General Awareness

ENVIRONMENT - August 2019

Aug 2019

Oct 20, 2021

China's Transition to Clean Energy Faster than Expected: Study

The costs of solar and coal power in China could become comparable countrywide by 2023, a new US-China study has found, indicating that the country, the largest carbon emitter globally, could be at a tipping point towards transitioning to clean energy faster than expected.
In two years, China will have the capacity to install solar power across the country at the same price as coal, and currently has that ability to do so in three-quarters of the country, the joint study found. "About 78.6% (79.7 PWh or petawatt-hour) of China's technical potential will realise price parity to coal-fired power in 2021, with price parity achieved nationwide by 2023."

Japan's Mount Aso Erupts; Alert Raised to Level 3

Mount Aso, a volcano on Japan's main southern island of Kyushu, erupted, Japan's Meteorological Agency said, spewing volcanic ash 3,500 metres (2.17 miles) into the sky.
The eruption took place at around 11:43 a.m. Tokyo time (0243 GMT), the agency said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage at the popular tourist destination.
But, the meteorological agency raised the alert level for the volcano to level 3 on a scale of 5, telling people not to approach the mountain. It also warned of large volcanic blocks and pyroclastic flows scatterering within a range of approximately 1 kilometre from the mountain's Nakadake crater.

Oct 15, 2021

Polar Bears Could Vanish by the End of the Century

Arctic sea ice has been steadily decreasing since the beginning of satellite records in 1979, but a new study comes with a chilling (or perhaps, warming) prediction: By the end of this century, Arctic sea ice may disappear during the summer, which could drive polar bears and other ice-dependent species to extinction.

Oct 12, 2021

Twenty-four more Countries join Global Methane Pledge

Twenty-four more countries have joined a US and EU-led effort to slash methane emissions 30 per cent by 2030, giving the emerging global partnership momentum ahead of its launch at the UN climate summit in Glasgow later this month.
Nigeria, Japan and Pakistan are among the 24 new signatories to the Global Methane Pledge, which was first announced by the United States and EU in September with the aim to galvanise rapid climate action before the start of the Scotland summit on October 31. It could have a significant impact on the energy, agriculture and waste sectors responsible for the bulk of methane emissions.
The nine original partners include Britain, Indonesia and Mexico, which signed on to the pledge when it was announced at the Major Economies Forum last month. The partnership will now cover 60 per cent of the global GDP and 30 per cent of global methane emissions.

Oct 07, 2021

Climate Change Killing World's Coral Reefs

According to a report, the world's coral reefs are under attack by climate change and more will disappear if oceans keep warming.
The study by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), a U.N.-supported global data network, showed that 14% of the world's coral on reefs was already lost between 2009 and 2018, equal to about 11,700 square kilometres, an area 2.5 times the size of Grand Canyon National Park.
Corals face an existential crisis, as sea surface temperatures rise. The report spanned data for 40 years, 73 countries and 12,000 sites. Sharp spikes in warming are particularly damaging, a phenomenon is linked to human-caused climate change.
The study looked at 10 coral reef-bearing regions around the world and found that loss was mainly attributed to coral bleaching, which happens when corals, under stress from warmer water, expel the colorful algae living in their tissues, making them turn white.

Oct 06, 2021

Himachal Pradesh Becomes 1st State to Begin Organised Cultivation of Dalchini

The CSIR's Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT) has introduced cinnamon cultivation in Himachal Pradesh on a pilot basis. True cinnamon or Cinnamomum verum is grown mainly in Sri Lanka, while minor producing countries include Seychelles, Madagascar, and India.
India imports 45,318 tonnes of cinnamon annually from China, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Indonesia and Nepal. With the cultivation of cinnamomum verum, HP has become the first state of India to have organised cultivation of cinnamon.

South Pole Records Coldest Winter on Record

The South Pole just had its coldest winter on record.
Between April and September, a research station sitting on a high plateau in Antarctica, registered an average temperature of minus 78 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 61 degrees Celsius). That's the coldest temperature recorded since record keeping began in 1957, and about 4.5 F (2.5 C) lower than the most recent 30-year average.
The previous record for the coldest winter was minus 77 F (minus 60.6 C) in 1976.

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