General Awareness

ENVIRONMENT - December 2018

Dec 2018

Nov 24, 2021

Israel, Jordan, UAE Agree on Regional Cooperation to Tackle Climate Crisis

Israel, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed a 'historic' agreement for regional cooperation in the fight against the climate crisis.
The agreement was signed in Dubai, the UAE, by the Israeli Minister of Energy Karin Elharrar, the UAE's Minister of Food and Water Security Mariam Almheiri, and Jordan's Water Minister Mohammad Najjar, with the presence of the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry.
As part of the agreement, Jordan will export 600 megawatts of green electricity to Israel, from new storage facilities that will be built under the agreement.
In exchange, Israel will examine the export of up to 200 million cubic meters of desalinated water to Jordan, from a new desalination facility to be built in Israel.

Nov 17, 2021

Fossils of Cretaceous-Period Coelacanth Discovered in Texas

Fossils of Cretaceous-period coelacanth were discovered in Texas. The fossils are estimated to be around 96 million years old and belong to the first Cretaceous Mawsoniid coelacanth from North America.
Coelacanths are a group of large lobe-finned fish (sarcopterygians) closely related to tetrapods.
They were thought to have been extinct for 66 million years, until a first living specimen was caught fortuitously in South Africa in 1938.
Coelacanths first appeared in the Early Devonian epoch, diversified a little in the Devonian and Carboniferous period, and attained a maximum of diversity in the Early Triassic.
During the Cretaceous, they are known by two families only, the Latimeriidae, which survived to the present with the genus Latimeria, and the Mawsoniidae, which went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous.

Nov 16, 2021

Maharashtra Signs MoU to Boost Adoption of Electric Vehicles

The Maharashtra government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian arm of the USA-based Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) to support adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in Maharashtra.
RMI India, which is an independent non-profit working on clean energy transitions in the country, is expected to provide technical support for implementation of the state's newly launched EV Policy. The MoU was signed in Glasgow amid the ongoing COP26 summit.
It may be noted that Maharashtra's new draft Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy 2021 aims to bring at least 146,000 new battery-operated electric vehicles (BEVs) on state roads by 2025.

Syria Reservoir Dries up for First Time

A key reservoir in north-western Syria is almost completely dry for the first time in its 27-year history. The emptying of the reservoir is attributed to low rainfall, structural damage and extraction by struggling farmers.
In 2021, Syria has been experiencing one of its driest and hottest years on record. This has caused drought and a series of wildfires.
Along with climate change, the region receiving historically low rainfall last winter has led to the reservoir drying out.
The reservoir formed by Al-Duwaysat Dam in Idlib province is a key irrigation source for thousands of farmers.

Nov 15, 2021

Earth's Lower Atmosphere is Expanding Due to Climate Change

Earth's atmosphere is rising because of climate change, a new study shows.
Weather balloon measurements, taken in the Northern Hemisphere over the past 40 years, reveal that the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere — called the troposphere — has been expanding upward at a rate of roughly 164 feet (50 meters) per decade, and climate change is the cause.
This is an unambiguous sign of changing atmospheric structure. These results provide independent confirmation, in addition to all the other evidence of climate change, that greenhouse gases are altering our atmosphere.

Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai among World's Top 10 Polluted Cities

Of the world's top 10 cities with the worst air quality, three -- Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai, are in India, data from air quality and pollution city tracking service from IQAir, a Switzerland-based climate group showed.
While Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) at 556 made it to the top of the list, Kolkata and Mumbai recorded an AQI of 177 and 169, respectively, at fourth and sixth position, on the list.
The cities with the worst AQI indices also include Lahore, in Pakistan, and Chengdu, in China.
A real-time air quality information platform -- IQAir is also a technology partner of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP).

Nov 12, 2021

Diamond Hauled from Deep Inside Earth Holds Never-before-seen Mineral

Within a diamond hauled from deep beneath Earth's surface, scientists have discovered the first example of a never-before-seen mineral.
Named davemaoite after prominent geophysicist Ho-kwang (Dave) Mao, the mineral is the first example of a high-pressure calcium silicate perovskite (CaSiO3) found on Earth. Another form of CaSiO3, known as wollastonite, is commonly found across the globe, but davemaoite has a crystalline structure that forms only under high pressure and high temperatures in Earth's mantle, the mainly solid layer of Earth trapped between the outer core and the crust.
Davemaoite is believed to play an important geochemical role in Earth's mantle. Scientists theorize that the mineral may also contain other trace elements, including uranium and thorium, which release heat via radioactive decay. Therefore, davemaoite may help to generate a substantial amount of heat in the mantle.

Lahore most Polluted City in the World, as per US Air Quality Index

Lahore is on top of the list of the most polluted cities in the world, according to air pollution data released by the US Air Quality Index.
The air quality in the city of Pakistan was recorded at over 600. Karachi stood at the fifth position on the list.
A level of 681 was recorded in Gulberg, 626 was recorded in Raiwind, 541 in Anarkali Market and 532 in Model Town.
Meanwhile, smog in Pakistan's Punjab province has also caused concerns among the authorities.

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