrolling, two mechanised fishing trawlers from Andhra Pradesh have been seized for illegal fishing in the area, he said. The government has banned fishing by the mechanised trawlers within 20 km from the coast from November 1 to May 31 as the turtles congregate for mass nesting during the period. The forest department has also held a coordination meeting with fishermen, seeking their cooperation during the mating, nesting and hatching people in the Rushikulya River rookery. The fishermen demanded the doubling of compensation from Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000 during the fishing ban period.
16 December,2025 01:30 PM IST | Berhampur (Odisha) | PTITwo dozen Kemp's ridley sea turtles are rehabilitating in Florida after the frigid waters off of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, left them struggling with frostbite, pneumonia and abrasions. The 24 endangered sea turtles arrived at the Loggerhead Marinelife Centre in Juno Beach, Florida, on December 9, thanks to the nonprofit organisation LightHawk. Last year, the centre welcomed another bunch of cold-stunned turtles that were released into the Atlantic months later. They are expected to remain at the facility until spring, when they'll be released into the Atlantic Ocean to make their way back to New England, said Heather Barron, chief science officer and veterinarian at Loggerhead. She said the turtles suffered from a condition called cold stunning, which requires treatment with antibiotics, fluids and nebulisation. Cold stunning occurs in extremely frigid temperatures and causes the cold-blooded sea turtles to become lethargic and lose mobility, and Kemp's ridley, loggerhead and green sea turtles are typically affected. The turtles migrate north in the summer, and many get stuck while heading south in the hooked peninsula of Cape Cod, according to a New England Aquarium fact sheet. As the ocean temperatures drop, the turtles become lethargic, emaciated and hypothermic. They begin washing ashore, where volunteers rescue them and take them to the sea turtle hospital. A number of turtles were sent to Florida to relieve overcrowding at the New England Aquarium, said Pam Bechtold Snyder, director of marketing and communications for the Boston facility. Most of those turtles were stranded during a strong westerly wind event on Nov. 28 and went through the triage process at the Boston facility, Snyder said. They were sent to Florida to make room for more turtles coming in from Cape Cod, she said. So far during the annual cold-stunning phenomenon that began on November 7, they've treated 472 hypothermic turtles. The hospital staff works with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service to transfer the turtles to various sea turtle hospitals, including Loggerhead, Snyder said. "These guys are very critically ill when they get here, and they are undergoing extensive treatment," Barron said of the turtles sent to Juno Beach. "They're getting nebulised where they actually breathe in medicine. That helps their lungs do their job better." When turtles arrive in groups at Loggerhead, the staff gives them names, following a theme, Barron said. "And in this case, it is Greek mythology,¿ Barron said. "So we have Pandora and Gaia and Persephone and Helios and all those guys." This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
16 December,2025 01:20 PM IST | Juno Beach (US) | APExtreme heat and changes to land-use could put nearly 8,000 animal species around the world at a threat of extinction by the end of this century, according to a new study. An international team, led by researchers at the UK's University of Oxford, looked at nearly 30,000 species of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles. "By the end of the century, up to 7,895 species are expected to face extreme heat events and/or unsuitable land use changes across their entire range, and thus potentially go globally extinct," the authors wrote in the study published in the journal Global Change Biology. Suitable habitats for each species were taken from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) database, and maps of future habitat types for the species from the 'Land-Use Harmonisation 2' (LUH2), managed by the US' University of Maryland. Lead researcher Reut Vardi, postdoctoral researcher, school of geography and the environment at the University of Oxford, said, "Our research highlights the importance of considering the potential effects of multiple threats together to get a better estimation of their potential impact. It further stresses the urgency of conservation and mitigation actions globally to prevent immense losses to biodiversity." Under the most severe of the four scenarios modelled, species could be expected to face unsuitable conditions across 52 per cent of the range across which they are distributed -- under the best case scenario, 10 per cent of the species' range could be affected. The combined effects of climate and land-use change are projected to be particularly acute in regions including the Sahel (for example, Sudan, Chad and Niger), the Middle East, and Brazil. The findings are in line with those from previous studies that show the most extensive land-use changes under a future emissions scenario marked by high challenges in mitigating and adapting to climate change, the researchers said. The study can help guide conservation policymaking and underlines how future environmental changes could dramatically reshape global biodiversity. It also highlights the importance of identifying and mitigating these interacting threats, the team said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
12 December,2025 06:02 PM IST | New Delhi | PTIDeodar trees in picturesque Sangla valley of Himachal's Kinnaur district have unfolded a shift from wetter spring conditions during Little Ice Age (LIA) to progressive drier conditions since 1757 AD with noticeable increase in spring drought years in recent decades. A study conducted by the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), following rock fall incidence near Batseri village in the district in July 2021, in which several deodar trees were damaged, analysed factors responsible for the geohazard activities to enable better prediction of future hazard events to support early warning systems. According to an official statement issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology on Thursday, the study based on past climates using dating of annual growth layers in trees (dendroclimatology and dendrogeomorphology) underscored the need for robust reconstructions of past hydroclimatic variability and related geohazard episodes in view of increasing frequency of extreme climatic events. The extreme climate events include droughts and floods and their strong association with geohazards like landslides, glacial lake outburst flood (GLOFs), rock falls and snow-avalanches, especially in the Himalayan area. Dendroclimatology is the science of using information from tree rings to study and reconstruct past climate conditions while Dendrogeomorphology is the science of using growth anomalies and disturbances in tree-ring records to date and understand past geological and geomorphological processes. Tree-rings, which are layers of new wood that form each year, providing a record of the tree's age and past environmental conditions act as natural archives to such climatic and geohazard events, offering the potential to bridge this knowledge gap due to absence of long-term high-resolution records and stirred the need to understand the interactions between moisture variability and geohazard dynamics from the Himalayan region, the study said. The study showed that tree growth is highly sensitive to spring months' (February to April) moisture, primarily influenced by winter precipitation derived through Western Disturbances (WDs). A total of 53 rock fall events, including eight of high intensity, were linked to dry spring conditions, especially after year 1960, indicating climate-induced ground instability while the spring drought conditions led to slopes with poor vegetation cover, exposing them to vulnerability when the dry conditions are followed by the intense summer monsoon rainfalls. The findings highlight the critical role of climate variability, driven by regional and global factors, in triggering the geohazards, underscoring the need for forest management, monitoring, and early warning systems. This study provided insights on how climate variability, specially the spring and pre-monsoon summer droughts trigger geohazards in the vulnerable Himalayan regions, the statement said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
12 December,2025 03:11 PM IST | Shimla | PTIThe Central Zoo Authority (CZA), a statutory body of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India has approved the transfer of 30 White-rumped Vultures (Gyps bengalensis) and five Slender-billed Vultures (Gyps tenuirostris) from Vulture conservation and breeding centre, Rani, Guwahati to the 6th Addition of Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve (NP&TR) under Bishwanath Wildlife Division. Taking to social media, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted, "Glad to announce the release of 30 White-rumped & 5 Slender-billed Vultures from VCBC, Rani into @kaziranga_'s 6th Addition. Like Jatayu soaring in Ramayana, these guardians of our health return to the wild, marking a triumph of our dedicated conservation efforts." Both the slender-billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris) and white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) are classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. They are also protected under Schedule I of India's Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, offering the highest level of legal safeguards. Sonali Ghosh, Field Director of Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve, said that "Assam serves as the primary stronghold for slender-billed vultures in India, hosting breeding populations, particularly near Kaziranga National Park, though their numbers may be on a decline due to threats like poisoning from pesticide-laced cattle carcasses. White-rumped vultures are present across the state but face similar population crashes, prompting active conservation at sites like the Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre in Rani, Kamrup, which holds a sizable number of captive individuals. " Vultures hold mixed cultural roles in India, often viewed as symbols of environmental balance and purity in rural communities, where their presence near cremation grounds along riverbanks traditionally signified a natural cycle of death and decay. Hindu reverence for vultures, such as the heroic Jatayu and Sampati from the Ramayana epic, also highlights their strength and keen eyesight. "Vulture populations in India, including species like white-rumped, slender-billed, and Indian vultures, numbered in the tens of millions in the late 20th century but crashed by over 97% for some species between the mid-1990s and early 2000s. By 2007, white-rumped vultures dropped to around 11,000 individuals, with slender-billed at about 1,000, marking the fastest decline ever recorded for any bird species. Recent estimates from 2023-2025 indicate lingering low numbers, such as 750-1,000 slender-billed vultures, with declines slowing but no significant recovery," Sonali Ghosh said. She further said that the veterinary drug diclofenac, used as a painkiller for livestock, caused kidney failure and visceral gout in vultures scavenging treated carcasses, with just 0.8-1% of contaminated carcasses sufficient to trigger the collapse. Widespread use across India, Pakistan, and Nepal from the 1990s led to high poisoning rates confirmed in dead vultures, accounting for nearly all mortality during peak declines. "Habitat loss, persecution, and other NSAIDs contributed marginally, but diclofenac dominated, leading to ecological fallout like increased feral dog populations, rabies spread, and over 500,000 human deaths from 2000-2005 due to un-scavenged carcasses. Bans on diclofenac for veterinary use since 2006 have halted rapid declines, though populations remain critically low without full recovery," she also said. The Field Director of Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve said that the 6th addition to Kaziranga National Park, as administered by Bishwanath Wildlife Division, was selected as the release site due to its expansive forested landscapes, abundant carrion resources from large herbivores within Kaziranga's extended buffer. "Ongoing anti-poaching measures and vulture-friendly veterinary practices further enhance its suitability for soft releases, promoting natural foraging and nesting behaviours. A release aviary has been constructed by Kaziranga Park Authority with technical supervision of BNHS near the Tewaripal forest camp, from which the vultures will be released to the wild in the coming months as per the scientific soft release protocol. In parallel, various awareness programmes on Vultures, their biological importance and threats, etc, have been conducted for the local communities, in various educational institutes and with veterinarians. The program supports vulture population recovery amid ongoing threats like NSAIDs(Diclofenac, Aceclofenac, Nimesulide, etc) and Pesticide poisoning in Northeast India," she said. She further said that the transfer marks a prominent step in reintroduction efforts for species such as the White-rumped and Slender-billed vultures. The Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre-Rani, under Assam's Forest Department and BNHS ,leads captive breeding and conservation for South Asia's declining Gyps vulture (Resident) populations. The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) plans to release captive-bred slender-billed and white-rumped vultures--initially six in January 2026--in Assam's Kamrup and Biswanath districts, following over 15 years of breeding more than 800 vultures nationwide. These efforts, supported by the Assam Forest Department and RSPB, aim to restore flocks, combat diclofenac-related declines, and engage communities to reduce poison baiting. This initiative reinforces Assam's commitment to restoring vulture populations in the wild and enhancing the long-term success of conservation breeding and reintroduction efforts across the northeastern landscape.
10 December,2025 10:21 AM IST | Kaziranga (Assam) | ANIThe first giant panda cub born in Indonesia is noisy, nursing well and showing other signs of good health, the conservation park where he was born said Sunday. Indonesian Safari Park released video and photos showing the fuzzy newborn in an incubator and squirming and squealing while being cuddled by his mother. The mother, 15-year-old Hu Chun, gave birth to Satrio Wiratama nicknamed "Rio" on November 27 at the park in Cisarua, West Java province. The name symbolises the hope, resilience, and shared commitment of Indonesia and China in protecting endangered species, the park said in a statement. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto announced the baby panda's name Thursday, December 4, and showed his photo when he met Wang Huning, a top Chinese political adviser and leading ideologist. Rio is stable and showing healthy early signs such as strong vocalisation, effective nursing and steady weight gain while being monitored constantly. He is expected to develop better temperature control, fur growth, open his eyes and move more in the next several weeks. The conservation park said it was prioritising the health and welfare of the mother and baby and he would not yet be accessible to the public. The adult pandas, Cai Tao and Hu Chun, arrived in Indonesia in 2017 on a 10-year conservation partnership with China. They live in an enclosure built for them at the park about 70 kilometres from Jakarta. Pandas are widely considered as China's unofficial mascot and its loans of the animals to overseas zoos have long been seen as a tool of Beijing's soft-power diplomacy, also known as "panda diplomacy". Giant pandas have difficulty breeding and births are particularly welcomed. There are less than 1,900 giant pandas in their only wild habitats in the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
08 December,2025 11:04 AM IST | Jakarta | APAs December settles in and winter begins to take hold, the night sky gears up for one of its most anticipated sights of the year—the Cold Supermoon. Falling on December 4, this striking lunar event is not only December’s traditional full moon but also the final supermoon of 2025, rounding off a trio that began in October and continued through November. The term supermoon refers to a full moon that occurs when the Moon reaches or comes very close to perigee, the closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit. This reduced distance makes the Moon appear slightly larger and significantly brighter—up to 30 pct more luminous than a typical full moon. Although the difference may not always be dramatic to the naked eye, the enhanced glow often creates a noticeable visual impact, especially under clear winter skies. December’s full moon has long been called the Cold Moon, a name rooted in traditional lunar calendars used by Indigenous communities and early farmers. It marks the arrival of winter’s chill, longer nights and a shift toward colder, quieter days. When this seasonal full moon coincides with perigee, the result is the Cold Supermoon—a natural spectacle that blends cultural symbolism with astronomical brilliance. Tonight’s Cold Supermoon is expected to shine with a crisp, silvery radiance. At perigee, the Moon will sit roughly 221,965 miles from Earth, making it appear subtly but noticeably larger than usual. Even if the precise peak illumination time hasn’t been specified, skywatchers across India can catch the full display simply by stepping outdoors after sunset on December 4. In cities such as Mumbai, the Moon will rise over the eastern horizon in the early evening, offering a clear view as long as clouds stay away. It is recommended to choose locations with minimal light pollution—rooftops, terraces, beaches, open grounds or any unobstructed space where the horizon is visible. Winter months often bring cleaner, drier air, creating ideal conditions for moon gazing. Whether you’re an astronomy enthusiast or simply someone who enjoys looking up at the night sky, the Cold Supermoon offers a moment of quiet wonder. As the last supermoon of 2025, it is a fitting finale to the year’s lunar highlights—brilliant, serene and unmistakably enchanting.
04 December,2025 10:07 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentIn an environment-friendly gesture, quarrying has been stopped for about a month at a stone quarry in Vikarabad district in Telangana to let a rock eagle owl, a rare bird, hatch its eggs. The Telangana forest department quickly swung into action after being alerted by wildlife photographers and conservationists about the presence of the bird and the eggs. Vikarabad District Forest Officer Gnaneswar told PTI on Thursday that wildlife photographer Manoj Kumar Vittapu, who visited the grassland at Yenkathala in Vikarabad about six days ago, informed the Telangana's Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) C Suvarna about the presence of the rock eagle owl and its five eggs. The PCCF asked the Vikarabad district forest officials to quickly take safety measures. The forest department personnel who reached the site informed the stone crushing unit owner Laxma Reddy about the presence of rare bird species and the eggs, he said. The unit owner agreed not to disturb the bird till the hatchlings fly. The forest department personnel have been keeping a close watch on the bird since then on a daily basis, Gnaneswar said. The rock eagle owl, which preys on insects, rats and others, is mainly found in South East Asia. Compared to other owls, it inhabits rocky areas, he said. "It's a rare species though it is not endangered. Its sighting is rare," the official said. Though it is not known when the bird laid the eggs at the Yenkathala grassland, it is expected that hatching would happen in another 15 days. The hatchlings would fly away if protective care is taken for 20-25 days, he said. The rock eagle owl incubates the eggs and ensures that they remain warm, he added. Vittapu, who is also joint secretary of Telangana Photographic Society, told PTI that he visited the Yenkathala grasslands as part of a birding visit on November 30. He said he noticed the eggs which were located between the quarry cliff and the ground. The earthmover driver at the quarry stopped the mining (stone crushing) after being alerted. The driver and other personnel were aware of the presence of the bird. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
04 December,2025 09:27 PM IST | Hyderabad | PTIADVERTISEMENT
