Environment & Ecology
Climate, biodiversity, pollution control and environmental legislation
Arctic winter sea ice extent record low for two consecutive years
Arctic winter sea ice reached its annual maximum extent on March 15, 2026 — just 14.29 million square kilometres, matching the record low set in 2025 (14.31 ...
Indian farmers’ woes may rise as 50% of India’s key reservoirs half empty
About 50% of India's 166 major reservoirs monitored by the Central Water Commission (CWC) are storing less than half their capacity as of March 2026, with so...
New butterfly species recorded in Arunachal named after Zubeen Garg
A new butterfly species, Euthalia zubeengargi, has been recorded in the Basar region of Leparada district, Arunachal Pradesh, and named after celebrated Assa...
India's carbon emissions in 2025 grew at slowest rate in two decades: CREA analysis
India's carbon dioxide emissions grew by just 0.7% in 2025, the slowest rate of increase in over two decades, excluding the pandemic year 2020, according to ...
Cloud seeding, early warning, protected area expansion: How Saudi Arabia restored 1 million hectares of degraded land
Saudi Arabia has successfully restored one million hectares of degraded land, achieving one of the largest dryland restoration milestones globally, according...
India’s new climate targets are modest, but significant. Here’s why
India's Union Cabinet approved its new NDC for 2031–2035, committing to a 47% reduction in emissions intensity, 60% non-fossil installed capacity, and a 3.5–...
While the US retreats, India steps up on climate: Union Cabinet announces new NDC
The Union Cabinet approved India's new Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for the period 2031–2035, submitting it to the UNFCCC under the Paris Agreeme...
Banas Bio-CNG model gains national traction; Gujarat allocates ₹60 crore for expansion
Gujarat has allocated ₹60 crore in its 2026–27 state budget to expand Bio-CNG plant infrastructure through cooperative milk production societies, building on...
From hills to markets: Indigenous seeds make a comeback in Andhra Pradesh
A grassroots network of tribal and smallholder farmers in Andhra Pradesh's Eastern Ghats is conserving hundreds of indigenous seed varieties — including nati...
From beer to cosmetics, Asia feels full force of war-fuelled energy crisis
Asia — which is more heavily dependent on crude oil, gas, fuel, and fertilisers from West Asia than any other world region — is experiencing severe supply di...
Heatwaves will be worst for rural parts of Africa — new model shows tens of millions face dangerous warming by 2100
A new multi-model climate study — using 10 global climate models bias-corrected to observed conditions — projected heatwave exposure for rural and urban popu...
Govt asks auto industry to optimise production as Iran war hurts energy supplies
India's Ministry of Heavy Industries issued an advisory to the automobile industry on March 25, 2026, urging companies to optimise production, shift factory ...
Mosquitoes carrying malaria are evolving more quickly than insecticides can kill them — researchers pinpoint how
A new study published in the journal Science analysed over 1,000 genomes of Anopheles darlingi — South America's primary malaria vector — from 16 locations a...
India’s power demand hits five-year high in early 2026
India's electricity demand in January 2026 reached 143 billion units (BU) — the highest January demand in 16 years — while peak demand touched 245.4 GW, a fi...
Tepid promises: On India and non-fossil capacity
India has pledged to achieve 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based electricity capacity by 2030, a commitment made at COP26 (Glasgow, 2021) and enshrined in its up...
Reliance Industries refutes purchasing any Iranian oil
Reliance Industries, operator of the world's largest private refinery complex at Jamnagar, Gujarat, publicly refuted reports that it had purchased Iranian cr...
Global initiative marks taking steps to curb illegal and unsustainable taking of migratory wildlife
A global initiative has marked significant steps to curb Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, highlighting progress under international framew...
Toothless ban: Single-use plastic rules 84% of surveyed sites in four cities
A new report titled "Revisiting Single Use Plastic Ban" by Toxics Link — a New Delhi-based environmental research and advocacy organisation — found that bann...
ICICI Bank projects India’s FY27 growth at 6.9% amid energy supply strain
ICICI Bank's Economic Research Desk released a report on March 26, 2026 revising India's FY27 GDP growth forecast downward to 6.9%, from its earlier projecti...
‘Giving sectarian colour to support from India’—Iran embassy’s selective tweets play on ‘Kashmir angle’
The Iranian Embassy in New Delhi posted, then deleted, messages on X (formerly Twitter) thanking the "kind people of Kashmir" and India for humanitarian supp...