Environment-News-The Economic Times 
India’s fight against climate change and disasters needs your bold tech solutions
The spread of COVID-19 brought to the forefront the need to focus more on innovation.
The World Meteorological Organization said there is a 20 per cent chance that the 1.5 C level will be reached in at least one year between 2020 and 2024. The period is expected to see annual average temperatures that are 0.91 C to 1.59 C higher than pre-industrial averages.
Extinction watch: Giant Ibis - the national bird of Cambodia
In 2005, the Giant Ibis was designated the national bird of Cambodia. Deforestation, climate change and poaching are blamed for the bird’s decline.
Extinction Watch: Dragon blood tree, a magical cure-all
The dragon blood tree is a succulent, very hardy and drought tolerant. It enjoys warm temperatures and sub-tropical conditions. The tree has a unique upturned and densely packed look almost like an uprightly held umbrella. The fi rst description of the dragon blood tree was made during a survey of Socotra led by Lieutenant Wellsted of the East India Company in 1835.
Extinction watch: The little-known Juan Fernández fur seal
Fur seals in general have thick insulating fur that protects the skin from cold water, they have small ear flaps on the side of their head, and they hold their weight on their front flippers which are also used for land locomotion.
Yangtze Finless Porpoise: A Smiling Rarity
The longest river in Asia, the Yangtze River, was home to two different species of dolphin — the Yangtze fi nless porpoise and the Baiji dolphin. In 2006, the Baiji dolphin was declared functionally extinct. Its close cousin, the Yangtze fi nless porpoise, known for its mischievous smile and a level of intelligence comparable to that of a gorilla in now critically endangered.
Extinction Watch: Grevy’s zebras are social by nature
Grevy’s zebras are native to Ethiopia and northern Kenya. The species is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with about 2,500 adults in the wild. Both Ethiopia and Kenya have laws protecting the species.
Extinction Watch: Steller Sea Lions are known for disntinctive vocal airings
Historically, Steller sea lions were plentiful throughout the coastal North Pacific Ocean. But their numbers started declining as they were hunted for their meat, hides, oil, and other products. Today sea lions are an important subsistence resource for Alaska Natives.
Extinction Watch: The true giants of the African bush
Baobab trees are the true giants of the African bush. Their distinctive silhouettes loom over the acacia scrubland, with Medusa-like branches spreading chaotically above a bulbous body.
Extinction Watch: Saving the Macaw, one headdress at a time
Macaws are monogamous, remaining bonded for life. The species is listed on the IUCN Red List as critically endangered. Recent population and range estimates suggest that only about 350–400 individuals remain in the wild. This species is one of the rarest in the world.
Extinction Watch: Solitary in nature, very few in the wild
This is a solitary species that is most often seen alone or in pairs, and rarely in parties of 4-5, which perhaps are family groups. It feeds characteristically by standing in fast flowing rivers.
Extinction Watch: Shiver me timbers
The clanwilliam cedar is found throughout the Western Cape Province of South Africa, especially in the Cederberg Mountains. Young trees have conical crowns, and old trees have massive gnarled trunks and spreading branches. The bark is reddish grey, thin and fibrous, flaking in scale-like plates.
Extinction Watch: Just two in the wild
It’s a flowering tree known for its sprays of long white, bell-shaped flowers. The tree gets its common name: Bois Dentelle or “Lace Wood” from the delicate patterns of the flowers.
Extinction Watch: This Lemur is marked for death
The Aye-aye is endangered and on the IUCN red list due to hunting and habitat destruction caused largely by humans setting fi res, illegal logging, making charcoal, as well as agriculture and livestock expansion.
Extinction Watch: Eating a songbird into extinction
The species is known as the “rice bird” in China, where it is hunted for food — a practice that has been illegal since 1997, but continues on the black market to this day. This practice on migratory passerines in Asia has pushed not only the Yellow-breasted Bunting to the edge of extinction; but led to all migratory bunting species in eastern Asia declining.