The Government of India highlighted recent achievements and policy measures related to biodiversity conservation, governance, and sustainable use under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Biodiversity Governance Structure
India follows a three-tier biodiversity governance system:
National Biodiversity Authority at national level
State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs)
Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at local level.
India has:
More than 2,76,653 Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs)
Over 2,72,648 People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs).
Note: Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) are local-level statutory bodies in India, mandated by the Biological Diversity Act of 2002.
About Biodiversity
Biodiversity refers to the variety of life forms including:
Plants
Animals
Microorganisms
Ecosystems.
Biological Diversity Act, 2002
India’s principal law for:
Biodiversity conservation
Sustainable use
Fair and equitable benefit sharing.
Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023
Promotes:
Research and innovation
Traditional knowledge-based practices
Community participation.
Important Concepts
People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR)
Local biodiversity database prepared by BMCs.
Records:
Biological resources
Traditional knowledge
Local species and habitats.
Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)
Ensures benefits from biological resources are shared with local communities.
Nagoya Protocol
Supplementary agreement under CBD adopted in Nagoya, Japan in 2010.
Focuses on fair sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources.
Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF)
Adopted during CBD COP-15 in Montreal in 2022.
Global target:
Halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.
National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP 2024-2030)
Aligns India’s biodiversity goals with KMGBF.
Promotes:
Whole-of-government
Whole-of-society approach.
Key Achievements
Forests and Protected Areas
Forest and tree cover: 8.27 lakh sq. km (25.17% of geographical area).
Protected areas: More than 1,134 protected areas covering 1.88 lakh sq. km.
Species Conservation
Tiger population increased from: 2,226 (2014) to 3,682.
Community Participation
National campaign underway for digitisation of PBRs into e-PBRs.
ABS Achievements
₹145 crore released to beneficiaries till May 2026.
Benefited around 11,000 BMCs (Biodiversity Management Committees).
[2023] Consider the following statements: 1. In Biodiversity the India, Management Committees are key to the realization of the objectives of the Nagoya Protocol. 2. The Biodiversity Management Committees have important functions in determining access and benefit sharing, including the power to levy collection fees on the access of biological resources within its jurisdiction. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
PYQ Relevance[UPSC 2022] Describe the major outcomes of the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). What are the commitments made by India in this conference?Linkage: The PYQ tests understanding of India’s climate commitments and the policy mechanisms required to achieve them. The PYQ asks about India’s climate targets, while the article explains the climate-finance architecture needed to fund and implement those targets.
Mentor’s Comment
India’s climate finance challenge has come into sharp focus on World Environment Day amid striking estimates that the country requires nearly ₹162.5 trillion (about $2.5 trillion) by 2030 to meet its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and around $10.1 trillion to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070. The issue has gained significance because India is no longer merely discussing climate action but is now confronting the financing architecture required to implement it at scale.
Why is India’s climate finance requirement unprecedented?
NDC Financing Requirement: India requires nearly ₹162.5 trillion (around $2.5 trillion) by 2030 to achieve its Nationally Determined Contributions.
Net-Zero Financing Need: Achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 requires approximately $10.1 trillion.
Scale of Challenge: The estimated requirement is nearly three times India’s current GDP.
Investment Imperative: Climate finance must support mitigation, adaptation, resilient infrastructure, and low-carbon development simultaneously.
How large is the financing gap in key emitting sectors?
Sectoral Concentration: Steel, cement, power, and road transport account for more than half of India’s carbon emissions.
Additional Capital Need: These four sectors alone require an additional $467 billion between 2022 and 2030.
Annual Requirement: Equivalent to roughly $54 billion annually.
GDP Share: Represents nearly 1.3% of GDP annually.
Economic Viability Constraint: Green steel and green cement remain commercially challenging without policy support and regulatory incentives.
Why is international climate finance insufficient?
Developing Country Requirement: Developing economies require nearly $5-6 trillion for climate action by 2030.
Unfulfilled Commitment: Developed countries promised $100 billion annually under climate finance commitments but failed to consistently meet the target.
Baku NCQG Commitment: The New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) commits approximately $300 billion annually by 2035.
Adequacy Concern: India considers this commitment insufficient relative to actual financing needs.
RBI Assessment: RBI estimates India requires additional annual investment of at least 2.5% of GDP for green financing until 2030.
Domestic Mobilisation Necessity: Most climate finance will need to be raised within India rather than relying on external support.
What progress has India already made in climate finance?
Green Debt Mobilisation: India issued $55.9 billion in green, social, sustainability, and sustainability-linked debt by the end of 2024.
Rapid Growth: Represents a 186% increase since 2021.
Green Bond Dominance: Green debt constituted approximately 83% of total sustainable debt issuance.
Sectoral Allocation: Most funds flowed into clean energy and transport sectors.
Sovereign Green Bonds: Government-issued sovereign green bonds worth approximately ₹477 billion helped establish market benchmarks.
Investor Confidence: Sovereign issuance improved credibility and attracted long-term investors.
Why is institutional architecture more important than funding availability?
Instrument Availability: Green bonds, sovereign green bonds, blended finance, transition finance instruments, and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) already exist.
Missing Ecosystem: Absence of taxonomy, guarantee mechanisms, liquidity support, and regulatory incentives constrains deployment.
Cost Differential: Green projects often face higher financing costs than conventional projects.
Capital Deployment Challenge: The principal bottleneck lies in directing capital efficiently toward climate priorities.
Institutional Deficit: Finance exists but deployment architecture remains underdeveloped.
How has the RBI emerged as a major climate-finance regulator?
Climate Risk Directions: RBI issued Climate Finance and Management of Climate Risks Directions for commercial banks and Small Finance Banks in 2025.
Risk Integration: Requires climate risks to be integrated into lending and risk-management practices.
Priority Sector Lending Recognition: Eligible green activities can qualify under Priority Sector Lending (PSL).
Sovereign Green Bond Recognition: Investments in sovereign green bonds receive regulatory recognition.
Financial Mainstreaming: Climate considerations are being embedded into core banking operations.
Why is Priority Sector Lending becoming a climate-finance lever?
PSL Scale: Banks must ensure approximately ₹4,000 crore of PSL lending for every ₹10,000 crore of loans.
Credit Reallocation Potential: Enables large-scale redirection of credit toward green sectors.
Regulatory Leverage: Provides a powerful mechanism to channel finance into climate-sensitive activities.
Adaptation Financing Opportunity: Climate adaptation projects can be incorporated into PSL frameworks.
What additional regulatory reforms has the RBI proposed?
Green Bond Collateralisation: Proposal to accept sovereign green bonds as collateral with greater flexibility.
Reserve Requirement Adjustments: Scope for modifying reserve requirements to support green credit.
Differentiated Capital Requirements: Lower capital requirements for green lending and higher requirements for carbon-intensive lending.
Climate Risk Pricing: Encourages incorporation of climate risks into financial decision-making.
Climate Stress Testing: Supports comprehensive climate stress-testing frameworks for banks.
Regulatory Sandbox: Sustainable finance initiatives have been included within RBI’s regulatory sandbox.
Climate Risk Information System: Development of systems for climate-related financial risk assessment.
Why is a Climate Finance Taxonomy critical?
Definition Standardisation: Establishes a legal and technical definition of what qualifies as “green”.
Investor Confidence: Enables verification of sustainable investments.
Why is climate adaptation finance the most neglected area?
Adaptation Deficit: Climate adaptation receives significantly less attention than mitigation.
State-Level Responsibility: Adaptation programmes are largely implemented by states.
Examples of Adaptation: Drought-proofing in Vidarbha and spring rejuvenation in Himalayan regions.
State Capacity Constraint: States often lack borrowing power and institutional capacity to access international climate finance.
Federal Finance Gap: Climate finance architecture remains insufficiently aligned with India’s federal structure.
What reforms are necessary to close India’s climate finance gap?
Climate Finance Taxonomy
Classification Framework: Finalises nationally accepted definitions of green activities.
Investment Clarity: Facilitates investment flows and prevents greenwashing
RBI-Led Green Finance Regulation
Capital Incentives: Introduces differentiated capital requirements.
Mandatory Stress Testing: Embeds climate risk assessment into banking supervision.
Expanded PSL: Includes climate adaptation alongside mitigation.
State Climate Finance Facility
Sub-National Financing: Enables states and municipalities to access green finance.
Institutional Support: Utilises Union Government, NABARD, and international sources.
Expansion of Sovereign Green Bonds
Market Deepening: Strengthens domestic green bond markets.
Foreign Capital Attraction: Encourages long-term international investment.
SLR Integration: Embeds sovereign green bonds within statutory liquidity frameworks.
Conclusion
As the UNEP notes, the world faces a climate emergency but also a financing opportunity. For India to achieve its NDC targets by 2030 and net-zero by 2070, the challenge is not merely raising capital but building institutions that can channel finance at scale. A robust climate-finance architecture will be critical to translating ambition into action and ensuring sustainable growth.
Cyclone Dana highlighted how Odisha’s mangroves protected coastal communities, strengthening the case for nature-based coastal defence over seawalls. This has renewed attention on India’s continued preference for spending ₹2,641 crore on hard infrastructure despite evidence that mangroves and other coastal ecosystems provide long-term, cost-effective protection to nearly 250 million coastal residents.
Why Are India’s Coastal Regions Becoming Increasingly Vulnerable to Climate Change?
Rising sea levels: The Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal are experiencing accelerating sea-level rise, threatening low-lying coastal districts, deltas, and island territories.
Intensifying cyclones: Climate change is increasing both the frequency and intensity of cyclones along India’s coast, the eastern seaboard (Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal) is particularly exposed.
Saline intrusion: Saltwater intrusion into freshwater aquifers and agricultural land is degrading livelihoods. This directly affects food security and drinking water in coastal communities.
Storm surges: Storm surges linked to cyclonic events are intensifying. These cause disproportionate damage to ecologically fragile coastal landscapes and displacing communities.
Compound risk: These interacting hazards do not operate independently. They multiply threats along India’s coastline, making the fragile coastal landscape both physically and economically vulnerable.
Large Population Exposure: Nearly 250 million people living along India’s coastline face direct impacts of climate-related coastal risks.
Why Are Mangroves, Seagrasses and Coral Reefs Considered Natural Coastal Defences?
Coral Reefs: The First Line of Defense
Natural Breakwaters: Coral reefs sit furthest out in the ocean and absorb up to 97% of incoming wave energy before it can reach the shore.
Friction and Depth: The jagged, complex structures of coral skeletons create immense bottom friction, forcing waves to break early and lose their destructive power
Seagrass Meadows(The Middle Buffer): Reduce coastal erosion, trap sediments and support marine biodiversity.
Erosion Control: Located in the shallow waters between reefs and the shore, seagrasses act as underwater carpets that anchor the seabed with their roots.
Sediment Trapping: Their long blades slow down water currents, forcing suspended sand and organic particles to drop to the seafloor, which actively builds up the underwater terrain.
Mangroves: The Intertidal Shield
Storm Surge Mitigation: Mangrove forests act as the final, dense barrier against extreme weather, capable of reducing storm surge heights by up to 66%.
Energy Dissipation: Their massive networks of tangled prop roots and thick trunks create a dense obstacle course that rapidly saps the remaining power of waves and incoming floods.
How Does Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) Strengthen Climate Resilience?
EbA uses biodiversity and ecosystem services to help people adapt to climate change. This reduces climate impacts while sustaining ecosystems that support fisheries, agriculture, and tourism.
Climate Risk Reduction: Uses biodiversity and ecosystem services to help people adapt to climate change.
Livelihood Protection: Supports fisheries, agriculture and tourism-dependent communities.
Long-Term Sustainability: Maintains ecosystem functions while reducing climate vulnerabilities.
Cost Effectiveness: Avoids repeated expenditure on expensive hard infrastructure maintenance.
Disaster Risk Reduction: Reduces losses from cyclones, flooding and coastal erosion.
Nature-based Solutions: Integrates conservation and restoration into adaptation planning.
What Evidence Demonstrates the Effectiveness of Ecosystem-based Adaptation?
Bhitarkanika Mangroves During Cyclone Dana
Cyclone Protection: Mangroves in Odisha’s Bhitarkanika quietly protected communities from cyclone impacts.
Natural Buffer: Reduced climate impacts while strengthening ecosystem health and livelihoods.
Global Evidence
Protection Capacity: A healthy hectare of coastal habitat protects more people per hectare than almost any other natural asset.
Sundarbans Example
Mangrove Restoration: Around 18,000 women restored 4,600 hectares of mangroves.
Cyclone Mitigation: Restoration reduced impacts of Cyclones Amphan and Yaas.
Livelihood Benefits: Strengthened local economic opportunities and social outcomes.
Kerala Example
Seawall Consequences: Armouring and erosion-control measures protected specific sites.
Adjacent Damage: Accelerated erosion in neighbouring areas, illustrating unintended consequences of hard infrastructure.
Why Does India Continue to Prefer Seawalls and Embankments?
Seawalls are massive, heavy-duty structures built directly parallel to the shoreline where the sea meets the land. They are designed as a last line of defence to protect high-value coastal areas, like cities and roads, from intense wave action. Embankments are raised earthen ridges or mounds constructed along rivers, lakes, or low-lying coastlines. They focus on holding back water from flat, expansive areas rather than fighting heavy, crashing ocean waves.
Engineering Bias: Adaptation planning strongly favours hard infrastructure such as seawalls, groynes, embankments and tetrapods.
Political Visibility: Seawalls and embankments provide visible and immediate outputs, making them attractive for governments.
Institutional Preference: Existing planning, procurement and budgeting systems are designed around construction-based projects.
Administrative Familiarity: Engineers and local authorities are more experienced with hard infrastructure than ecosystem restoration.
Perceived Certainty: Seawalls provide tangible and measurable protection, whereas ecosystem benefits are often viewed as less predictable.
What does India’s coastal adaptation spending pattern reveal about institutional bias toward hard infrastructure?
Hard protection dominance: Coastal States spent ₹2,641 crore on hard protection measures over the last decade. This reflects a stark preference for engineered measures such as seawalls, groynes, embankments, and tetrapods.
National Coastal Mission decline: Budget fell from ₹195 crore in 2022-23 to just ₹50 crore in 2024-25.
PSL and visibility bias: Fragile institutional mandates, weak monitoring, and a preference for visible infrastructure often leave ecosystem-based interventions buried within broader sectoral programmes rather than recognised as adaptation in their own right.
Reporting gap: Adaptation benefits of coastal ecosystems are rarely assessed or recorded separately, making India’s coastal EbA portfolio appear much weaker than it is.
What Prevents Ecosystem-based Adaptation from Becoming Mainstream Policy?
Fragmented Terminology: EbA overlaps with Nature-based Solutions (NbS), Coastal Adaptation (EbCA), Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR) and related concepts.
Classification Challenges: Similar interventions are recorded under conservation, restoration or management categories instead of adaptation.
Weak Monitoring: Limited mechanisms exist to measure adaptation outcomes.
Institutional Fragmentation: EbA interventions remain dispersed across multiple schemes and sectors.
Inadequate Recognition: Policymakers often fail to identify adaptation benefits generated by ecosystem restoration.
Limited Financing: Absence of dedicated adaptation financing restricts scale and replication.
Why Does Classification of Ecosystem-based Adaptation Matter?
Policy Recognition: Enables clear identification of adaptation actions.
Monitoring Frameworks: Facilitates tracking and evaluation of adaptation outcomes.
Financing Access: Strengthens eligibility for climate adaptation funding.
Evidence Generation: Supports measurement of climate resilience benefits.
Policy Integration: Ensures ecosystem restoration becomes part of mainstream adaptation planning.
How Does the Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes (MISHTI) Reflect the Potential of EbA?
MISHTI is a dedicated central government scheme in India aimed at reviving and expanding the country’s mangrove cover while generating sustainable livelihoods for coastal communities. Announced during the Union Budget 2023-24 and officially launched on World Environment Day (5 June 2023), it serves as a core part of India’s strategy to build a nature-based “bio-shield” against climate change.
Programme Objective: Targets restoration of 540 sq km of mangroves across nine States.
Climate Resilience: Enhances natural protection against coastal hazards.
Livelihood Support: Generates economic opportunities linked to ecosystem restoration.
Current Limitation: Primarily framed as a restoration programme rather than a climate adaptation initiative.
What Policy Reforms Are Needed to Mainstream Ecosystem-based Adaptation?
Policy Integration: Embeds EbA within coastal planning and adaptation frameworks.
Dedicated Financing: Expands budgetary support for ecosystem-based interventions.
Outcome Monitoring: Develops indicators for adaptation benefits.
Institutional Coordination: Harmonises fragmented schemes and programmes.
Climate Accounting: Recognises ecosystem restoration as an adaptation investment.
Natural Capital Approach: Treats ecosystems as strategic climate-resilience assets.
Conclusion
The choice before India is not merely between two adaptation techniques but between two development pathways. While seawalls offer localised and short-term protection, mangroves and other coastal ecosystems provide durable climate resilience, biodiversity conservation and livelihood security. Mainstreaming Ecosystem-based Adaptation will be critical for protecting India’s 250 million coastal residents in an era of accelerating climate change.
Value Addition
Nature-based Solutions (NbS)
Definition: Nature-based Solutions (NbS) is an umbrella concept defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems. These actions address societal challenges, such as climate change, food security, water security, human health, and disaster risk, while simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits.
India’s NDC 2022 references NbS for carbon sequestration through forests.
Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA)
Definition: Use of biodiversity and ecosystem services to help people adapt to adverse impacts of climate change.
Key Features
Ecosystem conservation
Ecosystem restoration
Climate risk reduction
Community participation
Livelihood enhancement
Disaster resilience
Ecosystem-based Coastal Adaptation (EbCA)
EbCA is a subset of Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA). It focuses specifically on helping coastal communities adapt to the long-term, gradual changes brought by climate change.
The Core Strategy: It uses coastal biodiversity and ecosystem services to help human societies adapt to climate pressures.
Primary Targets: Sea-level rise, coastal erosion, saltwater intrusion into agricultural land, and changing ocean temperatures.
Example: Dynamically planting salt-tolerant mangrove species along an eroding coastline. As sea levels rise, the mangroves naturally trap sediment, raising the land.
Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR)
Eco-DRR focuses on using ecosystems to reduce the immediate impact, frequency, and severity of sudden natural disasters.
The Core Strategy: It manages and restores ecosystems to act as physical shock absorbers against extreme physical hazards.
Primary Targets: Sudden disasters like cyclones, tsunamis, massive storm surges, and flash floods.
Example: Protecting an offshore coral reef. When a cyclone strikes, the reef acts as a natural breakwater, absorbing up to 97% of the wave energy before it crashes into coastal towns, directly reducing casualties and property destruction.
Ecological Bio-Shields:
A bio-shield is a dense strip of vegetation planted along a coast to act as a barrier against natural hazards.
Casuarina trees, mangroves, and coastal palms are frequently used together to create multi-tiered, living walls that trap flying debris and slow down incoming water.If
Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM):
India’s ICZM project (World Bank-assisted) aimed to address coastal erosion, pollution, and habitat loss through integrated planning.
EbA mainstreaming is its natural evolution.
PYQ Relevance
[UPSC 2022] Explain the causes and effects of coastal erosion in India. What are the available coastal management techniques for combating the hazard?
Linkage: The PYQ examines coastal vulnerability and compares different coastal protection approaches, including structural and ecosystem-based measures. The article extends the PYQ by assessing whether ecosystem-based solutions such as mangroves can provide more sustainable and cost-effective coastal protection than conventional seawalls and embankments.
The Government of India highlighted major achievements in environmental protection, biodiversity conservation, climate action, and sustainable development over the last 12 years.
Forest and Green Cover
India’s forest and tree cover reached 8.27 lakh sq. km (25.17% of geographical area).
Forest carbon stock stands at 30.43 billion tonnes.
Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority undertook over 3.2 lakh hectares of compensatory afforestation between FY 2020-21 and 2024-25.
“Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign planted 262.4 crore saplings till December 2025.
River Rejuvenation
Namami Gange Programme launched for restoration of the River Ganga.
524 projects worth ₹43,030 crore sanctioned till February 2026.
Industrial BOD load reduced from 26 TPD (2017) to 10.75 TPD (2024).
Gangetic dolphin population estimated at 6,327.
Wetland Conservation
Wetland conservation strengthened under the National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (NPCA).
India’s Ramsar sites increased from 26 in 2014 to 99 by April 2026.
Mangrove and Coastal Ecosystems
Mangrove cover increased from 4,628 sq. km (2013) to 4,992 sq. km (2023).
Blue Flag certified beaches increased to 18 in 2025-26.
Wildlife Conservation
Project Tiger: Tiger population increased from 2,226 (2014) to 3,682 (2022).
Project Cheetah: India’s cheetah population reached 53.
Asiatic lion population increased to 891 in 2025.
India hosts nearly 60% of the global wild Asian elephant population.
Waste Management and Circular Economy
Solid waste processing increased from 17% (2014) to over 77% (2024).
1,138 dumpsites remediated across 1,048 cities.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) frameworks expanded for plastics, batteries, tyres, e-waste, and used oil.
Climate and Global Leadership
India achieved its target of reducing emissions intensity by 33-35% from 2005 levels ahead of schedule.
Non-fossil sources account for 52.57% of installed power capacity (February 2026).
Major global initiatives led by India:
International Solar Alliance
Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure
International Big Cat Alliance
Mission LiFE
[2025] Consider the following statements: Statement I: Circular economy reduces the emissions of greenhouse gases. Statement II: Circular economy reduces the use of raw materials as inputs. Statement III : Circular economy reduces wastage in the production process. Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
[A] Both Statement II and Statement III are correct and both of them explain Statement I
[B] Both Statement II and Statement III are correct but only one of them explains Statement I
[C] Only one of the Statements II and III is correct and that explains Statement I
[D] Neither Statement II nor Statement III is correct
Summer air pollution has emerged as a major concern after the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) revoked all restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in March 2026. This marked the end of the winter pollution season in Delhi-NCR. However, persistent pollution episodes during April-May, including 54 days of PM10 exceedances in Delhi, forced authorities to reimpose GRAP Stage-I measures. This highlights that air pollution is no longer a winter-only problem and requires year-round management.
How does summer air pollution differ from winter pollution?
Winter pollution is dominated by PM2.5 accumulation
Temperature Inversion: Traps pollutants near the surface.
Low Wind Speeds: Restrict pollutant dispersion.
Basin-like Topography: Especially in Delhi and the Indo-Gangetic Plain, facilitates pollutant accumulation.
Biomass Burning: Adds substantial PM2.5 load during winter months.
Summer pollution is dominated by PM10 and ozone
Coarse Particulate Matter (PM10): Generated from dust storms, road dust, construction activity, and resuspended dust.
Ground-Level Ozone: Formed through photochemical reactions under strong sunlight and high temperatures.
Stronger Winds: Enhance pollutant dispersion but simultaneously transport dust across regions.
Thunderstorms: Can temporarily improve air quality through atmospheric cleansing.
Why are Indian cities witnessing pollution episodes during summer
Meteorological conditions differ from winter but remain conducive to pollution
Higher Temperatures: Accelerate atmospheric chemical reactions.
Intense Solar Radiation: Enhances ozone formation.
Dust Transport: Winds carry dust over long distances.
Regional Variability: Different cities experience different dominant pollutants.
Evidence from major cities
Delhi: Recorded 54 days exceeding PM10 standards during April–May 2026.
Mumbai: Experienced elevated PM10 and ozone levels due to construction activity, dust, and traffic.
Public Health Risk: Particularly affects children, elderly persons, and individuals with pre-existing respiratory illnesses.
How do dust storms affect air quality in India?
Dust storms have regional impacts
PM10 Surges: Produce sudden spikes in particulate pollution.
Cross-Border Influence: Dust can travel across large geographical areas.
Reduced Visibility: Impairs transportation and public safety.
Indian context
Northern India: Frequently affected due to proximity to desert regions.
Thunderstorm-Associated Dust Events: Strong downdrafts lift and transport loose soil particles.
Pre-Monsoon Season: Experiences maximum dust storm frequency.
How do human activities worsen summer air pollution?
Construction Activities: Generate large quantities of coarse particulate matter (PM10) through excavation, demolition, and material handling. Construction dust remains a major contributor to urban summer pollution.
Road Dust Resuspension: Heavy vehicular movement lifts deposited dust from roads, significantly increasing PM10 concentrations during dry summer conditions.
Vehicular Emissions: Release particulate matter, nitrogen oxides (NOx), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These contribute directly to particulate pollution and indirectly to ozone formation.
Industrial Emissions: Emit NOx, VOCs, and other pollutants that participate in photochemical reactions responsible for ground-level ozone formation.
Poor Dust Management: Inadequate covering of construction materials, unpaved surfaces, and weak enforcement of dust-control norms aggravate particulate pollution.
What forecasting mechanisms are available for managing summer pollution?
Air Quality Early Warning System (AQEWS)
Origin: Developed following severe dust storm and smog events.
Coverage Expansion: Extended from Delhi to cities such as Jaipur and Mumbai.
Coverage: Delhi and approximately 140 Indian cities.
Utility: Facilitates issuance of public advisories and exposure reduction measures.
What measures can cities adopt to combat summer air pollution?
Forecast-based interventions
Early Warning Systems: Enable advance preparedness. Authorities can use IMD’s weather forecast bulletins to issue local alerts for dust storms, poor air quality and ozone to the citizens.
Public Health Advisories: Reduce citizen exposure during high-pollution episodes.
Dust management measures
Construction Site Monitoring: Ensures compliance with dust-control norms.
Study by Council on Energy, Environment and Water found that simply reducing heavy-vehicle movement at construction sites can lower local PM levels.
Example: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s Air Quality Decision Support System (AQDSS) monitors construction sites and has helped authorities take action against more than 1,000 construction sites since October 2025, demonstrating the importance of strict dust-control compliance.
Vehicular emission reduction
Cleaner Transport Systems: Reduce NOx emissions.
Traffic Management: Limits idling emissions.
Public Campaigns: Encourage behavioral change.
Example: Delhi’s “Red Light On, Gaadi Off” Campaign: Encourages drivers to switch off engines at traffic signals to reduce emissions.
Key Dust-Control Norms in India
Covering of Construction Materials: Sand, soil, cement, and debris must be covered to prevent wind-blown dust.
Anti-Smog Guns and Water Sprinkling: Mandatory at large construction sites to suppress airborne dust.
Green Nets/Wind Barriers: Installed around sites to prevent dust dispersion into surrounding areas.
Covered Transportation: Trucks carrying C&D waste or raw materials must be covered with tarpaulin sheets.
Wheel-Washing Facilities: Vehicles exiting construction sites should pass through wheel-washing systems to prevent mud and dust deposition on roads.
Mechanical Road Sweeping: Regular cleaning of adjoining roads to remove accumulated dust.
Paved Internal Roads: Reduces dust generation from vehicle movement within sites.
Proper C&D Waste Management: Segregation, storage, recycling, and scientific disposal of construction waste.
CAQM’s Framework for Dust Mitigation in NCR
Mandatory dust management plans for large projects.
Real-time monitoring of construction activities.
Penalties and project shutdowns for repeated violations.
Use of remote sensing and inspection teams for enforcement.
Why is a year-round strategy necessary?
Continuous Forecasting: Enables advance warnings for dust storms, ozone episodes, and deteriorating air quality through systems such as AQEWS and IMD forecasts.
Season-Specific Interventions: Requires winter measures for PM2.5 control, summer dust-management measures for PM10 reduction, and targeted NOx-VOC controls for ozone mitigation.
Public Health Protection: Reduces exposure through timely advisories during heatwaves, dust storms, and ozone episodes.
Institutional Preparedness: Ensures mechanisms such as GRAP, municipal action plans, and pollution monitoring systems remain operational throughout the year rather than only during winter.
Integrated Urban Air Quality Governance: Combines forecasting, construction dust regulation, road dust management, cleaner transport, and industrial emission controls into a continuous management framework.
Conclusion
The rise of summer pollution episodes demonstrates that India’s air quality challenge extends far beyond winter smog. Dust storms, PM10 pollution, and ground-level ozone have transformed summer into a critical pollution season. Effective air quality governance now requires year-round monitoring, forecasting, dust control, emission reduction, and public health preparedness across all major urban centres.
PYQ Relevance
[UPSC 2021] Describe the key points of the revised Global Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs) recently released by the World Health Organisation (WHO). How are these different from its last update in 2005? What changes in India’s National Clean Air Programme are required to achieve these revised standards?
Linkage: PYQ directly examines air quality management, pollution standards, monitoring mechanisms, and policy interventions for improving urban air quality. The article reinforces the need for continuous air quality management, forecasting systems, dust control measures, and strengthened NCAP implementation to meet national and global air quality standards.
A recent study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research stated that the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) could significantly strengthen global climate action and reduce carbon leakage.
What is CBAM?
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is:
A carbon tariff imposed by the European Union on imports of carbon intensive products.
Importers must pay a carbon levy unless the exporting country already has an equivalent carbon pricing system.
Objectives of CBAM
Prevent: Carbon leakage
Protect: EU industries from unfair competition
Encourage: Other countries to adopt carbon pricing policies
Support: Global decarbonisation efforts
What is Carbon Leakage?
Carbon leakage occurs when:
Industries shift production from countries with strict climate policies to countries with weaker environmental regulations.
This causes emissions reductions in one country to be offset by increased emissions elsewhere.
Findings of the Study
Without CBAM, Around 40% of EU emission reductions could be offset by carbon leakage.
With CBAM, Carbon leakage could be reduced to 15%.
Global emission reductions may increase significantly if major trading partners adopt carbon pricing systems.
What is Carbon Pricing?
Carbon pricing means:
Putting a monetary cost on carbon emissions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Major forms: Carbon tax and Emissions Trading System (ETS)
Criticism of CBAM
Critics argue:
Developing countries may face higher export costs.
It may act as a trade barrier.
EU does not provide sufficient:
Climate finance
Technology support for industrial decarbonisation in poorer countries.
[2023] Consider the following statements: Statement-I:Carbon markets are likely to be one of the most widespread tools in the fight against climate change. Statement-II:Carbon markets transfer resources from the private sector to the State Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
[A] Both Statement I and Statement II are correct and Statement II is the correct explanation for Statement I
[B] Both Statement I and Statement II are correct and Statement II is not the correct explanation for Statement I
[C] Statement I is correct but Statements II is incorrect
[D] Statement I is incorrect but Statement II is correct.
Scientists have identified a new species of giant marine reptile named Tylosaurus rex, a fearsome predator that lived during the age of dinosaurs. The findings were published in the Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History.
Key Highlights
Tylosaurus rex was:
A giant marine reptile.
One of the apex predators of the Cretaceous Period.
Scientists identified it as a distinct species based on:
Huge body size
Serrated teeth
Strong jaw and neck musculature
Anatomical differences from related species.
About Tylosaurus rex
Lived around 80 million years ago.
Habitat: an inland sea that once divided North America.
Features:
Streamlined body
Long snout
Paddle like flippers
Powerful tail.
What are Mosasaurs?
Tylosaurus rex belonged to:
Mosasaurs: Group of extinct marine reptiles.
They evolved from Land dwelling lizards.
Became: Apex marine predators during the late Cretaceous Period.
[2018] The term “sixth mass extinction/sixth extinction” is often mentioned in the news in the context of the discussion of
A. Widespread monoculture practices in agriculture and large-scale commercial farming with indiscriminate use of chemicals in many parts of the world that may result in the loss of good native ecosystems.
B. Fears of a possible collision of a meteorite with the Earth in the near future in the manner it happened 65 million years ago that caused the mass extinction of many species including those of dinosaurs.
C. Large scale cultivation of genetically modified crops in many parts of the world and promoting their cultivation in other parts of the world which may cause the disappearance of good native crop plants and the loss of food biodiversity.
D. Mankind’s over-exploitation/misuse of natural resources, fragmentation/loss of natural habitats, destruction of ecosystems, pollution and global climate change.
