'Bomb Cyclone' Winter Storm Hits US with Life Threatening Extremely Cold Climate
Bomb Cyclone thrashed US and Canada with extreme climate and has trapped the residents inside their houses with snow and power outages. During the Christmas season, the Bomb Cyclone occurred due to a low temperature of -40 degrees Fahrenheit. Thousands of flights were cancelled and several highways were blocked. People were advised not to step outside their homes as was be life-threatening.
Due to Artic Blast, the US experienced an extremely cold climate, heavy snow, and intense wind. The authorities ordered to put a halt on travelling during the Christmas season because of the Bomb Cyclone.
Bomb Cyclone is created when the air of different masses whether cold or dry comes together. The warm air rises and makes a cloud system which lowers the air pressure. These cloud system forms storms and circulates counter clockwise in the low-pressure area. A Bomb Cyclone is a mid-latitude storm in which the central pressure drops fast at one millibar per hour for 24 hours.
Dec 22, 2022
Infosys Recognised with 'A' Score for Transparency on Climate Change
Infosys was recognised for leadership in corporate transparency and performance on climate change by global environmental non-profit CDP, securing a place on its annual 'A List'.
Based on data reported through CDP's 2022 Climate Change questionnaire, Infosys is one of a small number of companies that achieved an 'A' out of nearly 15,000 companies scored.
CDP's annual environmental disclosure and scoring process is widely recognized as the gold standard of corporate environmental transparency.
Infosys featured in the leadership category under the CDP Climate Change disclosure for the seventh year in a row.
Dec 21, 2022
Scientists Freeze Great Barrier Reef Coral in World-first Trial
Scientists working on Australia's Great Barrier Reef have successfully trialled a new method for freezing and storing coral larvae they say could eventually help rewild reefs threatened by climate change.
Scientists are scrambling to protect coral reefs as rising ocean temperatures destabilise delicate ecosystems. The Great Barrier Reef has suffered four bleaching events in the last seven years including the first ever bleach during a La Nina phenomenon, which typically brings cooler temperatures.
Cryogenically frozen coral can be stored and later reintroduced to the wild but the current process requires sophisticated equipment including lasers. As per scientists a new lightweight "cryomesh" can be manufactured cheaply and better preserves coral.
Gujarat's Barda Wildlife Sanctuary New Translocation Site for Asiatic Lions
Gujarat's Barda Wildlife Sanctuary, located near the coastal city of Porbandar and 100 kilometres from the Gir National Park, was identified as a potential second home for Asiatic lions.
Efforts were being made since the 1990s to find a relocation site for the Asiatic lions within Gujarat and outside the state, considering that the species is vulnerable to extinction threats from epidemics because of low genetic diversity.
In 2013, the Supreme Court ordered the government to translocate Asiatic lions from Gujarat to the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh within six months. It had also rejected a proposal to introduce the African cheetah in Kuno.
After the apex court allowed the introduction of African cheetah in India on an experimental basis in January 2020, eight cheetahs from Namibia were reintroduced in Kuno, but the translocation of lions is still pending.
Dec 19, 2022
Rajasthan's Tal Chhapar Sanctuary Gets Protection from Plan to Reduce its Size
The famous Tal Chhapar blackbuck sanctuary in Rajasthan's Churu district received a protective cover against a proposed move of the State government to reduce the size of its eco-sensitive zone. The World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) also took up a major project for the conservation of raptors in the sanctuary, spread in an area measuring 7.19 sq. km.
The Rajasthan High Court intervened through a suo motu public interest litigation to protect the sanctuary, taking cognisance of reports that its area was going to be reduced to three sq. km. under pressure from mine owners and stone crusher operators. The court had ordered a "complete prohibition" on any action to reduce the wildlife sanctuary's area.
The sanctuary is host to about 4,000 blackbucks and other wild animals, over 40 species of raptors and more than 300 species of resident and migratory birds. The raptors, which include predators and scavengers, are on top of the food chain and control the populations of small mammals, birds and reptiles as well as insects.
Dec 17, 2022
US Wildlife Officials Declare 'Nevada Wildflower' as Endangered Species
In the United States, wildlife officials declared 'Nevada wildflower' endangered at the only place it's known to exist – on a high-desert ridge where a lithium mine is planned to help meet the growing demand for electric car batteries. The Fish and Wildlife Service formally listed Tiehm's buckwheat and its accompanying area of 910 acres for the 6-inch-tall flower with yellow blooms. With an estimated remaining population of only about 16,000 plants, the service concluded that Tiehm's buckwheat is on the brink of extinction.
Ioneer, the Australian mining company that is planning to dig for lithium where the flower grows, said that it has developed a protection plan which will allow the plant and the project to coexist.
Federal agencies are prohibited from approving any activity on federal lands that could destroy, modify or adversely affect any listed species' critical habitat.