4 Indian Teens Fighting Climate Change

When it comes to doing your bit to help the planet, it’s safe to say the best way is to start young, and these bright young minds are doing exactly that!

Ridhima Pandey

The Uttarakhand-based 15-year-old is perhaps one of those who started youngest, by filing a suit against the Indian government for not doing enough to combat climate change. Today, Pandey raises her voice for more than one environmental cause including a complete plastic ban, more cleaning efforts for the Indian River Ganga, as well as appeals to stop the cutting of trees in the Aarey Forest of Mumbai.

Image Source: Instagram/ridhimapandeyy

Vinisha Umashankar

Tamil Nadu teenager Vinisha Umashankar is known best for a solar-powered ironing cart she came up with to replace the charcoal ironing box conventionally used in many parts of India. For her innovation, she also received the Children’s Climate Prize in November 2021. The 15-year-old was also the youngest finalist for the first Earthshot Prize, an award launched by Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge.

Image Source: thehindu.com

Bodhisatva Khanderao

From a small village in Maharashtra’s Bhosa village, Khanderao has managed to raise his voice loud enough to various parts of the country, for the cause of deforestation. By visiting various schools, colleges, gram panchayats, self-help groups, government offices, social gatherings and camps, he kickstarted a mass plantation drive by teaching people how to make seed balls, something he came up with during a school science project. The 15-year-old was also awarded the International Young Eco-Hero Award in Notable Category for his work.

Image Source: youthkiawaz.com

Ayaan Shankta

13-year-old Shankta’s eco conscious project aimed at restoring Mumbai’s Powai lake earned him the 2021 International Young Eco-Hero award by the Action For Nature (AFN). His ‘Conservation and Rehabilitation of Powai Lake’ helps create community awareness to restore the lake and protect the flora and fauna surrounding the water resource. His surveys related to the state of Powai lake helped revealed a major contributing factor in the degradation of the lake- the dumping of construction waste in the water body.

Image Source: ndtv.com