General Awareness

ENVIRONMENT - January 2023

Jan 2023

Jan 11, 2023

Delhi most Polluted City of Country in 2022

Delhi continued to be the top polluted city in the country in 2022 with an annual average of PM 2.5 concentration 99.7 micrograms per cubic metre (ug/m3) of air, much above the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) standard of 40 ug/m3 of air, an analysis of CPCB air quality data by the NCAP (National Clean Air Programme) tracker has shown. The analysis has however revealed that PM 2.5 levels in the city has shown a 7% improvement from 108 ug/m3 in 2019.
The analysis, which was to mark four years of the launch of the NCAP by the Centre, has found that some of the top polluted non-attainment cities in 2019 have marginally improved their PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels but continue to breach CPCB's standards.

Jan 10, 2023

Ozone Layer Slowly Healing, Hole to Mend by 2066: United Nations Report

According to a new United Nations report, the Earth's protective ozone layer is slowly but noticeably healing at a pace that would fully mend the hole over Antarctica in about 43 years.
A once-every-four-years scientific assessment found recovery in progress, more than 35 years after every nation in the world agreed to stop producing chemicals that chomp on the layer of ozone in Earth's atmosphere that shields the planet from harmful radiation linked to skin cancer, cataracts and crop damage.

Jan 09, 2023

Silent Valley Bird Species Goes up to 175

A bird survey conducted at the Silent Valley National Park, Kerala, in the last week of December 2022, identified 141 species, of which 17 were new. So far, 175 species of birds have been spotted in Silent Valley.
The survey held in December 2022 marked the 30th anniversary of the first bird survey in the Silent Valley. Although the first survey was held in the last week of December 1990, the anniversary could not be celebrated in 2020 December because of COVID-19 restrictions.
As many as 30 birders and forest staff took part in the bird survey by staying in seven camps inside the core area of the Silent Valley. Wildlife Warden S. Vinod said that another bird survey would soon be held in the buffer zone of the national park.
The survey was held in association with the Kerala Natural History Society.

UK Records 2022 as Warmest Year Ever

The year 2022 was the warmest year on record for the United Kingdom. Official figures released by country's weather agency showed the latest evidence that climate change is transforming Europe's weather. Across twelve months, the mean temperature in the country was 10.03 degrees Celsius, the highest since comparable records began in 1884. The previous record was 9.88 degrees Celsius set in 2014. With this, UK's 15 of top 20 warmest years on record have all occurred in this century. The top 10 were witnessed within the past two decades alone.
Britain is not alone. France's average temperature was above 14 degrees Celsius in 2022, making it the hottest year since weather readings began in 1900. Switzerland's meteorological service said, the alpine nation's annual average temperature of 7.4 degrees Celsius was by far the highest value since measurements began in 1864.

Jan 08, 2023

Endangered Asian Elephant has Lost most of Its Optimal Habitat in Nilgiri Reserve

A study published in the journal Conservation found that human settlements in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR) in India are causing a decline in the population of endangered Asian elephants.
The research, conducted by a team of ecologists and conservationists, found that when barriers are erected in hilly areas, gene flow between elephant populations is reduced, leading to inbreeding, low genetic diversity, and increased risk of extinction.
The Western Ghats mountain range, which includes the NBR, is home to around 6,000 wild elephants, the largest remaining population in the region. However, the Palghat Gap, a relatively flat area that has been transformed by agriculture, has been cut off from the rest of the Ghats by human settlements and crop cultivation.
This has confined the elephants to hilly areas with suboptimal habitats and increased their risk of injury or death due to the dangerous terrain.

Jan 05, 2023

China Becomes First Country in Asia to Launch Hydrogen Powered Train

China's CRRC Corporation Ltd. launched a hydrogen urban train, and it is the first in Asia and the second such train in the world. Germany introduced green trains a few months back. The hydrogen trains have a speed of 160 km per hour and the operational range without refuelling is 600 km.
The trains launched by Germany have a record of 1175 km range set. The Indian Railway on the other hand is moving fast to induct the 'World's Greenest Train' soon.
India will get its first-ever Indigenous Hydrogen trains by December 2023. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav informed that Indian Railways is working on new environment-friendly trains and the engineers are designing them.

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