General Awareness

ENVIRONMENT - December 2018

Dec 2018

Nov 20, 2020

Global Map of Bees Created in Conservation First

Scientists have mapped the distribution of all 20,000 bee species on earth.
As per researchers from Singapore and China, the new global map of bees will help in the conservation of the insects we rely on to pollinate our crops.
Bees are facing pressure on their population numbers from habitat loss and the use of pesticides.
Yet little is known about the array of species living on every continent save Antarctica, ranging from tiny stingless bees to bees the size of a human thumb.
Millions of records have been combined to create the first maps of global bee richness, and understand why we see these patterns.
These maps and framework, can then form the basis of future work, enabling to better understand patterns of bee richness and ensure that they are effectively conserved into the future.

Nov 19, 2020

Hurricane Iota: Strongest Atlantic Hurricane of the Year

At least 30 people have lost their lives as the strongest Atlantic hurricane of the year ripped through areas of Central America.
Tens of thousands were forced to flee their homes as Hurricane Iota hit Nicaragua and neighboring countries.
The rainfall caused mudslides and potentially deadly flash flooding and river flooding.
Winds of 257km/h (160mph) have hit areas still recovering from Eta, a major hurricane that hit two weeks ago.
Iota is the strongest Atlantic hurricane of the year and only the second November hurricane to reach category five — the last was in 1932.
This year's Atlantic hurricane season has broken the record for the number of named storms. Only for the second time on record, officials have had to start using the letters of the Greek alphabet to start storm names after running out of names on its traditional alphabetical list.

Nov 18, 2020

France's Biggest Glacier is Melting

France's largest glacier once looked so mighty sliding down the granite slopes of the Mont Blanc, Western Europe's tallest peak that early explorers struggled to find the words to capture it.
British adventurer William Windham was one of the first tourists to explore the glacier in 1741.
La Mer de Glace, the Sea of Ice. At that time and until the late 1980s, thousands of years of ice covered the steep valley. Visitors walked from the nearby town of Chamonix to Montenvers, where the glacier was so close they only had to hike down a few metres to touch it.

Nov 16, 2020

Rohanixalus -The Frogs of the New Genus

Named after Sri Lankan taxonomist Rohan Pethiyagoda, the frogs of the new genus Rohanixalus are characterised by a rather small and slender body (size about 2 to 3 cm long).
It has a pair of contrastingly coloured lateral lines on either side of the body, minute brown speckles scattered throughout the upper body surfaces, and light green coloured eggs laid in arboreal bubble-nests.
Based on DNA studies, the new genus is also revealed to be a distinct evolutionary lineage from all previously known tree frog genera.
It is the 20th recognised genus of the family Rhacophoridae that comprises 422 known Old World tree frog species found in Asia and Africa.

Bigfin Squid Filmed in Australian Waters for the First Time

A team of researchers led by the CSIRO has spotted the elusive bigfin squid in Australian waters for the first time.
Two voyages to the Great Australian Bight, one in 2015 and another in 2017, recorded the cephalopod in waters kilometres below the ocean's surface.
Bigfin squid – also known as magnapinna – can measure up to seven metres in length.

Nov 15, 2020

UK to Ban Sale of New Petrol and Diesel Cars from 2030

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to announce next week a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, five years earlier than previously planned.
Britain had originally planned to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel-powered cars from 2040, as part of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and in February Johnson brought this forward to 2035.
Citing unidentified industry and government figures, Johnson now intended to move the date forward again to 2030 in a speech on environmental policy he is expected to give next week.
The new timetable was not expected to apply to some hybrid cars which use a mixture of electric and fossil fuel propulsion and could still be sold until 2035.

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