Environment

WMO forecasts an exceptionally strong El Niño near the end of 2026, with impacts extending into 2027. The warning highlights Pacific warming, India’s rainfall risks and the need to interpret climate forecasts carefully.

Chhattisgarh’s forest department is seeking expert assistance to save over 500 recently girdled trees in Udanti–Sitanadi Tiger Reserve through bridge grafting. The episode connects plant transport systems with habitat restoration, geospatial monitoring and the need to reconcile forest protection with legally recognised community rights. The proposed treatment is a rescue attempt; recovery has not been established. [1] [2]

The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol completes 10 years on 15 October 2026, drawing attention to the growing climate impact of refrigeration and air conditioning. The agreement requires countries to gradually reduce hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), powerful greenhouse gases widely used in cooling equipment. India faces a major challenge as rising temperatures, urbanisation and incomes increase cooling demand. With India's HFC reduction commitments beginning in 2032, the issue highlights the importance of energy-efficient cooling, alternative refrigerants, climate finance and the India Cooling Action Plan for achieving sustainable development and climate goals.

Nepal has formally sought immediate support from the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) after the catastrophic Bhote Koshi flash flood devastated parts of its Himalayan region. The disaster has revived a larger global debate over climate justice, responsibility of major emitters, whether climate assistance constitutes “aid” or “compensation”, and how vulnerable Himalayan countries should be supported when climate-related risks overwhelm their capacity. Importantly, scientists caution that although climate change is increasing risks across the Himalayan cryosphere, the specific August 2026 disaster cannot yet be attributed directly to global warming.

The catastrophic Bhote Koshi–Trishuli flood in Nepal, associated with a major glacier and rock-ice collapse near Langtang Lirung, has renewed concern over cascading hazards in the rapidly warming Himalayas. For India, the warning is particularly important because a 2026 scientific study identified 219 hanging glaciers in Uttarakhand’s Alaknanda basin, including large unstable ice masses close to settlements, pilgrimage routes and infrastructure around Badrinath and Mana. The developments underline the need to understand hanging glaciers, glacier avalanches, GLOFs, Himalayan infrastructure vulnerability and transboundary early-warning systems.

India received near-normal to slightly above-normal rainfall during July 2026 after an exceptionally dry June. This reduced, but did not eliminate, the accumulated southwest monsoon rainfall deficit. The recovery was driven by Bay of Bengal low-pressure systems, favourable positioning of the monsoon trough and strong moisture-bearing winds from the Arabian Sea. However, rainfall remained highly uneven, alternating between intense wet spells and prolonged dry periods. The development is important for Kharif agriculture, water security, disaster management and assessment of the strengthening El Niño.

The Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has proposed protection and tourism-development works around the Indira Point Lighthouse in Great Nicobar Island, India’s southernmost point. The project requires coastal-regulation approval because the proposed works fall in ecologically sensitive island coastal zones. It is important for UPSC because it links lighthouse tourism, coastal regulation, Great Nicobar’s strategic location, tsunami-induced land subsidence, maritime navigation and sustainable island development.

The Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL), through its Port Blair (Sri Vijaya Puram) directorate, has sought clearance from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Coastal Zone Management Authority and the Environment Ministry to undertake protection and development work — including a convention centre and a museum — at Indira Point, India's southernmost point on Great Nicobar Island. The site falls in the highly protected ICRZ-IA and ICRZ-IVA categories, where most construction is prohibited. This article explains what Indira Point is, the Island Coastal Regulation Zone framework under the CRZ Notification, 2019, why the location is ecologically sensitive, and the conservation-versus-development questions the proposal raises.

A rapid scientific study released in late June 2026 has concluded that human-caused climate change is "unequivocally to blame" for the record-shattering heatwave gripping large parts of Europe — the continent's most severe June heat ever recorded. The study uses a fast-growing field called attribution science to prove the link. This article explains what the study found, how attribution science establishes the climate change fingerprint on a single weather event, why this matters for policy, the meteorology of heatwaves and heat domes, and what it all means for India's own heatwave crisis.

Madhya Pradesh enforcement agencies are preparing a coordinated crackdown on wildlife trafficking through railway routes after seizure data reportedly revealed organised interstate networks moving protected freshwater turtles from northern river systems to domestic and overseas markets. The issue is important for UPSC because it connects Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, CITES, river biodiversity, organised crime, rail-based trafficking routes and India’s conservation governance.

The Union Environment Ministry's expert committee under Sanjay Kumar is moving towards finalising the Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) for the Western Ghats, possibly through a phased, state-wise notification, even as Kerala and Karnataka continue to resist. With the sixth draft notification of about 56,825 sq km set to lapse by end-July 2026, the long-pending conservation regime for one of India's richest biodiversity hotspots is again in focus. This article explains what an ESA is and its legal basis, the contrast between the Gadgil and Kasturirangan reports, the journey of the six draft notifications, the biodiversity and monsoon significance of the Ghats, and the conservation-versus-development debate that has kept consensus elusive for over a decade.

India’s southwest monsoon has shown weak progress over western India, especially Maharashtra, amid developing El Niño conditions and a large early-season rainfall deficit. IMD’s latest monsoon outlook, rainfall data and extended-range forecasts point to weak cross-equatorial flow, below-normal rainfall risk, heatwave conditions in parts of Maharashtra, and possible implications for kharif sowing, food inflation, water security and disaster preparedness.