General Awareness

ENVIRONMENT - December 2020

Dec 2020

Jan 21, 2022

Explorers Discover Giant Pristine Coral Reef

Marine explorers discovered a pristine 3 km coral reef at depths of 30 m off the coast of Tahiti, French Polynesia.
It is one of the largest discovered at that depth, said the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which led the mission.
The reef was found during a diving expedition to a depth known as the ocean's "twilight zone" - part of a global seabed-mapping mission.
Coral reefs are among the ocean's most threatened ecosystems - vulnerable to pollution, rising sea temperatures and the change in chemistry caused by carbon-dioxide emissions dissolving in the water.

Jan 18, 2022

India's First Weather Hazard Atlas

The Sunderbans in West Bengal, neighbouring districts of Odisha, and Ramanathapuram, Pudukkottai and Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu are the most vulnerable to high storm surges of as much as 8.5 to 13.7 metres that are induced by cyclones, according to the Climate Hazards and Vulnerability Atlas of India released by the ministry of earth sciences.
Prakasam, Guntur and Krishna districts of Andhra Pradesh, and Kachchh and Bhavnagar in Gujarat, besides all coastal regions of the west coast are also vulnerable to storm surges, but to a lesser degree of 4 to 6 metres.
The atlas is expected to mitigate the effects of 13 most hazardous meteorological events – cold wave, heat wave, thunderstorms, flood, drought, fog, wind hazard, dust storm, snowfall, hail storm, lightning, extreme rainfall and cyclone – that can cause extensive damage. There are 640 climate vulnerability maps in the atlas.

Jan 17, 2022

Kumbhalgarh, Todgarh Sanctuaries Unsuitable for Viable Tiger Populations

A National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) report ruled out the possibility of declaring Rajasthan's Kumbhalgarh and Todgarh wildlife sanctuaries as tiger reserves to decongest the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve saying their landscape is unsuitable to hold viable big cat population.
In the report, retired Indian Forest Service officers R.N. Mehrotra and N.K. Vasu, NTCA Tiger Cell scientist Kausik Banerjee, and additional inspector general, (NTCA) Hemant Kamdi pointed out that the length of the proposed tiger reserve is about 200-220 km. It added its width varies between 3 to 15 km (average width 6.5 km), which would make it difficult to confine tigers and other wildlife within the boundary of the proposed reserve.

Jan 16, 2022

2021 was Fifth Warmest in India Since 1901: IMD

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), 2021 was the fifth warmest year in India since 1901 with the country recording its annual mean air temperature at 0.44 degree Celsius above normal.
2021 was the fifth warmest year after 2016, 2009, 2017 and 2010 since 1901," the IMD's annual climate statement, 2021, stated.
The warm temperature during winter and post-monsoon season mainly contributed to this. The 2021 annual rainfall over the country as a whole was 105 per cent of its LPA based on the 1961-2010 period.

Jan 14, 2022

India's Forest, Tree Cover Rose by 2,261 sq km in Last 2 Years

According to the India State of Forest Report-2021, forest and tree cover in the country had increased by 2,261 square kilometres since the last assessment in 2019.
Releasing the report, Environment and Forest Minister Bhupender Yadav said the total forest and tree cover was 80.9 million hectares, which accounted for 24.62% of the geographical area of the country. The report said 17 States and Union Territories had more than 33% of their area under forest cover. Mr. Yadav said the Narendra Modi government's focus was to enrich the forests qualitatively.
Increase in forest cover was observed in open forest followed by very dense forest. Top three states showing increase in forest cover are Andhra Pradesh (647 sq km) followed by Telangana (632 sq km) and Odisha (537 sq km).

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