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Considering the linkages between climate change and water management, a lack of effort has been observed in analyzing the imprints of climate change over the transboundary Teesta river basin, where the changing climatic conditions can trigger substantial changes in eco-hydrological and socio-politico-economic setups. Therefore, to stimulate effective basin management, we investigated the trends in temperature, precipitation, potential evapotranspiration, and water availability under 1.5 and 2 °C warming levels across the transboundary Teesta river basin. The ensemble median of five bias-corrected model outputs from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) was used for this purpose. The results indicate that the temperature is expected to significantly increase (decrease) in the near (far) future, along with an overall significant increasing trend in monsoon precipitation. The evaporation paradox is found in the near future, and the water availability is likely to increase, with some exceptions for the pre-monsoon season. The perpetuation of such changes might result in environmental degradation through snow melting, glacial recession, and floods. Anticipating the changing climatic scenarios and their possible impacts, in this study, we recommend a variety of short- and long-term strategies for the concerned stakeholders to implement the Sustainable Development Goal 13, i.e., “Climate Action”, over the Teesta river basin.

Mushrooms are not only beneficial for health but also its production procedure makes it environment-friendly and at the same time can be an adaptation strategy for building climate resilient livelihoods. The present study explores the potentiality of mushroom cultivation in poverty-prone sub-Himalayan Cooch Behar district of West Bengal, India and also develops strategies to address the existing constraints using SWOT, TOWS, and QSPM models. SWOT analysis provides a comprehensive view of twelve internal and nine external factors present in the mushroom cultivation and marketing system. The results of Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix (2.88) and External Factor Evaluation Matrix (2.63) show, strengths and opportunities overweight weaknesses and threats; therefore, the district is well suited for mushroom cultivation. As it is a new venture, producers face difficulties mainly in terms of marketing and pest management. To enhance the current competitiveness, ten strategies are suggested. Moreover, the QSPM analysis reveals that development of strong marketing linkages, ensuring local market demand, implementation of integrated pest and disease management, and construction of scientific mushroom houses are the top four prioritized strategies. With careful management, mushroom production can become a vibrant way towards sustainable livelihood in the near future.

Understanding climate variability and trends is crucial for managing a host of sectors. Everything from water availability to agricultural productivity is affected by variability and trends in temperature, rainfall, evapotranspiration, and solar radiation. Nevertheless, their dynamics have seldom been explored together, especially in India. To address this gap, the present study investigates the variability, trend, and magnitude of those parameters individually and concurrently using fractal dimension and non-parametric statistics over the Indian state of West Bengal from 1951 to 2020. The results show a south–north gradient in overall climate variability. The Gangetic West Bengal (GWB) is experiencing higher variability, along with a rising minimum temperature (≥0.008 °C year−1) and declining rainfall (≥− 1 mm year−1). Though the Sub-Himalayan West Bengal as a whole shows less variability, its foothills reveal modest variation coupled with increasing maximum temperature (≥0.005 °C year−1), reference evapotranspiration (≥0.4 mm year−1), and decreasing rainfall in the post-monsoon and winter seasons. Based on the results, we identified the western GWB, the Sundarbans, and the sub-Himalayan foothills as the most vulnerable areas and recommended proactive crop and water management strategies. Finally, we underline the need to analyze climate dynamics holistically to manage climate-sensitive sectors efficiently and sustainably.

The agricultural situation in India has gone through several distresses occurring from both natural and socio-politico-economic stressors. Though an emphasis has been given in the country to develop and promote adaptation strategies, it requires precise, comprehensive, and generalized knowledge regarding agricultural risks and vulnerabilities. With this motive, the present study systematically reviews the current state of research on India’s agricultural risk and vulnerabilities (n = 97), its progress, and prospects over the past two decades. The review explicitly focuses on the trends, characteristics, practices, outcomes, and policy significance to broaden the potential course. Results suggest that there are significant spatial, temporal, and thematic differences in agricultural vulnerability and risk researches. Considering the exposures, most of the studies prioritize climate-induced external stressors over the internal ones. Studies are still being practiced traditionally by neglecting the nexus of various physical and socio-politico-economic attributes of agriculture. Consequently, the inherent structural drivers, such as class, caste, gender, and economic disparity, still stimulate agricultural risks and vulnerabilities. Considering the future adversities and the heterogeneity of India’s biophysical and environmental conditions along with diversified socio-politico-economic aspects, we emphasize the process-based systemic, multi-scalar, and multi-stressor agricultural vulnerability and risk research through cohesive theoretical, conceptual, and analytical approaches. Additionally, we developed a combined vulnerability and risk assessment framework, which can generally be applied to any system, including agriculture.

Global warming causes glacial mass loss, leading to the growth of high-mountain glacial lakes. The presence of glacial lakes poses a significant threat to downstream communities, as they can produce destructive Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs). Timely basin-scale inventory and GLOF susceptibility assessments are crucial, considering past GLOF events in the Himalayan region. Here, an updated inventory of glacial lakes in the Chenab basin, Western Himalayas was generated based on Sentinel-2 datasets for 2022. We assessed temporal changes and GLOF susceptibility for glacial lakes (>0.05 km 2 ) through a multi-criteria based Analytical Hierarchical Process, classifying them into low, medium, high, and very high susceptibility classes. The results reveal 419 lakes (>0.001 km 2 ; 9.97 ± 0.67 km 2 ) in the basin in 2022. Glacial lakes (>0.05 km 2 ) area increased by ∼75%, from 3.92 ± 0.58 to 6.86 ± 0.25 km 2 during 1990-2022. Of the 42 lakes (>0.05 km 2 ) evaluated, four showed very high GLOF susceptibility. The study emphasizes the impact of local geomorphology and glacier-lake interaction under warming climate, likely to increase the GLOF susceptibility in the region. Regular monitoring and detailed fieldwork for these susceptible lakes are crucial for early warning and disaster risk reduction for downstream communities. We present an improved inventory and GLOF susceptibility of glacial lakes for the Chenab basin, Western Himalaya. We mapped 419 lakes (>0.001 km 2 ) with a total area of 9.97 ± 0.67 km 2 as of 2022, much higher than previously reported. Glacial lake area increased by ∼75% during 1990-2022. Four, three, and seven lakes are classified into the very high, high, and medium GLOF susceptible categories, respectively. Local geomorphology (i.e. avalanche, rockfall) and pronounced glacier-lake interaction under warming climate likely increase GLOF probability in the region.

In the original publication, there are few mistakes in Figs. 1, 2, and Table 5. The corrected version is given as follows.

Frictional moving load-induced dynamic response of a porous piezoelectric micro/nano plate with superficial parabolic discontinuity. The present paper aims to analyze the complex dynamic response of micro/nano-scale components through investigating the stress distribution within a Nonlocal Porous Piezoelectric Layer (NPPEL) of finite thickness. The study specifically focuses on quantifying the combined effects of material porosity, size-dependent elasticity, and geometrical surface imperfections when the layer is subjected to a load moving across its upper boundary. This comprehensive model provides a more realistic assessment of reliability for small-scale smart devices. The layer’s constitutive behavior is modeled using Eringen’s nonlocal elasticity theory to account for the essential size effects present at the micro/nano scale. The governing equations for the coupled porous and piezoelectric medium are derived, incorporating appropriate boundary conditions for a moving load. Crucially, the superficial parabolic discontinuity on the upper surface is handled analytically through a robust perturbation technique, allowing for the derivation of closed analytical forms for the resulting shear and normal stresses. The final solutions are then computed using Mathematica to illustrate the transient stress fields. Numerical results demonstrate that the nonlocal parameter is highly effective at amplifying the magnitude of the stresses, which is characteristic of the stiffening effect in nonlocal models. The depth and factor of the parabolic irregularity significantly amplify the stress concentrations at the interface, indicating a critical pathway for potential failure. Furthermore, the frictional coefficient of the moving load plays a non-linear role in dictating the shear stress distribution, providing crucial insight into contact mechanics at the nanoscale. The core novelty lies in the simultaneous analytical incorporation of nonlocal effects, porosity, and an arbitrary surface irregularity under dynamic moving load conditions–a combination highly relevant to microfabrication. The model is directly applicable to enhancing the design and performance assessment of MEMS/NEMS pressure sensors, ultra-thin piezoelectric energy harvesters, and other micro-electromechanical devices where surface quality and size effects dictate device lifespan and reliability.

This study presents a generalized framework of vector calculus for non-integer dimensional spaces, motivated by the prevalence of fractals in nature. The work formulates first- and second-order differential operators, including gradient, divergence, and scalar and vector Laplacian, for scalar and rotationally covariant vector functions. This framework is applied to the thermoelastic response of an infinite fractal medium with a cylindrical cavity, a problem that incorporates thermoelastic mass diffusion and variable thermal conductivity through the Kirchhoff transformation. The system is analyzed under combined thermal and chemical shocks at the boundary, with the medium remaining mechanically fixed. The governing equations are solved using the Laplace transform method, and Zakian technique is employed for numerical inversion. The computational results indicate that parameters such as delay time and fractal dimension significantly influence the material's response. The graphical analysis visually examines the effects of different kernel functions, fractal dimension, variable thermal conductivity, nonlocal length and time scales on the thermoelastic response, providing a clear illustration of their impact. Specifically, an increase in fractal dimension leads to a more pronounced reduction in the thermoelastic response near the cylindrical cavity. Furthermore, an examination of different memory-dependent kernel functions reveals that nonlinear kernels demonstrate superior performance compared to linear kernels within this theoretical framework.

We explore a novel transverse line electrode configuration for droplet transport through dielectrophoretic actuation with potential lab-on-chip applications. Using a lumped electromechanical model, we show a weak dependence of DEP actuation force on electrode spacing in this configuration. The configuration successfully triggers translational drop motion with minimal changes in contact angle at considerably low voltages. Two sessile, deionized water drops placed horizontally apart on a indium-tin–oxide-coated glass with additional coatings of polydimethylsiloxane, and a thin layer of Teflon is merged by applying an AC field (88 V rms at 150 kHz) through a common horizontal wire electrode. A lateral motion of two drops is induced along the horizontal electrode, eventually leading to coalescence. The drop motion is unique compared to electrowetting in its near-constant dynamic contact angle, and irreversibility on withdrawal of electric field. The effect of frequency on the drop behavior is examined through a parametric study on single drops within the range of 2–200 kHz. It is interesting to observe a switch-over from DEP behavior at high frequency to EWOD behavior at low frequency around a critical frequency (Jones in Langmuir 18:4437–4443, 2002 ).

Purpose This paper aims to study photothermal excitation process in an initially stressed semi-infinite double porous thermoelastic semiconductor with voids subjected to Eringen’s nonlocal elasticity theory under the fractional order triple-phase-lag thermoelasticity theory. The considered substrate is governed by the mechanical and thermal loads at the free surface. Design/methodology/approach The normal mode technique is used to carry out the investigation of photothermal transportation. By virtue of the MATHEMATICA software, each distribution is exhibited graphically. Findings The expressions of the displacements, temperature, volume fractions of both kinds of voids, carrier density and stresses are determined analytically. With the help of the numerical data for silicon (Si) material, graphical implementations are presented on the basis of initial stress, fractional order, nonlocality and thermoelectric coupling parameters. Originality/value The present study fabricates the association of Eringen’s nonlocal theory and the stress analysis in a semiconducting double porous thermoelastic material with voids, which significantly implies the originality of the conducted work.