August 2025
In short: India's places in the news and physical geography this month — distilled for SI/Constable Prelims.
Current Affairs — India › Geography · 13 min read · Free to read · English & Telugu
Bilingual study notes for the Andhra Pradesh Police SI & Constable exams (SLPRB AP) by AP Police Hub, a product of Anvil Academy.
August 2025's places-in-the-news round-up — cloudburst geography from Uttarkashi to Kishtwar, the Vanishing Sea at Chandipur, the world's largest atoll, a shrinking Iranian salt lake, wildfires across three continents, and a world tour of geothermal wonders.
August 2025 — At a Glance
August 2025's Geography content, as usual, is scattered across 'places in the news' boxes rather than a dedicated section — but this month's maps were unusually rich. India saw cloudburst-triggered disasters in Uttarkashi and Kishtwar, a mountaineering feat in Ladakh, and archaeology-meets-geography at Topra Kalan. Globally, a historic drought shrank Iran's Lake Urmia, wildfires scorched Canada, Spain and France, an earthquake struck the Drake Passage, and two volcanoes stayed active. A special feature toured ten geothermal wonders from Yellowstone to Iceland.
1. India — Places in the News
- Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand — cloudburst and flash floods — A cloudburst over the Kheer Ganga River (a tributary of the Alaknanda) triggered flash floods, sweeping away a village; the burst also formed a lake over a kilometre long at Tel Gad in Harsil. Uttarkashi lies on the Bhagirathi River, known as the 'Kashi of the North', in an ecologically fragile Himalayan zone prone to landslides, floods and earthquakes.
- Chandipur, Odisha — the 'Vanishing Sea' — Chandipur — from where Agni-5 was test-fired — is known as the 'Vanishing Sea': the sea water recedes up to 5 km at low tide and returns at high tide. It is home to DRDO's Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Abdul Kalam Island (formerly Wheeler Island), where Agni, Prithvi, Akash, BrahMos and Shaurya missiles have all been tested.
- Sitamarhi, Bihar — the ancient Mithila Kingdom — The Government laid the foundation stone for redeveloping the Janki Mata Temple at Punaura Dham, Sitamarhi. The town lies on the western bank of the Lakhandei River, features flood-prone alluvial plains fed by the Baghmati and Burhi Gandak, was devastated by the 1934 Bihar earthquake, and was part of the ancient Mithila Kingdom, later ruled by the Mauryas, Mughals and Senas.
- Alappuzha, Kerala — the 'Venice of the East' — The 71st Nehru Trophy Boat Race was held on Punnamada Lake. Alappuzha is known as the 'Venice of the East' for its backwaters, canals, lagoons and houseboats, is part of the Kuttanad region ('Rice Bowl of Kerala', famous for below-sea-level polder farming), and lies on National Waterway-3.
- Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu — 'Manchester of South India' — Hosted WAREMAT 2025 and TOPRINT EXPO 2025. Known as the 'Manchester of South India', a hub of cotton-based textile industries; hosted India's first textile research institute (SITRA, 1956) and has since expanded into IT and manufacturing.
- Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu — the 'Pearl City' — VinFast inaugurated a $500 million EV factory here. A coastal city on the Gulf of Mannar, known as the 'Pearl City' for historic pearl fishing and a major hub for salt production (over 30% of India's salt); part of the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve; its VOC Port is being developed into India's first carbon-neutral port.
- Dholera, Gujarat — a Harappan-era port revived — Being built as India's first Greenfield Smart Industrial City under the Delhi–Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). Historically an ancient port city dating to the Harappan civilisation (~2500 BCE), it served as a trade hub through the Gujarat Sultanate, Mughal era and British colonial period.
- Ladakh — highest peaks of the Pangong Tso region summited — A joint expedition team successfully summited Mt Merag-III and Mt Kangju Kangri, the highest peaks in the Pangong Tso region, Ladakh. Separately, ISRO's HOPE analogue space-research station operates in the Tso Kar valley (14,500 ft), whose cold-desert terrain mimics Moon/Mars conditions.
2. World — Places & Physical Geography in the News
- Great Chagos Bank, Chagos Archipelago — A sliteye shark was recorded here for the first time. Located in the central Indian Ocean, south of Maldives and north of Mauritius; the world's largest atoll structure by total area. Administered by the UK as BIOT since 1965; the UK and Mauritius signed a May 2025 agreement to transfer sovereignty, with the UK retaining control of the Diego Garcia military base.
- Tuvalu (Pacific Island Nation) — Australia initiated the world-first 'climate visas' programme, which 80% of Tuvalu's population applied for. A small Pacific island country (9 islands, formerly the Ellice Islands), midway between Hawaii and Australia; neighbours Kiribati (north) and Fiji (south).
- Lake Urmia, Iran — A historic drought has caused significant shrinkage — a symbol of Iran's environmental crisis. A salt lake (endorheic basin, no outlet to the sea), fed mainly by rivers like the Zarrineh Rud and Simineh Rud, with high salinity.
- Joshua Tree National Park, California — California approved a protection plan for Joshua trees against climate-change threats. Named after the agave-family plant; declared a National Park in 1994; lies at the meeting point of two distinct deserts — the higher, Joshua-tree-dominated Mojave Desert and the lower, hotter Colorado Desert.
- Mauritania & Niger (West/Northwest Africa) — A migrant boat sank off Mauritania's coast (~49 dead); the country is predominantly Sahara Desert/Sahel, rich in iron ore, gold, copper, gypsum and offshore oil & gas. In landlocked Niger, the auction of a large Martian meteorite in New York sparked ownership debates; Niger's lifeline is the Niger River, and uranium mining is a major export earner.
- Easter Island, Chile — A study warned that rising seas due to climate change could endanger the island's iconic moai statues by 2080. In the southeastern Pacific, west of Chile; locally called Rapa Nui; ~900 giant stone statues carved by the Rapa Nui people (13th–16th centuries); a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Wildfires — Canada, Spain, France, North York Moors (UK) — Canada faced its second-worst wildfire season on record. Spain burned ~350,000 hectares in two weeks during an early-August heatwave. Southern France was hit by one of its largest wildfires, driven by strong winds, dry vegetation and hot summer weather. In the UK, a wildfire devastated 25 km² of moorland near Fylingdales at the North York Moors (designated a National Park in 1952, one of the UK's first).
- Earthquakes — Drake Passage & Algeria — A Magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck the Drake Passage, between Cape Horn (South America's southern tip) and the South Shetland Islands (north of the Antarctic Peninsula) — named after Sir Francis Drake, a key pre-Panama-Canal trade route and part of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Separately, a 5.8-magnitude quake struck Algeria's Tebessa province.
3. Physical Geography Special: Geothermal Wonders & Volcanoes
The Recital carried a special world-tour feature on geothermal wonders — a genuinely geographic theme (volcanic activity, plate boundaries, hot springs) useful well beyond this month's news cycle.
Major geothermal wonders of the world| Site | Key fact |
|---|
| Yellowstone NP, USA | Old Faithful Geyser erupts ~every 90 min; sits atop a supervolcano; the Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest hot spring in the US. |
| Iceland's Geothermal Fields | 'Land of Fire and Ice' on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge; the Golden Circle route includes the original Geysir and the reliably erupting Strokkur. |
| Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand | One of the world's most active volcanic zones; the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland features the erupting Lady Knox Geyser. |
| Hot Springs of Pamukkale, Turkey | 'Cotton castle' — terraced, snow-white travertine pools from calcium-rich springs; a UNESCO World Heritage Site near ancient Hierapolis. |
| Valley of Geysers, Russia | World's second-largest geyser concentration (90+, after Yellowstone); lies along the Pacific 'Ring of Fire'. |
| Boiling Lake, Dominica | World's 2nd-largest hot lake (after Frying Pan Lake, NZ), in Morne Trois Pitons National Park; heated by magma beneath the surface. |
Volcanoes active in the news
- Krasheninnikov Volcano, Kamchatka, Russia — Erupted for the first time in more than 500 years — a compound stratovolcano (two overlapping cones inside a larger caldera) on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire'.
- Mount Lewotobi, Indonesia & Mount Kilauea, Hawaii — Mount Lewotobi is composed of two adjacent stratovolcanoes. Mount Kilauea's eruptions continue in the Halemaumau Crater, part of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park — Hawaii is the only US state made entirely of islands.