Environment & Ecology Current Affairs — Last 12 months · Page 10 of 14 | Daily News + MCQs

🌿 Wildlife & Protected Areas 📍 Rajasthan Important

Bhupender Yadav calls for review of all NTCA decisions at tiger range states conference in Alwar

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav inaugurated the two-day Conference of Chief Wildlife Wardens of Tiger Range States and Field Directors of Tiger Reserves in Alwar, Rajasthan, on 7 February 2026.

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🌿 Environment & Ecology 📍 India Important

National Biodiversity Authority launches portal for Certificates of Origin for cultivated medicinal plants

The Environment Ministry announced on 5 February 2026 that the National Biodiversity Authority has operationalised a digital portal to issue Certificates of Origin for cultivated medicinal plants seeking Access and Benefit Sharing exemptions.

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🌿 Disasters 📍 Meghalaya Important

Explosion at illegal coal mine in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills kills miners

An explosion at an illegally operated coal mine in the Mynsngat–Thangsko area of East Jaintia Hills district, Meghalaya, on 5 February 2026 killed 18 miners on the first day, as reported by The Hindu and The Times of India.

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🌿 Wildlife & Protected Areas 📍 Delhi

Bhupender Yadav chairs 43rd Central Zoo Authority meeting; second round of zoo evaluation ordered

Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav chaired the 43rd meeting of the Central Zoo Authority at the National Zoological Park, New Delhi, on 3 February 2026 and directed completion of the second round of Management Effectiveness Evaluation of zoos.

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🔬 Research & Discoveries 📍 Assam

BSIP scientists trace Kaziranga's ecological history from pollen in swamp sediment

Scientists of the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences used pollen and dung-fungal spores in a sediment core from the Sohola swamp to build the first long-term palaeoecological record of Kaziranga National Park, the DST said on 3 February 2026.

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📅 Important Days & Themes 📍 Delhi Important

World Wetlands Day 2026 marked at Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary on traditional knowledge theme

The Environment Ministry marked World Wetlands Day on 2 February 2026 with an event at Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, Delhi, on the theme 'Wetlands and Traditional Knowledge: Celebrating Cultural Heritage'.

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🌿 Wildlife & Protected Areas 📍 Uttar Pradesh Must know

Patna Bird Sanctuary (UP) and Chhari-Dhand (Gujarat) added to India's Ramsar list; total now 98

On 31 January 2026 Patna Bird Sanctuary in Etah (Uttar Pradesh) and Chhari-Dhand in Kutch (Gujarat) were added to the Ramsar list, taking India's Ramsar sites to 98.

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🌿 Environment & Ecology 📍 Maharashtra

National Biodiversity Authority gives ₹17 lakh to Mumbai's Biodiversity Management Committee under ABS

The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) disbursed ₹17 lakh under the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) mechanism to the Biodiversity Management Committee of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, for commercial use of Bacillus soil micro-organisms.

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🌿 Pollution & Conservation 📍 India Must know

Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 notified; four-stream segregation mandatory from 1 April 2026

The Environment Ministry notified the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, replacing the 2016 rules; they make four-stream segregation at source mandatory and come into force on 1 April 2026.

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🔬 Research & Discoveries 📍 India

Bose Institute study: desert dust carries pathogens from western India to the Eastern Himalayas

A Bose Institute study found that dust storms from the arid regions of western India carry airborne pathogens to Eastern Himalayan hilltops, linked to respiratory and skin diseases; it was published in Science of the Total Environment.

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🌿 Wildlife & Protected Areas 📍 Madhya Pradesh Important

MP cabinet excludes 395.939 ha of Pachmarhi town land from sanctuary; ₹390 crore for tiger reserve buffer zones

The Madhya Pradesh cabinet chaired by CM Mohan Yadav on 27 January 2026 excluded 395.939 hectares of Pachmarhi town's Nazul land from the Pachmarhi Sanctuary and approved ₹390 crore for buffer-zone development in the state's nine tiger reserves.

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🛡️ Internal Security 📍 Jammu and Kashmir

BRO completes high-altitude rescue at Chatergala Pass in J&K, clears 38 km of snow-bound road

The Border Roads Organisation under Project Sampark cleared about 38 km of snow-covered road on the Bhaderwah–Chatergala axis and evacuated 20 civilians and 40 troops from Chatergala Pass (10,500 ft) in Jammu region, completing the mission on 26 January 2026 with zero casualties.

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🔬 Research & Discoveries 📍 Tamil Nadu Important

CSIR-CRRI and JSW Steel Salem sign MoA for first steel slag roads in Tamil Nadu

CSIR-Central Road Research Institute and JSW Steel's Salem Works signed an MoA on 24 January 2026 to use processed steel slag in road construction, the first such implementation in Tamil Nadu.

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🏆 National Awards 📍 India Must know

Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2026: Sikkim SDMA and Lt Col Seeta Ashok Shelke

The Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (institutional) and Lt Col Seeta Ashok Shelke (individual) were selected for the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2026.

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🌿 Climate Change 📍 India Important

GHG emission intensity targets notified for 208 more industrial units

The government notified Greenhouse Gas Emission Intensity targets for 208 more obligated entities in petroleum refining, petrochemicals, textiles and secondary aluminium under the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme.

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🌿 Pollution & Conservation 📍 Delhi

CAQM revokes GRAP Stage III across Delhi-NCR as air quality improves

The CAQM's GRAP sub-committee revoked all Stage III restrictions across Delhi-NCR on 22 January 2026 after Delhi's average AQI improved to 322.

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🚄 Urban Development 📍 Uttar Pradesh Important

Lucknow becomes UP's first 'zero fresh waste dump' city

With the new 700 TPD Shivari Solid Waste Management Plant, Lucknow became the first city in Uttar Pradesh to scientifically process 100% of its municipal solid waste under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban.

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📊 Reports & Indices 📍 India Important

NITI Aayog releases decarbonisation roadmaps for cement, aluminium and MSMEs

NITI Aayog on 21 January 2026 released three reports on green transition roadmaps for the cement, aluminium and MSME sectors, consistent with Viksit Bharat 2047 and net zero by 2070.

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🌿 Pollution & Conservation 📍 Delhi Important

CAQM revokes GRAP Stage IV in Delhi-NCR as air quality improves

The CAQM sub-committee on GRAP revoked all Stage IV curbs across Delhi-NCR on 20 January 2026, three days after invoking them; Stages I–III stayed in force.

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🏛️ Governance & Administration 📍 India

11th meeting of the National Committee on Dam Safety held

The National Committee on Dam Safety (NCDS), constituted under Section 5 of the Dam Safety Act, 2021, held its 11th meeting in New Delhi on 20 January 2026.

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🌿 Wildlife & Protected Areas 📍 India Important

NBWL Standing Committee considers 70 proposals at 88th meeting

The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife, chaired by Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, considered 70 proposals in and around protected areas at its 88th meeting in New Delhi on 19 January 2026.

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📅 Important Days & Themes 📍 India

NDRF Raising Day observed on 19 January

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) marked its Raising Day on 19 January 2026, with greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

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🚄 Railways, Roads & Aviation 📍 Assam Must know

PM lays foundation of ₹6,950 crore Kaziranga Elevated Corridor in Assam

PM Narendra Modi performed the Bhoomi Pujan of the Kaziranga Elevated Corridor Project — 4-laning of the Kaliabor–Numaligarh section of NH-715, worth over ₹6,950 crore — at Kaliabor, Assam, on 18 January 2026.

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🌿 Wildlife & Protected Areas 📍 Uttar Pradesh Must know

Second range-wide estimation of riverine dolphins begins from Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh

The second range-wide estimation of riverine and estuarine dolphins in India began from Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, under Project Dolphin, the Environment Ministry announced on 17 January 2026.

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🌿 Pollution & Conservation 📍 Delhi Important

CAQM invokes GRAP Stage IV across Delhi-NCR as AQI crosses 400

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) invoked Stage IV of GRAP across the entire Delhi-NCR on 17 January 2026 after Delhi's AQI rose from 400 at 4 PM to 428 at 8 PM.

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🌿 Pollution & Conservation 📍 Delhi

CAQM invokes GRAP Stage III across Delhi-NCR as AQI rises to 354

CAQM's GRAP sub-committee invoked Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan across the entire NCR on 16 January 2026 after Delhi's AQI rose from 343 to 354.

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🔬 Research & Discoveries 📍 India Important

IMD to install 200 Automatic Weather Stations across four metros in 2026

At the India Meteorological Department's 151st Foundation Day on 15 January 2026, Union Minister Jitendra Singh announced 50 Automatic Weather Stations each for Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Pune in 2026.

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🔬 Research & Discoveries 📍 Tamil Nadu Important

BSIP study of Tamil Nadu's Kondagai Lake reconstructs 4,500 years of monsoon history

Scientists of the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, reconstructed about 4,500 years of climate and monsoon history from sediments of Kondagai Lake near Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu, the Science Ministry said on 15 January 2026.

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🌿 Environment & Ecology 📍 Haryana Important

Environment Minister opens Aravalli eco-restoration conference; 97 sq km of Haryana's Aravalli land declared Protected Forest

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav inaugurated the National Conference on Eco-restoration of the Aravalli Landscape in New Delhi on 14 January 2026 and said 6.45 million hectares of degraded Aravalli land has been identified under the Aravalli Green Wall Project.

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🌿 Wildlife & Protected Areas 📍 Uttarakhand Important

Jal Shakti Minister opens Aqua Life Conservation Monitoring Centre and Dolphin Rescue Ambulance at WII Dehradun

Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Paatil inaugurated aquatic biodiversity initiatives under the Namami Gange Mission at the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, on 14 January 2026, including an Aqua Life Conservation Monitoring Centre and a Dolphin Rescue Ambulance.

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