General Awareness

ENVIRONMENT - December 2018

Dec 2018

Aug 21, 2022

Causes of Arctic Warming

Researchers from Finnish Meteorological institute published their research regarding Arctic warming. As per the research, Arctic is heating up four times faster than other parts of the Earth. Heating is more concentrated in Eurasian part of the Arctic. In this part, Barents Sea and Norway are heating up seven times faster than Earth's average. In last 43 years, Arctic region has heated up 3.8 times faster than the planet.
These findings reveal that; people, animals and plants in polar regions are experiencing rapid climate change.
Findings focus on period between 1979-2021.
Arctic region is more sensitive to global warming and it is likely that, the region is heating up even more quickly than predicted by computer models.

Aug 20, 2022

China Declares National Drought, Heat wave Threatens Crops

China issued its first national drought alert of the year after 66 rivers dried up in the country's southwest. The drought, coupled with intense heat waves due to forest fires, pose a serious threat to China's crops. Earlier this week, Chinese officials announced 'several new measures to help alleviate the drought impact,' including financial aid, cloud seeding and shutdowns of some energy-intensive industries.
The Washington Post called the crisis China's 'worst drought on record' as soaring temperatures dry up parts of the critical Yangtze River, damaging crops and limiting drinking water supplies to some rural communities.

Aug 18, 2022

Delhi Tops List of World's most Polluted Cities

Delhi and Kolkata are the two most polluted cities in the world in terms of average annual population-weighted PM 2.5 exposure, according to a new report, Air Pollution and Health in Cities, released by the Health Effects Institute's (HEI) State of Global Air Initiative.
Mumbai was ranked 14th. No other Indian city features in the top 20. In terms of the highest disease burden from a PM 2.5-related ailment, though, Beijing, with 124 attributable deaths per 100,000 people was the worst. Delhi came in at 6th, with 106 deaths per 100,000 and Kolkata at 8th with 99. Five Chinese cities were in the top 20.

Aug 17, 2022

Asia's Largest CBG Plant Operational in Sangrur

Punjab's New and Renewable Energy Sources Minister Aman Arora claimed that Asia's largest Compressed Biogas (CBG) plant, which was commissioned in April 2022 started commercial production in State's Sangrur district.
The plant has a total capacity of 33.23 tonne CBG per day.
The plant has now started commercial production of CBG, which is being supplied to Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) outlet.
In addition to this, Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) has also allocated 42 additional CBG projects of a total capacity 492.58 tons per day (TPD) based on paddy straw and other agro-residue to develop a lasting and sustainable solution to prevent stubble-burning problem while also strengthening the rural economy.

Aug 16, 2022

British Govt. Officially Declares Drought in Parts of England

The British government said that parts of southern, central and eastern England were officially moved into drought status after a prolonged period of hot and dry weather.
England suffered its driest July since 1935, with only 35% of the average rainfall for the month, and parts of England and Wales are now in the middle of a four-day "extreme heat" alert.
Water companies will now begin enacting pre-agreed drought plans to help protect supplies, and the government said members of the public and businesses in drought affected areas were urged to use water wisely.
The last drought in England was in 2018.

India adds 11 more Wetlands to the List of Ramsar Sites

India added 11 more wetlands to the list of Ramsar sites to make total 75 Ramsar sites covering an area of 13 lakh 26 thousand 677 Hectare in the country in the 75th year of Independence.
Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change said, the 11 new sites include, four in Tamil Nadu, three in Odisha, two in Jammu and Kashmir and one each in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Designation of these sites would help in conservation and management of wetlands and wise use of their resources.
India is one of the Contracting Parties to Ramsar Convention, signed in Ramsar, Iran in 1971. India signed it on 1st February 1982. During 1982 to 2013, a total of 26 sites were added to the list of Ramsar sites, however, during 2014 to 2022, the country has added 49 new wetlands to the list of Ramsar sites.
During this year itself (2022), a total of 28 sites have been declared as Ramsar sites. Based on the date of designation mentioned on Ramsar Certificate, the number is 19 for 2022 and 14 for 2021.
Tamil Nadu has maximum number of Ramsar sites which is 14, followed by Uttar Pradesh which has 10 numbers of Ramsar sites.

IMD-UNDP and Japan Collaborate for Climate Action in 10 States and UTs

IMD-UNDP initiated a new project to speed up climate action in 10 States and Union Territories throughout the nation and was unveiled by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the government of Japan, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). During the years 2022–2023, the project of IMD-UNDP will be implemented in the following states: Bihar, Delhi–NCR, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. UNDP India received a $5.16 million climate grant from Japan for the project of IMD-UNDP. This is a component of the worldwide assistance provided by Japan to 23 nations through the UNDP's "Climate Promise — From Pledge to Impact" initiative.

Tamil Nadu's 5th Elephant Reserve at Agasthyamalai

The proposal to designate 1,197.48 sq.km in Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli as the Agasthiyarmalai Elephant Reserve was approved by the Union Environment Ministry. Tamil Nadu will oversee this Agasthiyarmalai Elephant Reserve, which is the fifth elephant reserve. The forest department may be eligible for additional financing through the centrally sponsored Project Elephant after notifying the Agasthiyarmalai Elephant Reserve.
Agasthiyarmalai Elephant Reserve status puts more of an emphasis on protecting and conserving elephants as indicator animals that indicate a healthy ecosystem, even when the area is already protected as a reserve forest or wildlife sanctuary.

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