’Earth’s Best Year Yet

This feature — Earth’s Best Year Yet? — revisits those overlooked triumphs. It celebrates how 2025, almost without trying to impress anyone, became one of the most promising years for the planet in recent memory. From Indian cities shedding pollution layers to forests reclaiming bare soil, and from renewable energy outpacing fossil momentum to grassroots activism rewriting local landscapes, 2025 marked a shift not just in environmental data but in environmental mood. And now, as 2026 dawns, the question looms large: Can the world keep up this winning streak?

A Breath of Relief

The first sign came from a place few expected — India’s ancient spiritual capital, Varanasi. Long associated with heavy traffic, congested ghats, and chronic air pollution, the city stunned environmental analysts when it recorded one of its steepest drops in PM2.5 levels this decade. Cleaner public transport networks, stricter emissions control, and relentless community vigilance together delivered what felt almost like an atmospheric makeover. “When you can finally see the horizon clearly from Assi Ghat, you know something has changed,” says Prakash Gupta, a local operator who has spent 35 years on the Ganga. “This winter, my eyes didn’t burn. That hasn’t happened in years.”

But Varanasi wasn’t alone. Several Indian cities — from Surat to Kochi — reported sustained improvement in air quality. It wasn’t just policy; it was behaviour. Residents switched to e-rickshaws, cycling gained momentum, and municipalities quietly expanded green corridors. The shift wasn’t dramatic enough to produce viral visuals, but it was measurable and meaningful.

For a country long pinned under a “world’s worst air quality” tag, 2025 offered a breath of something different: possibility. “We always assumed pollution was someone else’s problem — the government’s, the industries’,” reflects college student Riya Bansal, who cycles to campus daily. “2025

made people realise that even switching from a bike to a cycle actually matters.”

Forests Fight Back

While the air grew lighter, the land grew greener. India recorded one of its most significant reforestation surges in recent years, fuelled by a combination of government-led restoration projects, community-managed forest patches, and Indigenous stewardship. States like Odisha and Maharashtra undertook ambitious plantation drives, while smaller towns and villages revived traditional forest management practices, breathing life into long-neglected landscapes.

The real story lay in the people driving the movement. Women-led forest councils in central India protected regenerated patches from illegal felling. Youth groups mapped degraded zones with drones, persuading local authorities to intervene. Meanwhile, indigenous communities — who have always known how to live with the forest rather than near it — played a central role, merging ancestral knowledge with modern conservation tools.

2025 reminded the country of an old truth: forests are not just carbon sinks or green cover statistics. They are living, breathing systems of culture, memory, and identity. And in many ways, India’s forests reclaimed their voice this year.

Renewables Rise

Then came the milestone that climate-watchers had been waiting for. India’s renewable energy capacity crossed 220 GW — a figure that wasn’t just symbolic, but strategically important. For the first time, renewables began to truly compete with fossil fuels, not as idealistic alternatives but as economic powerhouses.

Solar parks expanded at an unprecedented speed. Rooftop solar adoption grew in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, powered by urban households seeking independence from unreliable grids. Wind corridors in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat saw fresh investment. Even rural pockets embraced innovation, with solar-powered irrigation pumps replacing diesel-dependent systems.

This wasn’t a glossy energy revolution crafted for headlines. It was a practical one — driven by affordability, efficiency, and necessity. “The psychological shift was huge,” explains activist Eesha Nair. “People finally saw clean energy as reliable, cheap, and normal — not an elite luxury.”

Small Actions, Big Results

But if governments and industries laid the foundation for change, it was grassroots activism that gave 2025 its personality. All across the country, local movements translated global climate anxiety into local climate action.

In Bengaluru, neighbourhood groups revived neglected lakes by clearing waste, reintroducing native plants, and setting up citizen monitoring networks. In Delhi, school-led campaigns encouraged families to adopt terrace gardening, reducing urban heat spots. Youth collectives in the Northeast transformed abandoned plots into micro-forests using the Miyawaki method. “We removed 18 truckloads of waste,” says resident volunteer Naveen Shetty. “By November, we spotted kingfishers returning. That was our reward.”

What made these initiatives special wasn’t their scale but their sincerity. They didn’t wait for government directives or corporate grants. They powered themselves through WhatsApp groups, local volunteers, and sheer conviction.

2025 proved something crucial: climate action doesn’t always need a global conference. Sometimes, it just needs a neighbourhood.

Innovation & Climate Chat

Homegrown cleantech startups developed affordable carbon capture prototypes, low-cost bio-enzyme cleaners replaced harsh chemicals in urban households, and EV startups introduced budget-friendly scooters that finally became mainstream. “It was the first time I saw kids teaching adults about sustainability with that much confidence,” says school teacher and environmental educator Anjali Rao. “And adults actually listened.”

Meanwhile, ag-ritech innovators helped farmers reduce emissions with precision irrigation, AI-driven weather forecasting, and soil-restoring practices. These advances didn’t simply reduce environmental impact; they restored dignity to communities often treated as footnotes in climate narratives. “Good years don’t guarantee good decades,” cautions climate activist Tara Venkat. “But 2025 proved that change is possible — fast, local, and collective.”

For perhaps the first time in years, the climate conversation wasn’t just about crises and consequences. It was about solutions.

A Hopeful Road Ahead

Of course, 2025 wasn’t perfect. Heatwaves lingered, coastal erosion persisted, and extreme weather continued to disrupt lives. Progress didn’t erase the planet’s problems. But it offered something equally valuable: direction.

As 2026 begins, the world stands at a curious intersection — brimming with optimism, but grounded in realism. The energy is promising, but maintaining momentum will demand discipline, accountability, and political will. The planet’s best year yet wasn’t a finish line; it was a rehearsal. The real challenge now is not simply to repeat 2025’s achievements but to scale them with urgency.

The Verdict

So, was 2025 the planet’s best year yet? In many ways, yes — but more importantly, it was a year that showed what “better” can look like. Cleaner skies, greener maps, stronger communities, and braver ideas. If the world is willing to carry forward the lessons of 2025, then 2026 won’t just keep up — it might just outshine it.