General Awareness

ENVIRONMENT - December 2018

Dec 2018

Oct 04, 2020

Damage Uncovered on Antarctic Glaciers Reveals Worrying Signs for Sea Level Rise

A new study into the structural damage of two major Antarctic glaciers reveals that ice shelf weakening has rapidly evolved in recent years.
Multi-satellite imagery identified damage areas, sparking concerns that structural weakening could lead to major ice shelf collapse in the decades to come. This collapse, in turn, reduces the glaciers' ability to hold back major sections of the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet from running into the ocean.
Pine Island Glacier and Thwaites Glacier are located in the Amundsen Sea Embayment. The fastest-changing outlet glaciers in the region, they account for Antarctica's largest contribution to global sea level rise. Scientists have anticipated for at least 20 years that these glaciers will be the first to respond to climate change, Jessica O'Reilly, an environmental anthropologist at Indiana University, told GlacierHub.
If the ice shelves of these two glaciers collapse, it could trigger large-scale disintegration of the nearby West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which holds enough ice to raise global sea level by about 10 feet. The glaciers provide a natural buffering system that is holding back the enormous ice sheet upstream, but if structural damage is weakening the ice shelves, rapid outflow into the ocean could occur in the coming years.

Oct 03, 2020

Red Panda Photographed for First Time at Arunchal's Chug Valley

Wildlife activists are thrilled about the fresh spotting of a red panda in the forests of Arunachal Pradesh's Chug Valley. What is more, the furry creature has been photographed too. This happens to be the first time a red panda has been photographed in this particular area of the border state.
A WWF official said that last time a Red Panda was visually captured in Arunachal Pradesh was back in 2012.

Oct 02, 2020

Mumbai Records Most Environmental Offences among Major Cities

According to the National Crime Records Bureau's (NCRB) latest report, Mumbai, the country's financial capital, recorded the highest number of offences under the Environment (Protection) Act (EPA), 1986, in 2019 among 19 major Indian cities for the second consecutive year.
In the backdrop of the report, the Mumbai city collector on Wednesday directed the Mumbai Police to file first information reports (FIRs) against Indian Army personnel at the Sagarmatha Club in Colaba and landowners at a wetland in Wadala following alleged violations of the EPA, 1986.
EPA, 1986 violations are related to felling of trees, cutting of mangroves, flouting of coastal regulation zones (CRZs), dumping debris in eco-sensitive zones, illegal quarrying and cutting of hills, and other offences related to air and water pollution.
NCRB data revealed that of the 20 cases recorded under EPA, 1986 in 2019, Mumbai was the worst offender at eight, followed by Hyderabad (6), Nagpur (5), and Chennai (1).

Sep 29, 2020

Sri Lanka Returns Hazardous Waste to the UK

Sri Lanka said that it is sending 21 containers of waste back to the UK after they were found to contain hazardous material.
As per customs officials, hospital waste was discovered in many of the 263 containers imported by a private firm.
The shipment was meant to be made up of used mattresses, carpets and rugs for potential recycling.
Most of the containers have been stored in warehouses, with only a small amount of material having been re-exported.
The authorities said there was also plastic and polythene waste in the containers.
England's Environment Agency said that it was committed to tackling illegal waste exports.

Sep 28, 2020

Gujarat Tree Cover Shrank between 2006 and 2017

The Comptroller and Audit General (CAG) submitted its reports at both the houses of the parliaments. According to the report, forest cover in Gujarat decreased between 2006 and 2017.
The tree cover in the state was 8,390 square kilometres. It shrank to 6,910 square kilometres in 2017. According to the report, tree cover includes exclusive forest cover and tree patches outside forest area. The total forest cover in the country is 21.67%. Of this, Gujarat contributes 7.57%. The forest cover in the country increased from 690.90 thousand square kilometres to 712.25 thousand square kilometres.
Forest Cover in India includes lands more than one hectare with tree canopy density of more than 10% irrespective of legal status and ownership rights. According to the report, the Indian State of Forest Report said that the forest cover in the state increased to 14,860 square kilo metres. However, the tree cover in the state has decreased. This is contradictory.

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