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CSIR Develops Green Crackers
CSIR Develops Green Crackers
Health and Family Welfare Minister Harsh Vardhan displayed some of the popular
products like flower pots, pencils, chakkar and sparklers, developed by CSIR, at a press
conference in New Delhi.
He announced that the products developed by CSIR are available in the market for
consumers and for the sellers.
The Minister said that nearly 230 MoUs and 165 Non-disclosure Agreements (NDAs)
have been signed with the manufacturers of fireworks.
The new formulations for green crackers were based on the suggestions made by the
Supreme Court.
The price of the new products is either less or equal to their market value.
CSIR has developed new formulations for reduced emission light and sound emitting
crackers with a 30 per cent reduction in particulate matter using Potassium Nitrate as an
oxidant.
The eye of Typhoon Hagibis made landfall shortly before 19:00 local time in Izu
Peninsula, southwest of Tokyo.
One man was killed in Chiba, east of Tokyo, when high winds flipped his car. More than
seven million people have been urged to leave their homes amid severe flood and
landslide warnings.
Train services have been halted, and more than a thousand flights grounded. Two Rugby
World Cup games scheduled for Saturday have been cancelled.
Japan's Meteorological Agency has warned half a metre of rain could fall on the Tokyo
area between midday on Saturday and Sunday.
It could be the strongest storm the country has faced since Kanogawa Typhoon in 1958,
which left more than 1,200 people dead or missing.
The species has been named ‘Thackeray’s cat snake’, (scientific name Boiga thackerayi),
after Tejas Thackeray. The snake feeds exclusively on tree frogs and their eggs.
The IPCC authors and scientists are working to deliver the most relevant and up-to-date
research on climate change mitigation.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
More than 200 experts/authors including 12 from India and others from around 65
countries are expected to participate in this week-long meeting at New Delhi.
The Building on previous Working Group III assessments, this report will emphasize what
can be done in the near term to mitigate climate change, and how mitigation actions can be
enabled through policy, institution-building and finance.
Typhoon Mitag brought strong winds and heavy rainfall to the southern part of the country
during the last two days.
The storm knocked out power to 48,670 homes and flooded hundreds of homes and other
buildings.
The contents of the crates, destined for Malaysia, were misdeclared, a statement said on 03
October, 2019.
When the shipment was inspected, 12 boxes of lion bones wrapped in aluminium foil and
weighing 342 kg were discovered.
Surging water of the river is spreading in low lying areas of Patna, Jehanabad and Arwal
districts.
People living in low lying areas are being shifted to safer places.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
Indian Railways installs first PET bottle crusher machine in Mumbai Rajdhani
Express
The Western Railway has installed a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle crushing
machine in Mumbai Rajdhani Express for the first time ever.
The PET bottle crusher machine was installed in the train under the Indian Railways'
Swachh Bharat and Go Green missions.
The move also ties in with an impending ban of single-use plastic by the Centre.
BACKGROUND:
The installation of the PET bottle crusher is expected to reduce carbon footprints by 100%
recycling.
To create awareness to the people about the ban on single-use plastic, the Western
Railways has put up selfie points at Churchgate and Andheri stations.
Under the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP), NIDM undertook the
study for developing a scientific tool on Post Disaster Needs Assessment.
BACKGROUND:
The PDNA workshop aims to disseminate the outcome documents of the study to all the
relevant stakeholders.
By doing so, the same outcome documents can be utilized as a reference document while
preparing the memorandum for submission to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the
post-disaster phase.
The workshop also discussed various issues and challenges that are faced by States in
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
assessment of damage and loss along with the capacity gap for undertaking such detailed
exercise.
The two other gold awards were for an advertisement campaign of Kerala Tourism Come
Out and Play and for its website (www.keralatourism.org) respectively.
The ad campaign was run by Stark Communication, the Kerala Tourism website has been
designed and maintained by Invis Multimedia.
The Responsible Tourism Mission (RTM) become the mainstay of our tourism policy and
initiatives. Out of the 15,500 RTM initiatives, 13,500 units are led by women.
The PATA awards have emerged as a prestigious recognition of achievements in the travel
and tourism sector.
The three gold awards are yet another acknowledgement of our commendable success. It
will give a fillip to the destination pull of Kerala and elevate the state into a coveted
destination for the inbound tourism market.
Report says period from 2015 to 2019 is the hottest since 1850
A report by the world’s leading climate agencies said that the period from 2015 to 2019 is
likely to be the hottest five-year period on record since 1850. The report was released
ahead of the United Nations Climate Action Summit which is to be held in New York.
The report pointed out that the gaps between agreed targets to combat global warming and
the ground reality.
BACKGROUND:
The report said that the greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere have risen to
record levels. This will cause locking in the warming trend for decades to come.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
It also said that the global average temperature increased 1.1°C since 1850–1900, the pre-
industrial period, and by 0.2°C compared to 2011-2015.
Carbon dioxide reached a record high of 37 billion tonnes of concentration and grew to
2% in 2018.
The announcement is a part of its commitment to offset carbon emissions from travel to
next year's Euro 2020.
In all the 12 host countries, UEFA will plant 50,000 trees for the Euro 2020 tournament.
Sri Lanka: 80,000 persons affected due to inclement weather in southern part of
island
In Sri Lanka, over 80 thousand persons from more than 20 thousand families have been
affected due to inclement weather in southern part of the island for past few days.
Hundreds of people have been forced to take shelter in relief camps as several houses got
damaged due to incessant rains in Galle, Matara, Hambantota, Kalutara, Colombo,
Gampaha, Kandy and Kegalle districts.
Schools and colleges in worst affected Galle and Matara districts have been closed in
wake of the precarious conditions.
All the police stations island-wide have been directed to act immediately on an emergency
situation.
President Matihripala Sirisena instructed officials to take swift measures and to obtain the
assistance of the armed forces in relief operations as well as in evacuations in flood-prone
areas.
Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said water levels in several rivers are on the rise.
According to the US Geological Survey, the epicentre of the powerful 5.8 magnitude
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
earthquake, which occurred last afternoon was near Mirpur city roughly 20 kilometres
north of Jhelum in Punjab.
The number of casualties was likely to increase as around 100 of the injured were
admitted to different hospitals in a critical condition.
They will eliminate about 200 million tiny bottles each year by 2021.
Marriott more than 7,000 hotels in 131 countries under 30 brands, ranging from SpringHill
Suites and Residence Inn to Sheraton and Ritz-Carlton. It says it will be eliminating about
500 million small bottles each year, or 1.7 million pounds of plastic.
Maryland-based Marriott started replacing small bottles early last year at some North
American brands, including Courtyard and Fairfield hotels. About 1,000 of those now
feature larger bottles or pump dispensers that are hooked to the shower wall.
The larger bottles will still be plastic, and Marriott still plans to replace them - not just
refill them - when they run low. But Naguib said the larger bottles are easier to recycle
than smaller ones.
Plastic pollution is an urgent global crisis and the time is now to think reusable instead of
disposable.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
The lawmakers in California are considering banning hotels from using small shampoo
bottles in 2023, while the European Union is banning a wide range of single-use plastic
items, like cutlery and plates, by 2021.
The Marriott last year (2018) when it banned plastic straws and stirrers. Many people like
collecting hotel shampoo bottles.
The energy 175 GW of clean energy production in the country, out of which 100 GW
would be through solar and rest through other sources.
The country has set a target of reducing the emission of greenhouse gases between 33
percent and 35 percent to combat climate change and global warming.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
The Ayushman Bharat holds the Health portfolio around 50 lakh people have availed
themselves of benefits under it over the past year, and the government has spent Rs 7,500
crore.
This synergy would help achieve the Prime Minister's vision of making the country among
top scientific nations by 2030.
The EU's Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) currently well under half
the area usually seen in mid-September. The UK is projecting stable levels of ozone or a
modest increase in the coming days.
China confirmed as source of rise in CFCs Ozone: The Earth's protective shield is
repairing.
The 74-year-old museum specimen can possibly be the world's biggest amphibian. The
specimens were collected in the 1920s.
The researchers found three distinct genetic lineages in salamanders from China. The
species are Andrias davidianus, Andrias sligoi, and a third species which has yet to be
named. Andrias davidianus was earlier considered as a single species.
BACKGROUND:
o The suspected world's biggest amphibian species has been named Andrias sligoi,
or the South China giant salamander.
o It is suspected that it is the largest amphibian among the 8,000 amphibians that
are alive today.
o The idea about the species was first proposed in the 1920s based on an unusual
salamander from southern China that lived at the time at London Zoo. This species
can reach nearly two metres.
This solar park is expected to be the biggest in the country. The move of the company is
toward cleaner energy.
NTPC has located a spot in Gujarat for the project. The estimated cost for the project is
Rs.250 billion.
The project will begin in the year 2024. It is also expected that the company might invite
bids from developers to set up projects in the park.
As a part of its pledge, the company has partnered with American startup Rivian and
ordered 1 lakh electric vans (EVs) for deliveries starting 2021.
BACKGROUND:
o Amazon will have 10,000 new EVs on the road as early as 2022 and all 100,000
vehicles on the road by 2030.
o The company expects that this induction of EVs will help in saving 4 Mn metric
tons of carbon per year by 2030.
The central government will prepare a master plan for tigers at high altitudes.
The report, prepared by the Global Tiger Forum (GTF), provides the action strategy for a
high altitude tiger master plan.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
The decision was taken at a meeting held by Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister
Ram Vilas Paswan.
Cloth or jute bags, locally tailored and produced, can be a viable alternative.
Cryodrakon boreas, which means frozen dragon of the north wind, flew over North
America 77 million years ago. The plane-sized reptile had a wingspan of 32.8 feet and it
weighed 250 kilograms, researchers said in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
The fossils of Cryodrakon were initially found 3 decades ago in Dinosaur Provincial Park,
located in Alberta, Canada. However, scientists thought that the fossil belonged to
Quetzalcoatlus.
The fossils found include legs, neck, a rib and part of the wings. The remains were of a
juvenile whose wingspan was about 16.4 feet. However, the palaeontologists studied the
giant neck bone of an adult to estimate that the wingspan of a fully grown Cryodrakon
would be about 32.8 feet. Cryodrakon belonged to the azhdarchids family of pterosaurs
which is known for having long necks.
Cryodrakon was a carnivore and ate lizards, small mammals and even baby dinosaurs.
Even though the reptile had a wing capacity to cross oceans, the fossil records show that
they stayed close to the inland.
Fragmentary remains of more than 100 known species of pterosaurs have been found
across North and South America, Asia, Africa and Europe.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message on Independence Day, the Union
government is working on a multi-ministerial plan to discourage the use of single use
plastics across the country, likely to kick off on October 2, Gandhi Jayanti.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
A presentation for the same has been prepared and circulated across the Ministries.
The nodal Ministry for the scheme would be the Ministry of Environment, Forests and
Climate Change, which has been asked not just to ensure and enforce the ban on single use
plastics but also finalise the pending policy for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR),
especially on milk packets.
The Department of Industrial Promotion is to ensure that all cement factories use plastic as
fuel, while the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has been asked to ensure that
not only is plastic waste collected and transported responsibly along National Highways
but also all collected plastic waste is used for road construction.
According to studies quoted by officials, roads constructed using water plastic are durable
against extreme weather conditions and are also cost-effective.
Strong winds and rain caused power failures in some 17,000 homes in the southern resort
island of Jeju and southern mainland regions.
Storms have also toppled trees and streetlamps and damaged traffic signs in Jeju, caused
airports to cancel 89 flights and forced 38 people to evacuate from their flooded homes in
a city near capital Seoul.
The storm’s winds rose to a howling 130 mph (215 kph) as Dorian gained new strength
while crossing warm Atlantic waters.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
The hurricane could wallop the state with even higher winds and torrential rains late
Monday or early Tuesday, with millions of people in the crosshairs, along with Walt
Disney World and President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
Though Dorian is growing in intensity, some of the more reliable computer models
predicted a late turn northward that would have Dorian hug the coast.
According to the IMD, rains across different places in the state will continue for the next
24 hours.
Naina Devi recorded the highest rainfall at 360 mm and Shimla recorded 153 mm of
rainfall.
President Ram Nath Kovind launches plantation drive as part of Van Mahotsav
celebrations
President Ram Nath Kovind on 20 August, 2019 planted a sapling of Maulsari in the
Rashtrapati Bhavan Estate and launched a plantation drive as part of Van Mahotsav
celebrations.
On the occasion, the President met students and urged them to encourage fellow citizens
to plant more trees and reaffirm the commitment to a greener and sustainable planet.
Over the next few weeks, the President's Secretariat will be planting over three thousand
trees and around three thousand shrubs.
The President’s Estate spread over 330 acres of harbours rich biodiversity.
Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar took a conscious decision to relax the condition
of charging the lease rent in this regard during a review meeting.
The step will boost the investment in wind power projects and will help in providing wind
power at a cheaper rate.
Currently, to establish wind power project over forest land, the existing procedure requires
payment of mandatory charges for compensatory afforestation and Net Present value.
In addition to mandatory charges, the wind power companies had to pay additional lease
rent of 30 thousand per Mega Watt and this additional cost is not mandatory for other
renewable energy projects such as solar power and hydel electric projects.
Currently India has overachieved the target and is well on track to ensure that more than
50 per cent of installed capacity come from renewable sources by 2030.
Five Thousand five hundred and Ninety five electric buses sanctioned under
FAME scheme
The buses are sanctioned to 64 cities in 22 states and union territories for intracity and
intercity operations in order to push for clean mobility in public transportation.
The buses are expected to run about 4 billion km are expected to save cumulatively about
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
The Phase-II of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles
(FAME-India) Scheme proposes to give a push to electric vehicles (EVs) in public
transport and seeks to encourage adoption of EVs by way of market creation and demand
aggregation.
The draft Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) is part of a World
Bank-funded project.
The Rajasthan government on 9 August 2019 released biofuel rules-2019 on the eve of the
World Biofuel Day.
Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot said Rajasthan is the first state in the country to bring
the policy for biofuel after the notification of the Centre.
Promotion of biofuel will reduce the need for fossil fuel in the interest of the environment,
and also generate employment.
The fossils are estimated to have weighed about 7kg; it would have been more than twice
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
Palaeontologists have named the new species Heracles inexpectatus to reflect its unusual
size and strength and the unexpected nature of the discovery.
The 1970s-era Act is credited with bringing back from the brink of extinction species such
as bald eagles, gray whales and grizzly bears, but the law has long been a source of
frustration for drilling and mining companies, and other industries because new listings
can put vast areas of land off-limits to development.
The weakening of the Act's protections is one of many moves by U.S. President Donald
Trump, a Republican, to roll back existing regulations to hasten oil, gas and coal
production, as well as grazing, ranching and logging on federal land.
There is no immediate report of any casualty or damage to the property as a result of the
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
Iran's Red Crescent Society has dispatched teams of evaluators to the region.
Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is regularly hit by quakes.
Taiwan's worst tremor in recent decades was a 7.6-magnitude quake in September 1999
that killed around 2,400 people.
Based on 30 years (1970s and 2000s) of data and ecosystem modelling, researchers have
found that there has been up to 23% increase in methylmercury concentration in Atlantic
cod fish in the Gulf of Maine in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean.
The increase in the methylmercury concentration in cod fish has been due to changes in
diet caused by overfishing. As a result of diet change, cod fish in the 2000s relied more on
larger herring and lobster, which have higher concentrations of the toxin than other prey
fish consumed in the 1970s.
The National Meteorological Center said the typhoon, the strongest since 2014, was
expected to hit the mainland in the early hours of Saturday and then turn north.
It has issued gale warnings for the Yangtze river delta region, which includes Shanghai.
Taiwan has already cancelled flights and ordered markets and schools to close on Friday
as the typhoon heads northwest.
Flights to and from Taiwan have been cancelled and cruise liners have been asked to delay
their arrival in Shanghai. Some trains from Shanghai have also suspended ticket sales over
the weekend.
Heavy rain and level-10 gales are expected to hit Shanghai on Friday and continue until
Sunday, with 16,000 suburban residents set to be evacuated.
More than 22 crore saplings were planted at 12.2 lakh locations under the drive in state.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that the state would plant 25 crore trees next year
(2020).
That State created four records on 09 August, 2019 under the massive plantation drive.
Free distribution of saplings in Prayagraj district created a world record after it was
certified by the Guinness as the largest distribution of saplings in the world.
Apart from planting 22 crore 59 lakh, 81 thousand 116 trees in a single day, 5 crore trees
were planted at the same time at different locations in the first hour of campaign from 9 to
10 am and 1.1 lakh trees were planted in Kasganj in the presence of governor Anandiben
Patel.
Chief Minister inaugurated the plantation drive by planting banyan three at Jaitikheda in
Sarojininagar, Lucknow.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
In every district, Gandhi Udyan, a garden named after Mahatama Gandhi, would also be
planted with trees that found mention in the literature related to him.
The storm is not expected to make landfall but parts of Hawaii could see increased wind
gusts and rain as Erick slides just south of the Big Island on Thursday.
According to a forecast from the National Weather Service released on 29 July, 2019,
Hurricane Erick could whip sea waters up to anywhere between 7 and 16 feet by 01
August, 2019 night.
Centre for Science and Environment along with its Green rating project, prepared the
report based on 42 parameters. There is a need to sensitise the industrial sector.
Government has prepared Clean Air Programme for 102 cities to protect 5
elements of nature: Javadekar
In the first 50 days of the government, all the farmers were made eligible for pensions and
minimum wage guarantee was given to them.
The plan for next five years for environment, he said, govt has prepared a Clean Air
Programme for 102 cities which is the birth right of all the citizens.
Along with these, a potential virus — Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) — that can be
transmitted from CDV-infected dogs living in and around wildlife sanctuaries has started
to raise concern among wildlife biologists.
Canine distemper is a contagious and serious disease caused by a virus that attacks the
respiratory, gastrointestinal and nervous systems of puppies and dogs.
Environment and energy ministers of the Group of 20 major economies met this weekend
in Karuizawa, northwest of Tokyo, ahead of the G20 summit in Osaka, western Japan, on
June 28-29.
One of the top issues was ocean plastic waste as images of plastic debris-strewn beaches
and dead animals with stomachs full of plastic have sparked outrage, with many countries
banning plastic bags outright.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has wants his country to lead the world in reducing
marine plastic trash, including developing biodegradables and other innovations.
The new framework is aimed at facilitating further concrete action on marine waste,
though on a voluntary basis, after the G20 Hamburg Summit in Germany adopted the
“G20 action plan on marine litter” in 2017.
The department has asked the fishermen to avoid entering the sea during this period.
Although the cyclone will not hit the state, it will influence the region and gusty winds are
likely to lash the region.
The Meteorological experts have predicted that monsoon will hit Mumbai along with the
Konkan region during this period.The country recently witnessed the destruction caused
by Cyclone Fani in states like Odisha and West Bengal.
It a global challenge to phase out the plastic bags, straws and cutlery clogging the world's
oceans.
Canada has a unique chance to lead the fight against plastic pollution as the country with
the world's longest coastlines. He said, less than 10 percent of plastics used in Canada are
currently recycled.
Each year a million birds and more than 100,000 marine mammals worldwide suffer
injury or death by becoming entangled in plastic or ingesting it through the food chain.
Single-use items represent some 70 percent of the plastic waste littering the marine
environment.
Canada, France, Germany, Britain and Italy, along with the European Union, subscribed at
last year's G7 summit in Quebec to a new charter against pollution in the world's oceans.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
The United States and Japan did not join the pact.
The non-binding Ocean Plastics Charter called on participating countries and the EU to
commit to making all plastics reusable, recyclable or recovered by 2030.
Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani inaugurated the museum that is set to give visitors a Jurassic
Park feel.
Located in Raiyoli area of Balasinor, the museum will have fossil records and remains of
various dinosaur species.
Mount Sinabung blew for nine minutes. It caused panic among the island’s residents. The
volcanic activity was accompanied by multiple earthquakes felt in nearby villages. No
casualties have been reported due to the eruption.
Indonesia has nearly 130 active volcanoes, more than any other country.
Sinabung was inactive for around 400 years before it erupted in 2010, 2014 and February
2018. Since then it has become one of south east Asian nation's most active volcanoes.
Ring of Fire: It an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
It is very likely to move northwards and cross Gujarat coast between Porbandar and
Mahuva as a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm with wind speed 145-155 kmph gusting to 170
kmph on13th June 2019.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
It is located on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania.
This is 2019's first eruption as the volcano on the island of Sicily as the Mount last erupted
on 24 December 2018.
The eruption did not affect the nearby residential areas or for flights at the closest airport
at Catania.
Researchers carried out experiments at extreme pressures and temperatures found 200 km
underground.
At 120-180 km depth, results showed salt balance similar to that found in natural
diamonds.
#SelfiewithSapling urging all to join and plant a sapling and post the selfie with the
sapling on social media.
Air pollution is the biggest environmental health risk of the current time.
After the extension, the civic body plans to introduce state-of-the-art facilities at par to the
zoos located abroad the expenditure for which, would be around Rs 500 crore.
Scientists identified plants like Gynura cusimbua, Hedyotis scandens, Mussaenda glabra
and Schima wallichii whose medicinal usage are reported for the first time.
They stick to the skin, paving the way for novel health trackers that could monitor a
variety of human activities.
It could monitor an array of human activities, including electro cardiogram signals, pulse
and speech patterns.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
The song was launched by Secretary, Ministry of Environment C K Mishra ahead of the
World Environment Day on 5th of June.
This is done in order to curb poaching and collect evidence for wildlife crimes including
Rhinos.
The objective of International Museum Day (IMD) is to raise awareness that, Museums
are an important means of cultural exchange.
The theme for International Museum Day (IMD) 2019 is Museums as Cultural Hubs: The
future of tradition.
Archaeopteryx, a small feathered dinosaur, was considered to be the oldest flying bird.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
Alcmonavis poeschli was the most bird-like bird discovered from the Jurassic.
The white-throated rail colonized the Aldabra Atoll in the Indian Ocean and evolved to
become flightless.
It was completely wiped out when the island disappeared below the sea around 136,000
years ago.
For the first time, researchers have sighted nests of the grizzled giant squirrel at
Pakkamalai Reserve Forests near Gingee in the Eastern Ghats.
The squirrel is an endangered species listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection
Act.
Owing to habitat loss and poaching, the species has been categorised as near threatened by
the Red List and listed under Schedule II of CITES.
The Sunderbans, a 10,000-km area of wet and marshy land sprawled across Bangladesh
and India, is among the world's richest mangrove forest reserves and supports species like
Bengal Tiger.
The air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 339 which falls in the 'very poor' category
AQI between 0-50 is considered 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300
'poor', 301-400 'very poor', and 401-500 'severe'.
The Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, which has tracked atmospheric CO2 levels since
the late 1950s, detected 415.26 parts per million (ppm).
It was also the first time on record that the observatory measured a daily baseline above
415 ppm.
All plastics are made up of large molecules called polymers, which are composed of
monomers.
This is being done to ensure utilization of treated waste to reduce pressure on the
groundwater resources throughout the country.
The states which have not submitted action plans include Gujarat, Assam, Bihar, and
Punjab.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
All EVs should use green number plates wherein the private electric vehicles will get
white lettering on a green background and commercial EVs will get yellow lettering.
The aim is to help distinguish green vehicles to provide easy identification for preferential
treatment.
Electro mobility refers to full and hybrid electric vehicles as well as that using hydrogen
fuel cell technology.
This move marks a serious emergency in dealing with climate change. The declaration
was preceded by a visit by teenage activist Greta Thunberg (to the Parliament), the feature
of David.
The tiger had been suffering from chronic ankylosis on left shoulder and chronic senile
generalized arthritis for the last four years. Bajirao was born at the Sanjay Gandhi
National Park in 2001.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the first major agreement
of the post-2015 development agenda. It is a 15-year, voluntary, non-binding agreement
which recognizes that the state has the primary role to reduce disaster risk.
UN agencies are monitoring Fani's movements closely and taking measures to protect
families living in refugee camps in Bangladesh, which is on.
It was the longest-staying system over Bay of Bengal in April, from 1901.
Cyclone Fani was one of the strongest since the Super cyclone 1999 and Cyclone Phailin
in 2013, killing at least 16 in India.
Known as the Global Assessment, the report found that up to 1 million of Earth’s
estimated eight million plants, insect and animal species are at risk of extinction within
decades.
Early this year, Ecube had announced a fundraiseof $1 billion jointly with Quantum
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
Advisors.
Mr. Badrinarayanan was till recently executive director and head of MSCI’s India
business and has more than 30 years of experience.
The Forum consisted of high-level discussions across several sessions covering topics
from India’s Nationally Determined Contributions.
Apollo Global, an alternate investment platform with $270 billion in assets under
management, is the joint venture partner of Olympia for this project.
It is distinguished by the green and brown plumage on its back, the diminutive Horsfield’s
Bronze Cuckoo (Chalcites basalis) is a native of Australia and New Guinea. The sighting
was the first recorded instance of the bird in India.
The study shows how Earth's temperature changes have increased inequalities. It showed
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
that growing concentrations of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere since the 1960s
have enriched cool countries like Norway and Sweden.
The project also involves installation of a captive power plant of 8.85 MW.
The project is expected to create jobs for 600 people directly and 120 indirectly.
The campaign seeks to bring back and safely dispose of a total of 10,000 kg of waste.
Cyclone hits Odisha coast near Puri with wind speed nearly 175 kmph
Cyclone Fani, a severe cyclonic storm, made landfall impact on Friday, May 3, 2019
around 8.00 a.m.
South of Puri on the Odisha coast. The entire process is expected to happen over the next
two hours.
The Odisha government on Thursday (02 May) evacuated over 11 lakh people from low-
lying areas in 15 districts.
The cyclone constitutes maximum sustained wind speed of 170-180 kmph gusting to 200
kmph and continued landfall.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
Extremely heavy rainfall (>20 cm) has been forecasted in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West
Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam & Meghalaya.
Storage during current year is less than storage of last year and is also less than average
storage of last ten years
37 Reservoirs out of these 91 have hydropower benefit with installed capacity of more
than 60 MW.
Published
On 22nd April 2009 the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring
22nd April as the 'International Mother Earth Day'.
It will mainly focus on saving species which are on the verge of extinction due to climate
change, deforestation, pollution and illegal poaching.
The Araguaian dolphins, also called botos, are hard to find and difficult to study.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
They identified 237 different types of sounds that the dolphins make.
The top three spots remained unchanged with the United States, United Kingdom and
Canada.
The cities with the most vibrant startup ecosystems in India are Bangalore, New Delhi,
and Mumbai.
Two other volcanoes popular with tourists Mount Bromo in East Java and Mount Merapi
inYogyakarta also continues to erupt.
Low-pressure system over South Bay of Bengal likely to turn into cyclonic storm:
IMD
Indian Meteorological Department in Chennai has issued a warning that a low-pressure
system over the south Bay of Bengal would turn into a cyclonic storm which has been
named Fani.
The system which is a low pressure now in the Indian Ocean adjoining the south-east Bay
of Bengal is expected to turn into a depression during the next 24 hours.
A weather warning has been issued to the fishermen to return to the coasts immediately as
the sea along the coasts of Tamil Nadu and South Andhra, are on the predicted areas.
The team used measurements of the 'skin' temperature of the Earth taken by a satellite-
based infrared measurement system called AIRS from 2003 to2017.
India has been experiencing weather and climate-related loss and damage, the Kerala
floods and Ockhi being the rarest of the rare events.
There are almost ten different individuals, it's a mass of bones, there's practically no
sediment.
This discovery is doubly important because there are at least seven or eight individuals of
dicynodonts, the ancestors of mammals, the size of an ox.
2.78 million Workers die from occupational accidents and work-related diseases each
year.
The report titled 'The Safety and Health at the Heart of the Future of Work -Building on
100 years of experience'.
The study, ‘Assessment of Water Quality and Sediment To Understand Special Properties
of River Ganga,’ began in 2016 and was conducted by the National Environmental
Engineering and Research Institute.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
The Global Coalition links action across the Kigali Amendment, Paris Agreement and
Sustainable Development Goals.
A village is given the carbon-positive tag if it sequesters more carbon than it emits,
slowing the accumulation of greenhouse gases and mitigating the effects of climate
change.
As part of the carbon-positive village project, Phayeng will receive a grant of Rs.10 crore
in phases to facilitate Afforestation.
The weather department forecast thunderstorm with hail in isolated places of mid hills,
including Shimla, Mandi, Kullu, Chamba, Solan, and Sirmaur.
Yellow is the least dangerous of the weather warnings - it indicates the possibility of
severe weather over the next few days that could affect people.
The study was conducted by Germany-based Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), Helmholtz
Centre for Polar and Marine Research.
The faltering of Transpolar Drift could lead to weather implications across countries,
including India.
National Green Tribunal (NGT) forms committee to look into Yamuna floodplain
erosion in Sonipat
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on 08 April 2019 formed a committee to look into the
alleged erosion of Yamuna floodplain due to movement of heavy vehicles in Haryana's
Sonipat district.
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel constituted a committee
comprising the principal secretary of the Haryana Irrigation and Water Resources
Department, member secretary of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board and the
director of the Mines and Geology Department.
The nodal agency for coordination and compliance will be the principal secretary of the
Haryana Irrigation and Water Resources Department.
The tribunal said the committee would submit a joint report within one month by e-mail
so that matter can be taken up before the monsoon. The next hearing in the matter is due
on May 24.
A strong 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Ecuador on 31 March 2019.
According to the US Geological Survey there were no immediate reports of damage or
tsunami warning.
The quake occurred at a depth of 18.5 kilometers in the Pacific Ocean west of Guayaquil
and 27 kilometers north of Santa Elena.
electrical works, plastic plates, shopping bags, tangled fishing lines and a washing
detergent package with the brand and bar code still legible.
The garbage recovered in the sperm whale’s stomach included a corrugated tube for
electrical works, plastic plates, shopping bags, tangled fishing lines and a washing
detergent package with the brand and bar code still legible.
An 8-meter (26-foot) sperm whale was found dead off Sardinia with 22 kilograms (48.5
pounds) of plastic in its belly, prompting the World Wildlife Foundation to sound an
alarm Monday over the dangers of plastic waste in the Mediterranean Sea.
The environmental group said the garbage recovered from the sperm whale’s stomach
included a corrugated tube for electrical works, plastic plates, shopping bags, tangled
fishing lines and a washing detergent package with its bar code still legible.
The female whale beached off the northern coast of Sardinia last week, within the vast
Pelagos marine sanctuary that was created as a haven for dolphins, whales and other sea
life.
The exam also determined that the whale was carrying a fetus that had died and was in an
advance state of decomposition. Experts said the mother whale had been unable to digest
calamari due to the huge amount of plastic it had ingested, filling two-thirds of its
stomach.
WWF said plastic is one of the greatest threats to marine life and has killed at least five
other whales that had ingested large amounts of it over the last two years from Europe to
Asia.
Another sperm whale died off the Italian island of Ischia, near Naples, last December
(2018) with plastic bags and a thick nylon thread in its stomach, but plastic was not the
cause of death.
The World Wildlife Foundation said between 150,000 and 500,000 tons of plastic objects
and 70,000 to 130,000 tons of micro-plastics wind up in Europe’s seas each year.
To combat the phenomenon, the European Parliament last week approved a new law
banning a wide range of single-use plastic products, including plates and straws, starting
in 2021.
Italy’s environment minister, Sergio Costa, lamented the whale’s death and said he
planned to propose a new law this week to limit the use of plastics.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
The law will permit fishermen to bring plastics recovered at sea to land for proper
disposal, which they currently are barred from doing. Costa also pledged Italy would be
one of the first countries to enact the European single-use plastics ban and appealed to the
mayors of Italian cities and coastal towns to adopt the ordinances in advance of the 2021
law.
The institute’s State of Global Air Report 2019, released on 03 April 2019, said that
overall long-term exposure to outdoor and indoor air pollution contributed to nearly 5
million deaths across the world from stroke, diabetes, heart attack, lung cancer, and
chronic lung disease in 2017.
This means that air pollution contributed to nearly one in every 10 deaths in 2017, making
it a bigger killer than malaria, malnutrition, and road accidents.
The report said that out of the 5 million, 3 million deaths are directly attributed to PM2.5,
half of which is from India and China together.
The analysis found that China and India together were responsible for over half of the total
global attributable deaths, with each country facing over 1.2 million deaths from all air
pollution in 2017.
The corals off Lord Howe Island — some 600 km offshore from Sydney — were affected
by elevated temperatures this summer, despite escaping severe bleaching that damaged the
Great Barrier Reef in 2016 and 2017.
It’s a canary in the coal mine that bleaching at this very isolated southernmost reef. It’s
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
just another indicator that climate change is affecting everywhere around the world. Here
is a reef that is 600 km from the mainland and we are seeing bleaching there in a lovely,
beautiful ecosystem.
Shallow lagoons
Australian universities and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
found severe bleaching of up to 90% at Lord Howe’s inshore, shallow lagoon reefs.
Deeper-water corals in the marine park, which contains species not found anywhere else
and like the Barrier Reef is a World Heritage site, were still “looking quite healthy”
having mostly escaped the bleaching.
Increasing baseline temperatures caused by climate change, and local factors such as
elevated temperatures in the area this summer, caused the bleaching to occur.
The scientists are set to return to Lord Howe in the next few months to find out if some
corals have been so severely bleached they can’t recover.
This is the first early forecast for the 2019 season. The India Met Department (IMD) is
expected to come out with its own forecast by mid-April.
But the scenario changed completely in February, with moderate El Nino conditions
emerging over the Pacific Ocean.
The Pacific is now strongly warmer than average. Model projections indicate 80 per cent
chance of El Nino conditions during March-May, dropping to 60 per cent for June-August.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
It is going to be a devolving El Nino year, though retaining threshold values all through
the season.
The onset month of June may prove to be sluggish and the resultant rain deficit may spill
into July.
The second half of the season would, however, see better rainfall.
Every winter, thousands of them come ashore to lay their eggs. The coast of Odisha still
remains a site of mass nesting, places like Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram
in Andhra Pradesh are also seeing an increase in the number of nests Divisonal Forest
Officer.
This year in Visakhapatnam over 80,000 eggs where collected of which 10,000 hatchlings
have been released so far.
The turtles that predominately come to Visakhapatnam from the Mexican coast, mate at
sea and then come ashore to lay clusters of eggs on the beaches.
Females dig holes in the sand to lay the eggs, cover them and return to the sea. The eggs
hatch in a span of 45 to 60 days depending upon the temperature.
Tiny turtle hatchlings make their way from the nest to the sea, using the light from the
horizon as their guide.
However, due to rapid urbanization of coastal areas, lights from hotels and buildings near
the coast confuse the hatchlings and they go astray. That is why releasing the hatchlings
has become an important part of the conservation process.
In an attempt to conserve the eggs, and prevent the death of hatchlings due to human
interference and stray dog menace, the Forest Department built hatcheries.
National Thermal Power Corporation Limited Simhadri as a part its CSR activity is
funding the Forest Department for the turtle conservation project that was launched in the
fiscal year 2015/2016. Rs.4.6 crore was granted for this.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
NTPC has so far released Rs.4 crore in four installments and the remaining Rs.60 lakh
will be released shortly.
Mass nesting has already occurred at the Gahirmatha coast of the State. Wildlife Institute
of India’s (WII) scientist Bivash Pandav said it could not be said for sure whether mass
nesting would occur or not at the Rushikulya rookery this year.
He has studied mass nesting along the Odisha coast over the past decades, mass nesting of
Olive Ridleys can occur up to any time till the end of April. Till now, lakhs of
impregnated female Olive Ridleys are continuing to congregate in the sea near the
Rushikulya rookery, but they aren’t approaching the beach for mass nesting. “Sporadic
nesting is continuing at this coast since February. Till now, over 1,000 mother turtles have
nested at the Rushikulya rookery.”
“Although it is held that climatic parameters as well as beach conditions decide mass
nesting at a coast, we are still not sure how these parameters affect their decision-making,”
The Forest Department has readied six artificial hatcheries to incubate eggs resulting from
sporadic nesting.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
The beach has been cleaned up. A metal net fences a stretch of over five kilometers from
Gokharkuda to Prayagi — this fencing is expected to protect Olive Ridleys and their eggs
from predators and human intervention. CCTV cameras continue to keep a watch on the
nesting beach.
This year, the Forest Department also prepared a three-km-long coast near the Bahuda
river mouth, from Sunapur to Anantpur, as an alternative mass nesting site, about 20 km to
the south of Rushikulya. However, except for few occurrences of sporadic nesting, mass
nesting has yet not occurred at this new beach.
IEA report shows China, U.S. & India together accounted for nearly 70% of the
rise in energy demand
India emitted 2,299 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2018, a 4.8% rise from last year,
according to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
India’s emissions growth this year was higher than that of the United States and China —
the two biggest emitters in the world and this was primarily due to a rise in coal
consumption. China, the United States, and India together accounted for nearly 70% of the
rise in energy demand.
India’s per capita emissions were about 40% of the global average and contributed 7% to
the global carbon dioxide burden. The United States, the largest emitter, was responsible
for 14%.
half of the growth in energy needs. Energy efficiency saw lacklustre improvement.
As a result of higher energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions rose 1.7% last year
and hit a new record, the authors of the report said in a press statement.
The United States had the largest increase in oil and gas demand worldwide.
Gas consumption jumped 10% from the previous year, the fastest increase since the
beginning of IEA records in 1971.
It will cost at least $2.5trillion (?150 trillion approx.) to implement its climate pledge,
around 71% of the combined required spending for all developing country pledges.
Recently, there was an order from the National Green Tribunal against the fish, since it is
an exotic species and it can compromise our genetic pool.
A former official of the Fisheries Department explained that since the African catfish grew
to good sizes when compared to their smaller indigenous counterparts, farmers found it
more lucrative and hence reared them on the sly.
Best way to face climate change is to be friendly with nature – Vice President
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that the climate change is the most common
challenge faced by the world today and the best way to face climate change is to be
friendly with nature and live in harmony with it.
Mr. Naidu said, as People brace themselves to cope with the challenges of climate change,
everyone have to marshal all the intelligence, knowledge, science and understanding of
nature to do that.
He said that the shared mobility systems, electric vehicles, bicycles and connected
vehicles are beginning to occupy center stage in the global mobility systems. These are
welcome changes and it will have an impact of reducing traffic congestion, cleaning up
the air and reducing the need for parking space.
The Vice President said that the air quality has been a matter of concern and every winter
many parts of the country face ambient air quality that is extremely poor. There is need to
systematically identify the sources of the problem and deal with them, otherwise it will
adversely impact the health and well-being of city residents, especially the children.
This tiger does not have stripes. But the hump-backed Mahseer—a large freshwater fish
also called the tiger of the water and found only in the Cauvery river basin (including
Kerala’s Pambar, Kabini and Bhavani rivers)—is now “Critically Endangered”: more
threatened than the tiger is, as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s
Red List of Threatened Species.
The fish is one of the 229 species added to the Red List last November; this update also
reveals that the threat status of 12 other Indian species, including great hornbills, has
increased.
The inclusion of the Mahseer in the Red List, an inventory of the conservation status of
the world’s species, was possible only once the fish got its scientific name last June.
They recognize 16 species of Mahseer in India. Now, securing the future of the hump-
backed Mahseer would depend on the strong willingness and cooperation of a range of
stakeholders in three states—Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka—in the Cauvery, one of
India’s most contested rivers.
Five other species have also made it to threatened categories: two wild orchids, the
Arabian scad (a marine fish) and two wild coffee species found only in a few localities in
the Western Ghats.
While 31 species that were already in the Red List have been down-listed (since threats
are not as significant as earlier thought or due to conservation efforts), the threat status of
12 species has increased.
The great hornbill (found in India and South-East Asia) was earlier categorized as “Near
Threatened”. It is now “Vulnerable” due to high hunting pressure coupled with habitat
loss and deforestation, while the wreathed hornbill has moved from “Least Concern” to
“Vulnerable”.
January 2019.
Two female cubs — Mawar, which means “rose” in Indonesian, and Tengah Malam
(“midnight“) — and their brother Pemanah (“archer”) were allowed outside their closed
dens to explore the more natural outdoor tiger compound.
“Now that they are moving about a larger space and learning to climb terrain, she will
have a much harder time controlling them.
Sumatran tigers are classified as critically endangered, with as few as 350 remaining in
patches of forest on the Indonesia island of Sumatra, where their natural habitat has been
devastated by illegal wildlife trade and jungle clearing for palm oil plantations.
“This birth is such a wonderful success for the conservation of this fragile species, and I
am so excited that we can now invite guests to share our joy,”
“It’s such a shock that these three little cubs represent one per cent of the remaining wild
population, but with zoo-based conservation programs worldwide and the support of our
guests here in Sydney, there’s still hope for the future of this species.”
This year (2019) the International Day of Forests promotes education to Learn to Love
Forests.
When ranked by country, Bangladesh emerged as the most polluted followed by Pakistan
and India respectively.
Of the cities analysed, 64% exceeded the WHO’s annual exposure guideline (10
micrograms/cubic meter) for fine particulate matter, also known as PM2.5. India’s annual
guidelines range from 40-60 micrograms/cubic meter, depending on whether they are
residential or industrial areas.
Every single one of measured cities with data in the Middle East and Africa exceeded the
WHO guideline, while 99% of cities in South Asia, 95% of cities in Southeast Asia and
89% of cities in East Asia breached this level.
The ranking relies on ground-based sensors located in 3,000 cities from 73 countries and
was compiled by IQAir Group, a manufacturer of air-monitoring sensors as well as
purifiers and environmentalist group Greenpeace.
Jakarta and Hanoi emerged as Southeast Asia’s two most polluted cities and average
concentrations in the cities in China fell by 12% from 2017 to 2018. Beijing ranks now as
the 122nd most polluted city in the world in 2018 and China, the 12th most polluted
country in the world. Of the countries analyzed, Iceland emerged as the one with the
cleanest air.
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
E-waste micro factory can recycle waste plastics and make all kinds of innovative
products.
Micro factory is economically viable because it reduces the need for transport, and uses
locally available waste material.
E-waste micro factory can recycle waste plastics and make all kinds of innovative
products.
Micro factory is economically viable because it reduces the need for transport, and uses
locally available waste material.
Materials such as waste plastics, waste glass, waste furniture and waste textiles are being
recycled here.
Cabinet gives ex post facto approval to India's Approach for COP 24, Katowice,
Poland (2-15 December 2018)
Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval to the negotiating stand of India at the 24th
Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) held in Katowice, Poland from 2-15 December 2018. This is in
continuation to the earlier approval dated 28th November 2018.
The key focus of meeting was to finalize guidelines for implementation of Paris
Agreement in post 2020 period.
India's approach was guided by principles and provisions of UNFCCC and Paris
Agreement particularly the principles of Equity and Common But Differentiated
Responsibilities and Respective Capability (CBPR-RC).
India reiterated its commitment to Paris Agreement and highlighted its leadership during
ENVIRONMENTAL CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBEER TO JANUARY 2019
the COP-24 by reuniting its promise to implement the Paris Agreement fully in a
collective manner.
The push for renewable energy leading to achieving about 74 GW of installed renewable
energy capacity including about 24 GW from solar; leading the world in its pursuit of
enhanced solar energy capacity through International Solar Alliance; energy efficiency
measures arc some of the examples.
It is however important to ensure that the actions of developing countries are supported by
sustained and adequate means of implementation including finance, capacity building and
technological support by developed countries.
Parties have also agreed to initiate the work on setting up the new collective finance goals
post-2020 from the floor of US$ 100 billion.
Overall, India's long-term interests have been protected. India Has however expressed Us
reservation on the Global Stocktake (GST) decision regarding the need for considerations
of equity in output of GST process, which is an important part of GST process as per the
mandate of Paris Agreement to ensure that vulnerabilities, problems and challenges of the
poor and marginalized are addressed.