Context: Recent disasters in Nepal demonstrated the growing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), drones and crowdsourced data for rescue, damage assessment and disaster response.AI is increasingly being integrated across the disaster-management cycle...

Context: COP31 will be held in Antalya, Türkiye, in November 2026, with Türkiye hosting the conference and Australia overseeing the negotiations process.Türkiye’s Environment Minister Murat Kurum will serve as COP31 President, while Australia’s Clima...

Context: The Karnataka Legislative Assembly unanimously rejected the recommendations of the Kasturirangan Committee Report on declaring Eco-Sensitive Areas (ESAs) in the Western Ghats.The central issue is balancing environmental conservation with the...

Context: The greater one-horned rhinoceros is an important ecological and cultural component of the Brahmaputra floodplains and Terai grasslands.India is seeking to consolidate existing rhino populations while expanding the species into suitable part...

Context: Punjab’s groundwater extraction has reached 152%, making groundwater depletion both an environmental and socio-economic challenge.The crisis is increasingly affecting small and marginal farmers, who lack the capital needed to access deeper g...

Context: A JNTBGRI checklist documented 3,261 flowering plant species in the Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve, highlighting its high floral diversity and endemism.Location: Spans Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the southern Western Ghats.Floral diversity: 3,...

Context: The death of a 63-year-old woman in Shimla following an attack by rhesus macaques has renewed concerns over human-wildlife conflict.She was attacked by a group of monkeys on the roof of her house on August 30, suffered serious injuries inclu...

Context: India is expanding its deep-sea exploration capabilities through the Deep Ocean Mission, raising questions about the ecological consequences of future seabed mining.The central issue is whether technological capability to exploit deep-sea re...

Context: Rapid EV Growth: India’s electric vehicle (EV) sales increased from 2,322 in FY 2014–15 to 25.45 lakh in FY 2025–26, reflecting rapid electrification of mobility.Delhi’s Strategy: Delhi’s Electric Vehicle Policy aims to accelerate this trans...

Context: The Indian striped hyena is an important scavenger that helps maintain ecosystem health, but faces conservation challenges due to poor population data, negative cultural perceptions and fragmented conservation efforts.Population and Dis...

Context: Recent climate disasters in South Asia — Nepal floods, Sri Lanka’s Cyclone Ditwah, Pakistan floods and recurring floods in India — highlight the increasing frequency and interconnectedness of climate shocks.These disasters reveal that while...

Context: As the paddy harvesting season approaches, Punjab and neighbouring States are likely to again face the problem of stubble (parali) burning, contributing to severe air pollution in northern India.Farmers face a difficult choice because p...

ContextDevastating floods in Nepal’s Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers in sparsely populated Rasuwa district (~48,000 people) killed hundreds and destroyed traditional villages, urban settlements, tourist sites, trade routes, roads, bridges, social infr...

ContextElectrocution from expanding power infrastructure is emerging as a major threat to India’s vultures, alongside earlier chemical threats.A 2025 official survey found vultures nesting at only 50% of historic nesting sites, indicating continued p...

Context: Recent disasters in Nepal highlight the interconnected and fragile nature of the Himalayan region and the need for India to strengthen preparedness against earthquakes, landslides, glacial hazards and climate-induced disasters.The Himalaya s...