‘Exceptional’ power outage in Spain and Portugal affects millions of people

​​A major power failure brought much of Spain and Portugal to a standstill on Monday, halting trains, cutting phone service, and shutting down traffic lights and ATMs across the Iberian Peninsula, AP reported. Portuguese grid operator REN said the outage was caused by a rare atmospheric phenomenon—extreme temperature variations triggering “induced atmospheric vibration” in high-voltage lines, leading to synchronization failures in the European network, Guardian reported.

Reuters said that “outages on such a scale are extremely rare in Europe”. A second Reuters article said Spain’s generation was “nearly back to normal” as of Tuesday morning, while a third Reuters piece says Portugal had also restored supplies.

Centre Offers ₹1 Lakh to Set Up Natural Farming Input Centres; Experts Call it Inadequate

The government has issued guidelines under the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) for setting up bio-input resource centres (BRCs), offering financial assistance of ₹1 lakh per centre, DTE reported. These centres aim to support farmers with locally available bio-inputs. The outlet added that BRCs are cluster-level enterprises, meant to support local production, availability and supply of ready-to-use bio-inputs for natural farming to farmers who may not be able to produce them individually.

Experts, however, flagged the amount as insufficient. ““If a person who is setting up the centre has land and other kind of physical infrastructure with them and if it’s just about setting the centre and running it in terms of the production, then this Rs 1 lakh should be decent enough for a low-scale model. Otherwise, this amount is not sufficient because there are factors like land costing, other physical infrastructure like shed building which cannot be done within Rs 1 lakh,” said Manjula M, agricultural economist at Azim Premji University, as reported by Down To Earth.

Wildlife board likely to form agenda review sub-committee

The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) is likely to form a sub-committee to review agendas at least three days before the board’s meetings, according to minutes from its April 15 session, reported HT. The move follows the seventh meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March.

“A small sub-committee may be formed to review agendas at least three days in advance of meetings… In conclusion, a structured, collaborative, and multi-stakeholder approach is essential for effective conservation planning. The initiatives undertaken in this regard shall be instrumental in shaping long-term environmental policies and sustainable development practices,” the minutes added.

All authors working on flagship US climate report are dismissed

The Trump administration has dismissed hundreds of volunteer scientists and experts working on the National Climate Assessment (NCA), The New York Times reported. The NCA is the federal government’s flagship climate report, examining how rising temperatures affect sectors like health, agriculture, water supply, and energy.

Contributors to the sixth NCA, scheduled for 2028, were informed via email that the report’s scope was being “re-evaluated” and that their services were no longer required.

Despite trade tensions, China holds lead in clean energy manufacturing

China’s role as the world’s leading clean energy manufacturer remains intact despite rising trade tensions and shifting climate policies, thanks to its broad export base, cost competitiveness and technological edge, according to the latest analysis from Moody’s Ratings.

While new US tariffs could push companies to diversify their supply chains, China’s entrenched position in the market “limits the pace at which companies can shift away”, Moody’s Ratings said in an infographic released on Tuesday. Moody’s highlighted China’s ability to serve more than 200 countries and regions as a critical advantage in navigating trade barriers.

US tariffs could shave up to half a percentage point off India GDP, says finance secretary

India’s Finance Secretary Ajay Seth said US tariffs introduced by the Trump administration could reduce India’s GDP growth by 0.2 to 0.5 percentage points. Speaking at a Hudson Institute event during the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank, Seth confirmed that India is in ongoing negotiations with the US on trade issues, Reuters reported.

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