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Vulture nest numbers have sharply declined in recent years, from 23 occupied nests in 2019 to just one in both 2022 and 2023, across two cliff-nesting colonies in the Kaghaznagar Forest Division and adjoining parts of the Deccan Plateau, at the junction of Telangana, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh. Image by Ravikanth Manchiryala.

Deccan’s vultures in decline

Sneha Mahale 4 Nov 2025
A betel shop continues to operate, while the shop next door has shut, due to dwindling business following the shutting down of a thermal power plant in Talcher, Odisha. Image by Roli Srivastava.

The invisible fallout of thermal power plant closures on local economies

Roli Srivastava 31 Oct 2025
Toxic pollutants from industries on Bellundur lake in Bengaluru, Karnataka. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

How excess rains and poor wastewater management send microplastics into city lakes

T. V. Padma 30 Oct 2025
A dugong swims towards the surface of the waters around Neil island, Andaman and Nicobar. Image by Vardhan Patankar.

Heavy metal bioaccumulation weighs down dugongs

Phalguni Ranjan 14 Oct 2025
Otters painted in the raja gopuram (main tower) of the Thirupudaimaruthur temple, along with wood carvings, serve as the earliest records of otter presence in the region. Image by Maria Anthony.

A village on a river bank shows how community-led river restoration works [Commentary]

Teresa Scholastica Thomas, Sanmadi K.R., I. Santhanamari, M. Mathivanan, M. Soubadra Devy 13 Oct 2025
A municipal solid waste collector at work in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu. Image by P. Jeganathan via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Waste work calls for better intervention, not just formalisation [Commentary]

Sushant Figueiredo, Rushalee Goswami 10 Oct 2025
Plastic pollution along the shores of Bhoj wetland. Image by Manish Chandra Mishra/Mongabay.

Evidence of microplastics in a wetland sparks concern about water security

Manish Chandra Mishra 8 Oct 2025
Achan landfill. Image by Farzana Nisar.

The landfill that ate a wetland

Farzana Nisar 3 Oct 2025
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, 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