Pollution News

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Plastic waste collected behind an industrial area near Mumbai. Plastic production contributes about 3.7% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Image by Ravleen Kaur.

Communities near petrochemical plants pay the price for plastic convenience

Ravleen Kaur 19 Sep 2025
Partially bleached coral reefs in the waters near Elephant beach in the Andaman islands. Image by Harvinder Chandigarh via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

India needs a marine litter policy as plastic waste chokes corals

T. V. Padma 19 Sep 2025
Workers install metal mesh sheets on the banks of Bellundur Lake to prevent industrial pollution from spilling on to the road in Bangalore. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

External auditors to ‘supplement’ monitoring efforts of pollution authorities

Simrin Sirur 17 Sep 2025

India’s urban-rural air quality divide

Bharti Dharapuram 15 Sep 2025

The dark side of bright lights

Krishna Kakani 8 Sep 2025
A representative image of cosmetic products. Image by Bairavi Arjunan3 via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-4.0)

Behind the shimmer, the toxic story of mica and forever chemicals [Commentary]

Trisha Putturaya and Chirag Dhara 3 Sep 2025

India set to participate in the World Cup for trash collection

Meena Menon 26 Aug 2025
Kumari Sahu from Patharra village in Chhattisgarh’s Bemetara district shares concerns about the ethanol plant. Image by Ayushi Sharma/Mongabay India.

Ethanol push sparks concerns about food security, environment and health

Ayushi Sharma 22 Aug 2025

Children face a disproportionate burden of environmental risks

Shweta Thakur Nanda 21 Aug 2025
A man with a baby in his arms sat on the sculpture of Mother Earth, surrounded by broken plastic toys, bottles, and chairs scattered around. Every day, some more trash was added. Even as the man is seen thinking, Mother Earth, his own body, and the DNA helix above him, were all covered in plastic. Even as plastic has penetrated the foetus-symbolised by the DNA helix, the sea and the mountains, world leaders procrastinate to agree on a solution.

Global talks on plastic pollution end without a treaty

Ravleen Kaur 19 Aug 2025
A bronze-winged jacana in Vembanad lake. Estimates say the lake is home to some 20,000 water fowls, otters and various varieties of fish. Image by Charles J. Sharp via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

From choking backwaters to cleaner currents [Commentary]

C. J. Punnathara 13 Aug 2025

Study maps microplastics in Mumbai’s mangroves

Aditi Tandon 25 Jul 2025
Saplings planted alongside Buddha Nullah in Ludhiana. Image by Manu Moudgil.

A heat map-based plantation programme turns into a missed opportunity

Manu Moudgil, Simrin Sirur 18 Jul 2025
A medical camp held at a school in Rudrasagar, Assam. Image by District Commissioner, Sivasagar.

Gas leak in Assam oil rig under control but has affected hundreds

Nabarun Guha 3 Jul 2025
About 50 villages and hamlets along the Jodhpur-Barmer highway have been suffering from the side effects of the pollutants of the Jojari river since 2007. Image by Nirmal Verma/Mongabay.

Toxic water flows, forcing out people and biodiversity

Vishal Kumar Jain 26 Jun 2025

Explosion aboard container ship off Kerala coast

S. Gopikrishna Warrier 13 Jun 2025
A container washed ashore in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala from the ELSA-3 shipwreck. Some containers that washed to the coast were even seen catching fire in Kollam district. Image by John Bennet.

Shipwreck spills oil, plastic and legal loopholes

Max Martin 12 Jun 2025
A cleanliness drive held in Udupi, Karnataka. Image courtesy of Baeru.

World Environment Day: a rising wave against ocean waste

Saumitra Shinde 5 Jun 2025
A Liberian-flagged ship sank off the Kochi coast on May 25. Image courtesy: Ministry of Defence, Government of India via X.

Shipwreck raises concerns about ecological damage in Kerala

Navya P K 29 May 2025
A house in Byrnihat, whose topography contributes to pollution — hills on both sides, blocked river channels and low-pressure zones. Cement and coke factories, and distilleries intensify pollution effects, along with environmental violations.

Living in the most polluted city in the world

Nabarun Guha 13 May 2025