Category: Environment Current Affairs

Gharial : Survey Despite significant existential threats, a comprehensive survey across the Ganga River basin recently revealed a population of 3,037 gharials (Gavialis gangeticus), the critically endangered fish-eating crocodile, inhabiting 13 of the surveyed rivers Gharial is a freshwater crocodile belonging to the Crocodylia Order and Crocodylidae Family. Scientific Name: Gavialis gangeticus The name ‘gharial’ […]

Asola-Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary: The Delhi government recently said that over 6,500 monkeys rescued by civic bodies from residential and commercial areas across the city have been shifted to Asola-Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary in the last five years. Asola-Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, on the Southern Delhi Ridge of the Aravalli hill range on the Delhi-Haryana border, lies in […]

Bannerghatta National Park: The Central Empowered Committee recommended that the Ecologically Sensitive Zone (ESZ) around Bengaluru’s Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) should be restored to its original 2016 extent. It is in the hills of the Anekal range, near Bangalore, Karnataka. It was declared a National Park in 1974. In 2006, India’s first butterfly enclosure was […]

Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary: Flamingo Festival attracted many families to Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary near Sullurpeta in Andhra Pradesh Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary is located in the state of Andhra Pradesh. It is situated just near the Pulicat Lake, which is the second-largest salt lake in all of India. It is an important breeding site for spot-billed pelicans. […]

Orobanche aegyptiaca: India’s largest oilseed crop, mustard, is facing a major yield threat due to the rapid spread of the parasitic weed Orobanche aegyptiaca in Rajasthan and Haryana.Orobanche aegyptiaca (locally called Margoja) is a root-parasitic flowering weed that attaches itself to the roots of crops like mustard, extracting water, carbon and nutrients, leading to severe […]

Nagauri Ashwagandha : GI Tag The Centre has officially granted a Geographical Indication (GI) tag to ‘Nagauri Ashwagandha’. Nagauri Ashwagandha is mainly grown in the Nagaur district of Rajasthan. Nagaur’s dry climate and sandy soil are ideally suited for Ashwagandha cultivation. It has longer, thicker roots rich in medicinal compounds, particularly alkaloids. Its berries are […]

Melghat Tiger Reserve: The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has released 15 critically endangered Indian vultures at the Melghat Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra. Melghat Tiger Reserve is situated in Maharashtra. It is located on the southern offshoot of the Satpura Hill Range in Central India, called Gavilgarh Hill. It was the first tiger reserve in […]

Katydids: Researchers recently identified three previously unknown species of meadow katydids, or long-horned grasshoppers, named Conocephalus usmanii, Conocephalus nagariensis, and Conocephalus ganderbali, in Jammu and Kashmir. Katydids found on every continent except Antarctica, Katydids are a family of primarily nocturnal insects. They belong to the family Tettigoniidae. Grasshoppers, locusts, crickets, and katydids belong to a […]

Doomsday Glacier (Thwaites Glacier): A new scientific study has found rapidly increasing ice fractures in the Thwaites Glacier, indicating possible destabilisation pathways for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.The Thwaites Glacier, popularly called the “Doomsday Glacier”, is one of the largest and fastest-changing glaciers on Earth. It acts as a critical outlet glacier draining ice from […]