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Environment Current Affairs for UPSC

Every Environment story from the daily editions, newest first, each in short with why it matters for Prelims and Mains. Page 4 of 4.

  1. EnvironmentPrelimsGS3

    First captive-bred great Indian bustards released into the wild

    Two captive-bred male great Indian bustards were released into the wild for the first time on October 4 in Rajasthan's Desert National Park near Jaisalmer. The pilot, run by the Environment Ministry, the Rajasthan Forest Department and the Wildlife Institute of India, begins rewilding a species whose wild population has fallen to about 150.

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  2. EnvironmentPrelimsGS2

    Supreme Court refuses to stay High Court case on Great Nicobar project

    The Supreme Court on October 5 refused the Centre's plea to stay Calcutta High Court proceedings on a challenge to the over ₹72,000-crore Great Nicobar Island Project. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant asked the High Court to decide quickly, observing that preservation of culture is a constitutionally protected fundamental right.

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  3. EnvironmentGS2GS3

    CAQM orders NCR industries to install PTZ cameras over fuel areas

    The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) announced on October 6, 2026 an order requiring industries in the National Capital Region to install extra Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) cameras by October 31. Cameras must cover fuel storage areas, fuel charging points and gas meters, and stream live to CPCB and State boards. CAQM's Flying Squads had found unapproved fuels in several inspections.

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  4. EnvironmentPrelimsGS3

    India and Japan launch operational manual for Joint Crediting Mechanism

    India and Japan launched the operational manual for their Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) in New Delhi on 30 September 2026, taking their cooperation under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement into implementation. The manual sets out every step of a project, from a Project Idea Note to the issuance and authorisation of JCM credits.

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  5. EnvironmentPrelimsGS1

    Sal borer outbreak prompts tree felling and trapping in Dindori

    The Centre in September 2026 approved felling 1,46,784 sal trees hit by the sal heartwood borer in Madhya Pradesh's Dindori district; felling was expected to begin in October. Alongside trap trees that lure the beetles, the forest department had bought 19,25,118 of them from villagers by mid-September, at Rs 2 each.

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  6. EnvironmentPrelimsGS3

    Railways use AI alerts and Plan Bee to protect elephants

    Northeast Frontier Railway is using AI-based intrusion alerts, speed restrictions, patrols and Plan Bee to prevent train-elephant collisions. An October report describes measures across Alipurduar, Rangiya, Lumding and Tinsukia divisions. Plan Bee broadcasts honeybee sounds to deter elephants, while wildlife underpasses and coordination with forest officials support safer crossings.

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  7. EnvironmentPrelimsGS2

    Centre allows final decisions on pending post-facto environmental clearance cases

    The Union Environment Ministry on September 30, 2026 told expert appraisal bodies and pollution control boards to take pending post-facto environmental clearance proposals to their logical conclusion. The order implements the Supreme Court's July 29 Vanashakti verdict, which quashed a 2021 Office Memorandum but allowed pending applications to be decided under law. Fresh proposals will not be accepted.

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  8. EnvironmentPrelimsGS2

    Tigress T138 released into Bengal's Buxa Tiger Reserve

    Tigress T138, three years old and brought from Bihar's Valmiki Tiger Reserve, was released in West Bengal's Buxa Tiger Reserve on October 2, 2026, by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. The release opens a phased programme to rebuild a self-sustaining tiger population. Adhikari said three more tigers would follow within two months.

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  9. EnvironmentPrelimsGS2

    Forest-loss dispute in Udanti Sitanadi tests conservation and community rights

    Forest officials of Chhattisgarh's Udanti Sitanadi Tiger Reserve estimate that over 2,500 trees, mostly sal, bija and tendu, have been girdled in Karka, an area vacated in the 1980s for the Sondhur dam. Officials say encroachment grew from 22 hectares in 2016 to over 30 hectares in 2026. About 32 families say they were never compensated.

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  10. EnvironmentPrelimsGS3

    Allahabad HC opens noise-enforcement PIL, seeks accountability

    In a September 28 order, the Allahabad High Court's Lucknow bench took up noise pollution as a suo motu PIL after a seven-year-old girl died on September 22, having collapsed in her Balrampur classroom as a loudspeaker procession passed. The court said it had drawn no conclusion on the cause and listed the case for October 12.

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  11. EnvironmentPrelimsGS1

    UN General Assembly meeting approves first Declaration on Sea Level Rise

    World leaders at a high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly approved the UN Declaration on Sea Level Rise by consensus on 24 September 2026, the first on the subject. It affirms a presumption in favour of continued statehood and UN membership for States losing land, and says they can maintain maritime zones set under UNCLOS. India welcomed the declaration.

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  12. EnvironmentPrelimsGS3

    Centre notifies CAFE-III fuel-efficiency norms for passenger vehicles from 2027

    The Centre notified the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE-III) norms on September 29, tightening fleet-wide fuel-efficiency targets for passenger vehicles from April 1, 2027, to March 31, 2032. The final rules drop a proposed concession for small petrol cars, revise the weight-based target formula and give super-credits to electric, hybrid and flex-fuel vehicles.

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  13. EnvironmentPrelimsGS2

    NGT orders joint panel to inspect encroachments at Sambhar Lake

    The National Green Tribunal's Central Zone Bench in Bhopal on September 28 set up a joint committee to inspect Rajasthan's Sambhar Lake, a Ramsar wetland, over alleged encroachments, illegal salt pans, borewell extraction of brine and groundwater, and blocked inflows. The panel must report within six weeks; the case returns on December 9.

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  14. EnvironmentPrelimsGS3

    Centre doubles environmental clearance validity for ports to 20 years

    The Environment Ministry has amended the EIA Notification 2006 to make environmental clearances for ports and harbours valid for a minimum of 20 years, up from ten. Two five-year extensions are possible if appraisal committees find safeguards adequate, the second only in deserving cases where the project has not been operationalised. The notification was published on Monday.

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  15. EnvironmentGS3Prelims

    Punjab's groundwater extraction rate eases to 152%; 110 of 153 blocks over-exploited

    Punjab extracted 26.32 billion cubic metres (BCM) of groundwater in 2025-26 against an annual extractable resource of 17.29 BCM, its latest Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment shows: a stage of groundwater extraction of 152.22%, down from 156.36% in the 2025 national assessment. Of its 153 assessment blocks, 110 are over-exploited and only 20 safe. Irrigation alone drew 24.95 BCM.

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  16. EnvironmentGS3Prelims

    Report: a fifth of India's GDP rests on the Himalayas

    In September, Systemiq and the Integrated Mountain Initiative released 'Prosperous and Resilient Himalayas', estimating that ₹64.8 lakh crore, or 21.5% of India's FY24 GDP, depends on Himalayan water. The report warns that the Hindu Kush Himalaya could lose up to 80% of its present glacier volume by 2100, with most river basins expected to reach 'Peak Water' around mid-century.

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