Indian-origin scientist Veerbhadran Ramanathan received the prestigious Crawford Award (file photo- social media)
Digital Desk, New Delhi. Indian-origin climate scientist Veerbhadran Ramanathan has been awarded the 2026 Crawford Prize in the field of Geology by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Called the "Nobel of Geology", the award recognizes Ramanathan's decades of research on super-pollutants and atmospheric brown clouds, which have reshaped the understanding of global warming.
82-year-old Ramanathan made a historic discovery while working at NASA in 1975. They reported that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are widely used in aerosols and refrigeration, trap heat in the atmosphere 10,000 times more effectively than carbon dioxide.
Ramanathan said, “Until 1975, we believed that global warming was mainly caused by carbon dioxide. I was stunned by the ability of technology and humans to change the environment.”
Born in Madurai and brought up in Chennai, Ramanathan started his career as an engineer in a refrigerator factory in Secunderabad. He later received degrees from Annamalai University and the Indian Institute of Science. His Indian background influenced his work in the Indian Ocean Experiment, which identified atmospheric brown clouds over South Asia. (With inputs from news agency PTI)
Chyawanprash is a part of every Indian's life, it reduces diseases and increases energy.