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  • World to breach 1.5°C threshold by 2027-2042

    The planet will breach the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels between 2027 and 2042 according to new research.

    Ever wondered why is there so much of hue to halt the temperature rise at 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, and why not 2°C? Read this newscard to get aware….

    What does that mean?

    • The world will heat up more than it can take much earlier than anticipated.
    • The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had estimated that breach to occur between now and 2052.
    • But researchers have now claimed to have introduced a more precise way to project the Earth’s temperature based on historical climate data.

    The fuss over 1.5°C threshold

    • For decades, researchers argued the global temperature rise must be kept below 2C by the end of this century to avoid the worst impacts.
    • The idea of two degrees as the safe threshold for warming evolved over a number of years from the first recorded mention by economist William Nordhaus in 1975.
    • By the mid-1990s, European ministers were signing up to the two-degree limit, and by 2010 Cancun COP it was official UN policy.
    • However, small island states and low-lying countries were very unhappy with this perspective, because they believed it meant their territories would be inundated with sea-level rise.
    • They commissioned research which showed that preventing temperatures from rising beyond 1.5C would give them a fighting chance.

    Why 1.5°C is preferred over 2°C?

    • Global warming is already impacting people and ecosystems. The risks at 1.5°C and 2°C are progressively higher.
    • There will be worse heatwaves, drought and flooding at 2°C compared to 1.5°C. It is characterized as “substantial differences in extremes”.
    • Sea levels are expected to rise 10cm higher this century under 2°C of warming than 1.5°C.
    • The collapse of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica could lead to rises of several metres.
    • The quantity and quality of staple crops suffer under 2°C warming compared to 1.5C, as do livestock. That is bad for the availability of food in many parts of the world.

    New model shows the breach in threshold

    • The study according to which prediction model deployed reduced uncertainties by half compared to the approach used by the IPCC.
    • The IPCC uses the General Circulation Models (GCM) to express wide ranges in overall temperature projections.
    • This makes it difficult to circle outcomes in different climate mitigation scenarios.

    What is the General Circulation Model (GCM)?

    • GCM represents physical processes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and land surface.
    • It is the most advanced tool currently available for simulating the response of the global climate system to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations.
    • GCMs depict the climate using a three-dimensional grid over the globe, typically having a horizontal resolution of between 250 and 600 km.
    • Many physical processes, such as those related to clouds, also occur at smaller scales and cannot be properly modelled.

    Why GCM is tricky?

    • Climate models are mathematical simulations of different factors that interact to affect Earth’s climate, such as the atmosphere, ocean, ice, land surface and the sun.
    • The data is tricky, and predictions can more often than not be inaccurate.
    • For example, an IPCC model would predict a temperature increase of a massive range — between 1.9oC and 4.5oC — if carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is doubled.

    Back2Basics: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

    • The IPCC is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations that is dedicated to providing the world with an objective, scientific information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of the risk of human-induced climate change.
    • It was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
    • Its membership is open to all members of the WMO and UN.
    • The IPCC produces reports that contribute to the work of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the main international treaty on climate change.
    • The IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report was a critical scientific input into the UNFCCC’s Paris Agreement in 2015.

  • No need for a Two-Child Policy

    The latest data from the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) proves that the country’s population is stabilizing and fears over a “population explosion” and calls for a “two-child policy” is misguided.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Economic growth in country X will necessarily have to occur if

    (a) There is technical progress in the world economy

    (b) There is population growth in X

    (c) There is capital formation in X

    (d) The volume of trade grows in the world economy

    Two-Child Policy

    • The two-child policy is a state-imposed limit of two children allowed per family or the payment of government subsidies only to the first two children.
    • A two-child policy has previously been used in several countries including Iran, Singapore, and Vietnam.
    • In British Hong Kong in the 1970s, citizens were also highly encouraged to have two children as a limit (although it was not mandated by law), and it was used as part of the region’s family planning strategies.
    • Since 2016, it has been re-implemented in China replacing the country’s previous one-child policy.

    Present status in India

    • There is no national policy mandating two children per family.
    • A parliamentarian had tabled a Bill in the Rajya Sabha in 2019 on the matter, proposing incentives for smaller families.
    • PM in 2019 had appealed to the country that population control was a form of patriotism.
    • Months later, the NITI Aayog called various stakeholders for a national-level consultation on the issue, which was subsequently cancelled following media glare on it.
    • In 2020, the PM spoke about a likely decision on revising the age of marriage for women, which many stakeholders view as an indirect attempt at controlling the population size.

    Why doesn’t India need it?

    • The survey provides evidence of uptake in the use of modern contraceptives in rural and urban areas.
    • It gives an improvement in family planning demands being met and a decline in the average number of children borne by a woman.
    • The report stated that most States have attained replacement level fertility, i.e., the average number of children born per woman at whom a population exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next.

  • What is Winter Solstice?

    Yesterday, December 21, was Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, conversely, it was Summer Solstice, the year’s longest day.

    Try this MCQ:

    Q.On 21st June, the Sun

    (a) Does not set below the horizon at the Arctic Circle

    (b) Does not set below the horizon at Antarctic Circle

    (c) Shines vertically overhead at noon on the Equator

    (d) Shines vertically overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn

    Why are the hours of daylight, not the same every day?

    • The explanation lies in Earth’s tilt.
    • And it’s not just the Earth — every planet in the Solar System is tilted relative to their orbits, all at different angles.
    • The Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted at an angle of 23.5° to its orbital plane.
    • This tilt — combined with factors such as Earth’s spin and orbit — leads to variations in the duration of sunlight than any location on the planet receives on different days of the year.

    Impact of the tilted axis

    • The Northern Hemisphere spends half the year tilted in the direction of the Sun, getting direct sunlight during long summer days.
    • During the other half of the year, it tilts away from the Sun, and the days are shorter.
    • Winter Solstice, December 21, is the day when the North Pole is most tilted away from the Sun.
    • The tilt is also responsible for the different seasons that we see on Earth.
    • The side facing the Sun experiences day, which changes to night as Earth continues to spin on its axis.

    Un-impacted regions

    • On the Equator, day and night are equal. The closer one moves towards the poles, the more extreme the variation.
    • During summer in either hemisphere, that pole is tilted towards the Sun and the polar region receives 24 hours of daylight for months.
    • Likewise, during winter, the region is in total darkness for months.

    Celebrations associated with the Winter Solstice

    • For centuries, this day has had a special place in several communities due to its astronomical significance and is celebrated in many ways across the world.
    • Jewish people call the Winter Solstice ‘Tekufat Tevet’, which marks the start of winter.
    • Ancient Egyptians celebrated the birth of Horus, the son of Isis (divine mother goddess) for 12 days during mid-winter.
    • In China, the day is celebrated by families coming together for a special meal.
    • In the Persian region, it is celebrated as Yalda or Shab-e-Yalda. The festival marks the last day of the Persian month of Azar and is seen as the victory of light over darkness.
    • Families celebrate Yalda late into the night with special foods such as ajeel nuts, pomegranates and watermelon, and recite works of the 14th century Sufi poet Hafiz Shirazi.

    In Vedic tradition

    • In Vedic tradition, the northern movement of the Earth on the celestial sphere is implicitly acknowledged in the Surya Siddhanta.
    • It outlines the Uttarayana (the period between Makar Sankranti and Karka Sankranti). Hence, Winter Solstice is the first day of Uttarayana.

  • Festivals in news: Chillai Kalan

    People in the Kashmir valley are finding unique ways to celebrate the start of ‘Chillai Kalan’, a local term for the 40-day period of harshest winter that begins annually from December 21.

    Tap here to read all about:

    Festivals, Dances, Theatre, Literature, Art in News

    Chillai Kalan

    • Chillai Kalan is the coldest 40-day period of harsh winter of winter in the Jammu and Kashmir region.
    • It is traditionally defined as a seasonal period of harsh winter accompanied by a change in increase in both frequency and quantity of precipitation usually snow.
    • It begins from December 21 and ends on January 31 next year.
    • It is followed by a 20-day long Chillai-Khurd (small cold) that occurs between January 31 and February 19 and a 10-day long Chillai-Bachha (baby cold).
    • According to Persian tradition, the night of 21st December is celebrated as Shab-e Yalda-“Night of Birth”, or Shab-e Chelleh “Night of Forty”.

    Its’ celebration

    • In the Persian tradition, the night of December 21, the longest of the year, is celebrated as Shab-e-Yalda (night of birth) or Shab-e-Chelleh.
    • Dozens of netizens from Kashmir named it the ‘Pheran Day’, after the long woollen gown worn during the winters in Kashmir.
    • Use of a traditional firing pot called Kangri increases.
    • Tap water pipelines partially freeze during this period. The Dal Lake also freezes.
    • The famous tourist resort of Gulmarg receives heavy snow which attracts skier’s from every part of the world.

  • Who was Khudiram Bose?

    Union Home Minister has visited the native village of Bengali revolutionary Khudiram Bose in Midnapore, West Bengal.

    One of the youngest leaders of the Independence movement, Khudiram Bose is highly regarded in Bengal for his fearless spirit. He was just 19 when he was hanged!

    Who was Khudiram Bose?

    • Bose was born in 1889 at a small village in Midnapore district.
    • From his adolescent years, he was drawn towards revolutionary activities, being inspired by a series of public lectures given by Sri Aurobindo and Sister Nivedita, when the duo visited Midnapore in the early 1900s.
    • In 1905, when Bengal was partitioned, he actively participated in protests against the British.
    • At the age of 15, Bose joined the Anushilan Samiti, an early 20th-century organisation that propounded revolutionary activities in Bengal.
    • Within a year, he had learnt how to make bombs and would plant them in front of police stations.

    Revolutionary activities

    • The deciding moment of Bose’s life came in 1908 when he along with another revolutionary, Prafulla Chaki was assigned the task of assassinating the district magistrate of Muzaffarpur, Kingsford.
    • Before being transferred to Muzaffarpur, Kingsford was a magistrate in Bengal.
    • His tortuous clamping down on revolutionaries had earned him the ire of this young group of nationalists who decided to hurl a bomb on him.

    Kingsford’s assassination attempt

    • There were multiple attempts to assassinate Kingsford.
    • Initially, the plan was to throw the bomb in the court. However, after much deliberation, it was decided to avoid the court since a lot of civilians might get injured.
    • Thereafter, on April 30, 1908, Bose threw a bomb on a carriage which he suspected was carrying Kingsford.
    • But it turned out that it was carrying the wife and daughter of a barrister named Pringle Kennedy, who lost their lives, as Kingsford escaped.

    Arrest and execution

    • By midnight the entire town was aware of the incident and the Calcutta police were summoned to catch the duo.
    • Bose was arrested from a railway station called Waini where he had reached the next morning after having walked 25 miles.
    • Chaki on the other hand, killed himself before he could get arrested.
    • As Bose was brought handcuffed to the police station at Muzaffarpur, the entire town crowded around to take a look at the teenaged boy.
    • On July 13, 1908, he was finally sentenced to death.

  • Person in news: Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji

    The Prime Minister has paid tributes to Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji on his Martyrdom Day.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. Consider the following Bhakti Saints:

    1. Dadu Dayal
    2. Guru Nanak
    3. Tyagaraja

    Who among the above was/were preaching when the Lodi dynasty fell and Babur took over?

    (a) 1 and 3

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 2 and 3

    (d) 1 and 2

    Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621–1675)

    • Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He was born at Amritsar in 1621 and was the youngest son of Guru Hargobind.
    • His term as Guru ran from 1665 to 1675. One hundred and fifteen of his hymns are in Guru Granth Sahib.
    • There are several accounts explaining the motive behind the assassination of Guru Tegh Bahadur on Aurangzeb’s orders.
    • He stood up for the rights of Kashmiri Pandits who approached him against religious persecution by Aurangzeb.
    • He was publicly killed in 1675 on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Delhi for himself refusing Mughal rulers and defying them.
    • Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib and Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in Delhi mark the places of execution and cremation of his body.

    Impact of his martyrdom

    • The execution hardened the resolve of Sikhs against religious oppression and persecution.
    • His martyrdom helped all Sikh Panths consolidate to make the protection of human rights central to its Sikh identity.
    • Inspired by him, his nine-year-old son, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, eventually organized the Sikh group into a distinct, formal, symbol-patterned community came to be known as Khalsa (Martial) identity.

  • Koothambalam of Guruvayur Temple

    The renovated Koothambalam of the Sreekrishna temple, Guruvayur, has been selected for the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for cultural heritage conservation.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. Building ‘Kalyana Mandapas’ was a notable feature in the temple construction in the kingdom of-
    (a) Chalukya
    (b) Chandela
    (c) Rashtrakuta
    (d) Vijayanagara

    What is Koothambalam?

    • Koothambalam meaning temple theatre is a closed hall for staging Koothu, Nangiar koothu and Koodiyattam, the ancient ritualistic art forms of Kerala.
    • Koothambalams are said to be constructed according to the guidelines given in chapter 2 of Nātyasāstra of Bharata Muni.
    • The stage within the hall is considered to be as sacred as the temple sanctum.

    Its’ construction

    • It is constructed within the cloister of the Temple; more precisely within the pancaprakaras of the temple. The prescribe location is between the prakaras of bahyahara and maryada.
    • In Kerala tradition, it is considered as one among the panchaprasadas of a temple complex.
    • Its dimension varies from temple to temple.
    • A square platform with a separate pyramidal roof supported by pillars in the centre called natyamandapam is constructed as s separate structure within the large hall of Koothampalam.
    • The floor of the hall is divided into two equal halves and one part is for performance (including stage, instruments, green room etc.) and another half for seating audience.

    About Guruvayur Temple

    • It is a Hindu temple dedicated to the Hindu lord, Guruvayurappan (a four-armed form of the Lord Vishnu), located in the town of Guruvayur in Kerala.
    • It is one of the most important places of worship for Hindus in Kerala and is often referred to as Bhuloka Vaikunta (Holy Abode of Vishnu on Earth).

  • Converting waste to energy

    The new plant at Bidadi has several advantages but also some operational challenges.

    Practice Question: Discuss the various benefits of waste to energy plants and challenges in running them successfully.

    The prospectus of new plant

    • The new 5 MW waste-to-energy plant is going to set up near Bidadi, Karnataka.
    • This plant is expected to process 600 tonnes per day of inorganic waste.
    • The inorganic waste, which consists of bad quality plastics and used cloth pieces, can be processed as Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF). This material has a calorific value of more than 2,500 kJ/kg.
    • This can be used to generate steam energy, which can be converted into electric energy.

    A well-planned plant

    • The waste-to-energy plants usually accept the RDF material generated in organic composting plants.
    • They also segregate the wet and inorganic material near the plant, convert organic waste to compost, and inorganic waste to energy.
    • About 50 tonnes of RDF generate 1 MW of power, which indicates that the plant at Bidadi has been appropriately designed.

    A permanent solution

    • Handling inorganic waste that is not fit for recycling has always been a challenge.
    • At present, these high-calorific materials are landfilled or left unhandled in waste plants and cause fire accidents.
    • Attempts to send this material to cement kilns have not fructified.
    • The proposed plant can source 600 tonnes per day of this RDF and generate 11.5 MW of power equivalent to 2.4 lakh units of power per day.
    • This will reduce the dependence on unscientific landfills, reduce fire accidents, and provide a permanent solution to recover value from inorganic waste.

    Challenges

    • Needed a good demonstration model – Over the last decade, several Indian cities have been trying to set up such plants but a good demonstration model is yet to be established.
    • Nature of waste – Technology suppliers are international organizations who struggle with the change in quality and nature of waste generated in Indian cities. A few plants in India have stopped operations for this reason.
    • The plants require fine inorganic material with less than 5% moisture and less than 5% silt and soil contents, whereas the moisture and inert content in the mixed waste generated is more than 15%-20%.
    • The sticky silt and soil particles can also reduce the calorific value.
    • Economic cost per unit of electricity – The other big challenge for this plant is the power tariff which is around ₹7-8 KwH which is higher than the ₹3-4 per KwH generated through coal and other means.

    Way forward

    • For the successful running, the plant needs to ease the challenge of handling inorganic waste, the efficiency of organic waste processing/ composting plants.
    • With the increasing waste generation in the coming years, there is a need for more such plants which are environment friendly. 

    Back2Basics: Refuse-derived fuel (RDF)

    • Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) is a fuel produced from various types of waste such as municipal solid waste (MSW), industrial waste or commercial waste.
    • It is selected waste and by-products with recoverable calorific value can be used as fuels in a cement kiln, replacing a portion of conventional fossil fuels, like coal, if they meet strict specifications.
    • Sometimes they can only be used after pre-processing to provide ‘tailor-made’ fuels for the cement process.
    • RDF consists largely of combustible components of such waste, as non-recyclable plastics (not including PVC), paper cardboard, labels, and other corrugated materials.
    • These fractions are separated by different processing steps, such as screening, air classification, ballistic separation, separation of ferrous and non-ferrous materials, glass, stones and other foreign materials and shredding into a uniform grain size, or also pelletized.
    • This produces a homogeneous material which can be used as a substitute for fossil fuels in e.g. cement plants, lime plants, coal-fired power plants or as a reduction agent in steel furnaces.

  • A-68s: Largest floating Iceberg

    A research mission is held to find out the impact of a giant floating iceberg A-68s on the wildlife and marine life on a sub-Antarctic island.

    Q. How does the cryosphere affect global climate? (CSM 2017)

    What are Icebergs?

    • An iceberg is a large piece of freshwater ice that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open (salt) water.
    • Small bits of disintegrating icebergs are called “growlers” or “bergy bits”.
    • Much of an iceberg is below the surface which led to the expression “tip of the iceberg” to illustrate a small part of a larger unseen issue.
    • Icebergs are considered a serious maritime hazard, especially for shipping industries.

    A-68s

    • The iceberg — named A-68s — is travelling at varying speeds depending on local conditions, but at its fastest was travelling about 20 kilometres a day.
    • The huge iceberg — the size of the U.S. state of Delaware — has been floating north since it broke away from Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf in 2017.
    • It is now about 75 kilometres from the island of South Georgia, and scientists are concerned over the risks it poses to the wildlife in the area if it grounds near the island.
    • South Georgia is home to colonies of tens of thousands of penguins and 6 million fur seals, which could be threatened by the iceberg during their breeding season.
    • The waters near the island are also one of the world’s largest marine protected areas and house more marine species than the Galapagos.
    • Destruction by the iceberg will release this stored carbon back into the water and, potentially, the atmosphere, which would be a further negative impact.

  • Human Development Index (HDI) 2019

    India dropped two ranks in the United Nations’ Human Development Index this year, standing at 131 out of 189 countries.

    Try this PYQ:

    Which one of the following is not a sub-index of the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business Index’?

    (a) Maintenance of law and order

    (b) Paying taxes

    (c) Registering property

    (d) Dealing with construction permits

    Human Development Index (HDI)

    • HDI is a statistical tool used to measure a country’s overall achievement in its social and economic dimensions.
    • It is one of the best tools to keep track of the level of development of a country, as it combines all major social and economic indicators that are responsible for economic development.
    • Pakistani economist Mahbub-ul-Haq created HDI in 1990 which was further used to measure the country’s development by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
    • Every year UNDP ranks countries based on the HDI report released in their annual report.

    Various indicators under HDI

    • Calculation of the index combines four major indicators: life expectancy for health, expected years of schooling, mean of years of schooling for education and GNI per capita for the standard of living.

    For the first time: PHDI

    • For the first time, the UNDP introduced a new metric to reflect the impact caused by each country’s per-capita carbon emissions and its material footprint.
    • This is Planetary Pressures-adjusted HDI or PHDI.
    • It measured the amount of fossil fuels, metals and other resources used to make the goods and services it consumes.
    • The report found that no country has yet been able to achieve a very high level of development without putting a huge strain on natural resources.

    Highlights of the 2019 Report

    • Norway, which tops the HDI, falls 15 places if this metric is used, leaving Ireland at the top of the table.
    • In fact, 50 countries would drop entirely out of the “very high human development group” category, using this new metric PHDI.
    • Australia falls 72 places in the ranking, while the US and Canada would fall 45 and 40 places respectively, reflecting their disproportionate impact on natural resources.
    • The oil and the gas-rich Gulf States also fell steeply. China would drop 16 places from its current ranking of 85.

    Indian scenario

    • If the Index were adjusted to assess the planetary pressures caused by each nation’s development, India would move up eight places in the rankings.
    • China’s net emissions (8 gigatonnes) are 34% below its territorial emissions (12.5 gigatonnes) compared with 19% in India and 15% in Sub-Saharan Africa.