General Awareness

ENVIRONMENT - February 2015

Feb 2015

Jun 18, 2022

Industrial Decarbonisation Summit 2022

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, inaugurated the "Industrial Decarbonisation Summit 2022"- road map for carbon neutrality by 2070.
During the inauguration the minister emphasised on maintaining equilibrium between environment, ecology and development.
The 'Industrial Decarbonisation Summit 2022' was inaugurated to overcome power shortage because it is necessary to develop alternative fuels.
The Industrial Decarbonisation Summit focused on variety of research topics related to decarbonisation, policy issues, sustainability, climate change including their management, etc. During the summit, academia, researchers, policy makers, business, industry, concerned government department etc will learn at large from each other and identify best practices and promising technologies. Outcome of this summit will help organisers in developing roadmaps on how innovative technologies can contribute towards Decarbonisation, and thus lead to energy transition for clean energy.

Jun 17, 2022

Antarctica's 'Doomsday Glacier' is Losing Ice Faster than in the Past 5,500 Years

Thwaites Glacier also known as Antarctica's so-called Doomsday Glacier is losing ice at its fastest rate in 5,500 years, raising concerns about the ice sheet's future and the possibility of catastrophic sea level rise caused by the frozen continent's melting ice.
The finding came from a study of prehistoric sea-deposits found on the shores surrounding the "doomsday" Thwaites Glacier and the neighboring Pine Island Glacier, both located on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
These currently elevated rates of ice melting may signal that those vital arteries from the heart of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet have been ruptured, leading to accelerating flow into the ocean that is potentially disastrous for future global sea level in a warming world.

Jun 16, 2022

India's Newest Recorded Snail Named after Western Ghats

The Western Ghats of Maharashtra have yielded a carnivorous land snail new to the world of science.
The Haploptychius sahyadriensis, recorded from the northern Western Ghats of Maharashtra, is the third member of the genus Haploptychius. The other two – H. andamanicus and H. pfeifferi – were recorded in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the 1860s.
This species is endemic to Vishalgad Conservation Reserve in Shahuwadi tehsil of Maharashtra's Kolhapur. It is named after the type locality of the species in the northern part of the Western Ghats, which is Sahyadri in Sanskrit.

Jun 15, 2022

Indians May Lose 5 Years of Life Expectancy Due to Air Pollution

The impact of air pollution is far deadlier than that of smoking, alcohol, or even consumption of unsafe water. Data show smoking reduces life expectancy by as much as 2.5 years, unsafe water and sanitation shaves off roughly a year and alcohol use by about half a year. If India doesn't meet WHO guidelines, the average Indian resident is set to lose 5 years of life expectancy.
As per the Air Quality Life Index, South Asia remains the world's pollution hotspot. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal, where nearly a quarter of the global population lives, remain among the top five most polluted countries in the world. South Asia accounts for more than half, 52%, of the expected lost life years globally due to high pollution. India faces the highest health burden of air pollution in the world due to its high particulate pollution concentrations and large population. About 44% of the world's increase in pollution has come from India since 2013. The particulate pollution level in India increased from 53 then to 56 µg/m3 today—roughly 11 times higher than the WHO guidelines.

Jun 14, 2022

'Abnormal' Dinosaur Egg in India Digs up New Questions for Evolution

A team of researchers from the University of Delhi discovered a unique set of fossilised dinosaur eggs, with one egg nesting within the other at the Dinosaur Fossil National Park, in Dhar District of Madhya Pradesh. While eggs-within-eggs are rare phenomena, they are so far known to occur only in birds and have never known in reptiles. This discovery brings out newer connections between reptilian and avian evolution.
Dinosaurs of the Sauropod family were among the largest land animals that have ever lived and were widespread millions of years ago in the territory that is now India. Fossils of these animals have been found in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh as well as Meghalaya.
The Upper Cretaceous Lameta Formation of Central India is long known for its dinosaur fossils (both skeletal and egg remains), and scientists, some of whom were involved in the team reporting the latest findings, documented 52 titanosaurid sauropod nests near Padlya village close to Bagh town in Madhya Pradesh. One of these nests consisted of 10 eggs, one of which was the "abnormal" egg.

India Finalises Deals for Cheetahs from South Africa & Namibia

The Indian government finalised deals with South Africa and Namibia to get the planet's fastest animals, cheetahs that became extinct in India and will be released into the wild at Kuno Palpur, Madhya Pradesh, by the end of 2022. Initially, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed for 10 years, which can be extended for another five years. There will be 12 cheetahs from South Africa and 8 from Namibia and more will be followed in subsequent years.
The project to translocate cheetahs from Africa to India is a long-term, one-time project being implemented by the environment ministry with the help of the Wildlife Institute of India to reintroduce the cheetah into wild, which became extinct in India in the 1950s. The Supreme Court had appointed an expert panel, which approved Kuno Palpur as the possible location for cheetah relocation. In the past six months, the Madhya Pradesh forest department has prepared a 10 sq km enclosure with round-the-clock surveillance for reintroduction of cheetahs.

Asia's 'Longest-tusked' Elephant Bhogeshwara Dies

Bhogeshwara, reportedly the elephant with the longest tusks in Asia, died of natural causes at the age of 60. The wild elephant, also known as Mr. Kabini, was found dead in the Gundre range of Karnataka's Bandipur Tiger Reserve. According to forest department officials, Bhogeshwar's tusks were 2.54 meters and 2.34 meters long. Known for its gentle temperament, the elephant frequented the Kabini backwaters for the last three decades.
Both the tusks almost touched the ground and watching it roaming in the thick jungle was a visual treat. The viscera samples have been sent to the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory of Mysuru. Experts see no foul play and stated that it was a natural death.

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

July GK, June GK, May GK, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, ENVIRONMENT, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, SPORTS, NATIONAL AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, PERSONS IN NEWS, DAYS AND EVENTS, AWARDS AND HONOURS, GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES, GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION, ART AND CULTURE, BOOKS AND AUTHORS, TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS, ART AND CULTURE, LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Start Discussion

On any topic

Take Tests

Compiled from GK updates

Login

Sign Up

Forgot Password

Download TCY App

Unlock All Services And Enjoy The Premium Benefits

US$ 10

US$ 13

US$ 15

US$ 17

US$ 19

US$ 20

US$ 21

US$ 22

US$ 23

US$ 24

US$ 25

US$ 26