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A road in Leh. Empty hotels and closed businesses are proof that Ladakh’s tourism boom is dwindling. Terrorist attacks in 2025, record rainfall and local violence severely impacted tourism in the region, leading to a sharp decline in revenue for hotel and taxi businesses. Image by Shailesh Srivastava/Mongabay.

A series of disruptions hit tourism in this high altitude desert

Shailesh Shrivastava 6 Mar 2026
Tung seeds collected from growers being segregated at the Saitual District Tung Growers Association. Image by Robert Lalnuntluanga.

Farmers revive tung plantations amid market hopes and ecological concerns

Barasha Das 5 Mar 2026

India’s secretive salamanders are losing their breeding grounds

Subhrajit Sen, Soham Das 17 Feb 2026
A man attempts to recover a vehicle submerged in mud following floods along the Teesta River in 2023. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Eastern Himalayan hydropower risks locking in climate maladaptation [Commentary]

Sharon Sarah Thawaney 11 Feb 2026
Ana sagar lake in Ajmer, Rajasthan, against the backdrop of the Aravalli mountain ranges. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

Reading the Aravallis through maps and law [Analysis]

Sachin Pernacca Sashidhar, Milind Bunyan, Kripa M.K., Abi T. Vanak 9 Feb 2026
Dense spikes of purple flowers make Dactylorhiza hatagirea a striking sight in high-altitude landscapes. Image by Javaid M Dad.

Climate change could shrink habitat of Himalayan marsh orchid, study warns

Hirra Azmat 9 Feb 2026
Bee colonies are being installed alongside buckwheat fields in Ladakh, where scientists are testing how the crop can support beekeeping and provide farmers with an additional income. Image by Faizan Ahmed.

Buckwheat draws renewed interest for its health benefits and resilience

Hirra Azmat 29 Jan 2026
A marble mine in the Aravallis located adjacent to Sariska Tiger Reserve in Alwar district, Rajasthan. Image by Ghazala Shahabuddin.

Shrinking Aravallis, rising dust pollution

Lekha Bandopadhyay 21 Jan 2026
The surveys revealed that low-elevation forests in the northern Western Ghats harbour unique biodiversity, with higher diversity of birds and reptiles than higher elevations. Image by Irvin Calicut via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Can climate change and human pressure favour deciduous forests?

Arathi Menon 9 Jan 2026

Supreme Court stays order on Aravalli definition

Simrin Sirur 30 Dec 2025

The Aravalli mountains, an ecological asset under threat [Commentary]

C.P. Rajendran 29 Dec 2025
Ana Sagar lake in Ajmer, Rajasthan, flanked by the Aravalli hills. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

With a new identity, the Aravalli hills stare at an uncertain future

Simrin Sirur 26 Dec 2025
To address snow droughts in the Himalayas, experts suggest investing in seasonal water storage infrastructure, upgrading irrigation and water efficiency technologies, and preparing robust cross-sectoral drought management plans. Image by Hemant Singh.

Snow droughts intensify across the Hindu Kush Himalayas

Hirra Azmat 3 Dec 2025
A Mishmi takin (Budorcas taxicolor). Representative image from a zoo by Hans de Bisschop via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

The elusive Mishmi takin faces new challenges in its changing habitat

Bikash Kumar Bhattacharya 28 Nov 2025

Documentaries rooted in land, water and culture, shine at DIFF

Megha Acharya 19 Nov 2025

Centring sustainability in a growing marathon culture

Aparna Ganesan 29 Oct 2025
The Nilgiris hills in the southern Western Ghats. Image by Divya Kilikar/Mongabay.

A stairway from the ocean to the skies [Commentary]

C.P. Rajendran 29 Oct 2025
Pallas's cat. The survey that captured the cat also shot images of the Brokpa herding community whose centuries-old pastoral traditions enable coexistence with wildlife. Image courtesy of WWF-India.

Survey finds wild cats at record heights

Nabarun Guha 7 Oct 2025
A field team member consults with a local landowner while demarcating the boundaries of a potential restoration site in the hills. Image by Aditya Pradhan.

In search of degraded forests for restoration [Commentary]

Aditya Pradhan 29 Sep 2025
The risks of working in a tectonically active and landslide-prone region are heightened by rainfall, steep and variable topography, and highly fractured rock masses. These lead to higher landslide susceptibility, directly affecting road safety, construction costs, and project timelines. Image by NHIDCL.

Study maps the most unstable slopes along an important Himalayan highway

Hirra Azmat 23 Sep 2025