Climate change and land use changes could significantly increase landslide susceptibility and risk across Karnataka’s Western Ghats by 2050, according to a new study published in Scientific Reports. The modelling study evaluates future landslide susceptibility and risk by incorporating projected changes in land use/land cover (LULC) and rainfall patterns under different climate scenarios.

The research covers around 45,000 square kilometres across seven districts of Karnataka, including Uttara Kannada, Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga, a region that has recorded more than 1,200 rainfall-triggered landslides.

Unlike conventional assessments that assume landslide-causing factors remain constant over time, the researchers incorporated projected changes in rainfall and land use under four Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) scenarios. Using machine learning, they combined these projections to identify future landslide hotspots and assess risks to people and infrastructure, making this one of the first future-oriented landslide assessments for the region.

The authors note that the intensity and frequency of fatal landslides in the Western Ghats are increasingly influenced by human-induced land use changes and climate change, making it essential to understand how these factors may evolve in the coming decades. They emphasise that susceptibility maps they developed identify areas most likely to experience landslides, while risk maps combine susceptibility with exposure to highlight locations where landslides could result in socioeconomic losses. Such assessments could inform infrastructure development, land use planning and disaster risk reduction.

The findings project a significant increase in rainfall intensity and urban development by 2050, leading to higher landslide susceptibility and risk across the study area. The greatest increases are expected along major transport corridors and densely populated parts of Uttara Kannada, Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru districts. According to the authors, the results demonstrate the combined influence of changing rainfall patterns and land use on future landslide hazards and provide valuable inputs for climate-resilient land use planning and disaster risk reduction strategies in the Western Ghats.

Banner image: A house left in ruins following a massive landslide in Wayanad, Kerala. Representative image by Divya Kilikar/Mongabay.

Species File: Exploring India’s biodiversity, one species at a time.

Tiger stripes are unique, like human fingerprints. No two tigers have the same stripes, a trait that helps researchers monitor the species’ population. In India — home to 75% of the world’s wild tigers — such monitoring plays a crucial role in conservation efforts.

Tigers (Panthera tigris) are the largest of all big cat species, and apex predators. They have a distinctive reddish-orange yellow coat, and a muscular build. Tigers can survive in a wide range of habitats, including mangrove swamps, forests and grasslands. As a solitary and territorial animal, the tiger relies on its strength to hunt its prey, and is vital to the health of entire ecosystems.

Central India holds about 40% of the country’s wild tigers, with recent estimates placing the population at around 3,682 individuals. In 1972, the Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) was declared the national animal of India.

In India, tigers are listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, giving it the highest level of protection. In 2006, the act was amended to provide for constituting the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for strengthening tiger conservation.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Species, tigers are endangered, which means they face a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

Despite tiger populations having stabilised in the past few years, they continue to face significant threats such as shrinkage of tiger habitat, biotic interference in habitat and hunting of prey animals. Poaching for illegal wildlife trade and conflict with humans further threatens their survival.

In an earlier story that Mongabay-India published in October 2025, Pallavi Ghaskadbi, a wildlife biologist and postdoctoral researcher at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, said, “Tigers need connected landscapes. Protecting and restoring forest corridors between reserves is not just a long-term goal but essential for dispersing tigers right now.”

Read more about tiger movement across forest corridors in central India, and watch this video on what it is like living side-by-side with Bengal tigers.

Banner image: Tiger cubs sport their striped coats. Image by Brian Gratwicke via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).

Species File: Exploring India’s biodiversity, one species at a time.

In July, four Malabar pied hornbills were spotted near agricultural fields along the Muyyam river in Kannur district, Kerala, a first for the area. The sighting was considered a marvel given that the species is rarely spotted outside dense forests. Another hornbill species, the Indian grey hornbill, has been breeding successfully in Gujarat’s Gir National Park, where 40 individuals was translocated in 2021.

Despite these instances, hunting and other threats continue to loom over the hornbills in India. In June, the forest department arrested three people in connection with the hunting of a protected hornbill in Assam’s Tinsukia district, highlighting continued pressure on the species.

Hornbills (family Bucerotidae) are birds found largely in the tropics of sub-Saharan Africa and south and south-east Asia. They are easily recognised by their long, curved bills topped with a casque. The birds nest in the natural hollows of high-canopy trees, where females seal themselves inside tree cavities during breeding. Hornbills are often known as ‘farmers of the forest’ due to their propensity to consume fruits and disperse seeds far and wide.

India is home to nine hornbill species. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Species, some, such as the great hornbill (Buceros bicornis) and Malabar grey hornbill (Ocyceros griseus) are listed as vulnerable. The Malabar pied hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus) is near threatened with a declining population, while the Indian grey hornbill (Ocyceros birostris) population remains relatively stable.

Most hornbill species in India are listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, granting them the highest level of protection. However, hornbills still face growing threats from deforestation and habitat fragmentation.

In a report that Mongabay-India published in December 2019, K.H. Amitha Bachan, a researcher and consultant to Kerala Forest Department, said, “A healthy population of hornbills signifies a healthy ecosystem. So the hornbill conservation measures in the region [Kerala] are helping comprehensive protection of the environment of the Western Ghats stretch.”

Read more about ongoing efforts to understand hornbill ecology in the Western Ghats, India’s first hornbill-focussed conservation centre, and how a citizen science project is gathering data on hornbills.

Banner image: A great hornbill carries food to her nest. Image by Angadachappa via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

An international team of scientists and naturalists has described a completely new genus and species of tiger moth found in Kerala. Belonging to the tiger moth subfamily Arctiinae (Erebidae), the species, now named Antaram idukki, was discovered in the state’s Idukki district. According to the study’s lead author, Aparna Sureshchandra Kalawate of the Zoological Survey of India, the insect is so distinct that it cannot be placed in any known genus of tiger moths.

“We collected this specimen from Idukki in 2024, but it didn’t match any known tiger moth genus from India,” says Kalawate. “After conducting a detailed morphological analysis, I contacted Alberto Zilli, curator at the Natural History Museum, London, and co-author of the paper, asking him to compare it with genera across the entire subfamily. It took him five to six months to complete the assessment, and he eventually confirmed that it did not match any known genus. That’s when we concluded we were looking at a new genus.”

Typically taxonomists discover species so discovering an an entirely new genus, a rank in the biological classification system that is above species, is a rare finding.

The researchers named the new genus Antaram and the species Antaram idukki. It differs in its body structure and reproductive anatomy from all known tiger moth groups. The team collected only a single male specimen from Idukki district in the southern Western Ghats. They say this could indicate that the species is either extremely rare or has simply escaped detection, as moth diversity in the Western Ghats remains poorly documented.

The paper describes the moth as having an unusual pattern of strongly wavy dark bands across its forewings, unlike most Indian tiger moths. The scientists note that two common moths in Kerala belonging to the genus Mangina look remarkably similar, and hypothesise that the new species may have evolved to resemble these more common moths to avoid predation.

The researchers relied solely on morphological evidence because only a single male specimen was available. “DNA analysis would have provided an additional line of evidence, but with just one specimen, our study was limited,” Kalawate says. “We can’t yet determine its conservation status or even say whether it is endemic to the Western Ghats or Kerala. It’s too early. We need more specimens and further studies.”

Banner image: Antaram idukki, discovered in Kerala’s Idukki district. Image by Md. Jafer Palot.

Species File: Exploring India’s biodiversity, one species at a time.

In a Meghalaya village, the World Cup isn’t the only event on a four-year cycle. The forests, too, come alive with the return of the niangtaser cicadas (Chremistica ribhoi). Known for their four-year life cycle, these insects’ return coincides with the football World Cup, giving them the nickname ‘World Cup cicadas’.

Cicadas (Cicadoidea) are insects belonging to the order Hemiptera, known for their loud, distinctive calls and long underground life cycles. It is only when they are ready to metamorphose into an adult that they emerge from the ground.

The most defining feature of cicadas lies in the sound they make, produced exclusively by males, who sing to attract female partners. Their calls, produced by repetitive vibrations in the tymbal membrane on their abdomen result in their characteristic sound, which can reach over 100 decibels. Each species has its own specific call. The collective sound of cicadas also acts as a “very good indicator of forest health.”

Despite scientists discovering new species of cicadas in the Western Ghats and northeast India in recent years, these insects remain understudied. While cicadas as a group are not collectively listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, some individual species are in the least concern or near threatened categories. In India, the cicadas are not listed under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, lacking formal legal protection.

For ecologists, cicadas are more than just sources of sound. They play an important role in feeding birds, reptiles and mammals, while helping in soil aeration and nutrient cycling.

In an earlier story that Mongabay-India published in May 2024, Vivek Sarkar, a field entomologist, said, “Cicadas are found almost throughout the globe except the Arctic regions and deserts and have been studied widely in North America. The total number of species of cicadas in India described till date is 204.”

Read more about cicadas that sing in sync at sunrise and the newly described species, Becquartina bicolor, from Meghalaya.

Banner image: A cicada in Kodagu, Karnataka. Image by Ljain19 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Amidst a rise in electricity demand driven by warmer conditions in June, hydropower generation has declined, increasing India’s reliance on coal-fired power. The trend could intensify if El Niño conditions strengthen during the southwest monsoon.

An analysis published by S&P Global, an energy market intelligence firm, on July 3 said that India’s average hydropower generation in June declined by 6.3 aGW (average gigawatt) from a year earlier, even as average electricity demand increased by 24.3 aGW. The shortfall was largely offset by a 20.7 aGW increase in coal-fired generation, while solar and wind generation rose by a combined 9.4 aGW.

The trend is not confined to India. According to the S&P Global analysis, Japan, South Korea, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Malaysia have also witnessed lower hydropower generation. However, India and Vietnam together accounted for nearly 80% of the regional decline in hydropower generation, making them the most affected countries in Asia.

“The June decline (in hydropower generation) is consistent with the expected impact of El Niño on rainfall patterns and reservoir inflows across Asia,” the analysis said and added that hydropower generation could remain below normal if El Niño conditions persist through the summer months.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) and several international weather agencies have projected the development of El Niño conditions during the southwest monsoon season. During a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister’s Office on July 6, IMD officials said weak to moderate El Niño conditions are expected in July and August. Meanwhile, prolonged heatwave conditions across several parts of the country in recent months have already pushed electricity demand to record levels.

The decline in hydropower generation is significant because hydropower is among the most flexible sources of power generation. Unlike solar and wind, hydroelectric plants can rapidly adjust output to meet fluctuations in demand and variable renewable generation, helping maintain grid stability during peak demand periods, the analysis has said.

Another analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), an independent research organisation, said that El Niño will pose a double challenge. It will increase electricity demand due to warmer temperatures and reduce renewable power generation, particularly from hydropower and wind. It estimated that India could face a generation gap of nearly 18 terawatt-hours (TWh) due to reduced renewable output and higher electricity demand. It projects that the gap would largely be met by coal-fired generation, leading to an additional 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

Banner image: Manjara Dam in Marathwada region, Maharashtra, dries up completely during a drought in 2016. Representative image. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)