💥Mains Ready By December. Smash Mains & Smash PYQ Admissions Open
Talk to Mentor

Civilsdaily

Login

Subject: Climate Change

1. Global Warming and Issues
2. All about Pollution

  • Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition

    At the recently concluded Leaders’ Summit on Climate in April 2021, the Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition was announced.

    LEAF Coalition

    • LEAF Coalition is a collective of the US, UK and Norway governments.
    • It is a public-private effort, thus supported by transnational corporations (TNCs) like Unilever plc, Amazon, Nestle, Airbnb etc.
    • It came up with a $1 billion fund plan that shall be offered to countries committed to arresting the decline of their tropical forests by 2030.
    • The LEAF coalition initiative is a step towards concretizing the aims and objectives of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism.

    How does this coalition work?

    • The LEAF Coalition can help reverse the trend by providing unprecedented financial support to tropical forest governments implementing forest protection, contributing to green and resilient growth through sustainable investments.
    • It empowers tropical and subtropical forest countries to move more rapidly towards ending deforestation while supporting them in achieving their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.
    • Reductions in emissions are made across entire countries or large states and provinces (“jurisdictions”) through programs that involve all key stakeholders, including Indigenous peoples and local communities.

    Why is it significant?

    • Financial impetus is crucial as it incentivizes developing countries to capture extensive deforestation and provide livelihood opportunities to forest-dependent populations.
    • The initiative comes at a crucial time when the tropics have lost close to 12.2 million hectares (mha) of tree cover year last year according to global estimates released by Global Forest Watch.
    • Most of these lost forests were located in the developing countries of Latin America, Africa and South Asia.
    • India’s estimated loss in 2020 stands at 20.8-kilo hectares due to forest fires

    What lies next?

    • Implementation of the LEAF Coalition will help pump in fresh rigour among developing countries like India, that are reluctant to recognize the contributions of their forest-dwelling populations in mitigating climate change.
    • With the deadline for proposal submission fast approaching, India needs to act swiftly on a revised strategy.
    • Although India has pledged to carry out its REDD+ commitments, it is impossible to do so without seeking knowledge from its forest-dwelling population.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    With reference to ‘Forest Carbon Partnership Facility’, which of the following statements is/ are correct?  (CSP 2013)

    1. It is a global partnership of governments, businesses, civil society and indigenous peoples.
    2. It provides financial aid to universities, individual scientists and institutions involved in scientific forestry research to develop eco-friendly and climate adaptation technologies for sustainable forest management.
    3. It assists the countries in their ‘REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation+)’ efforts by providing them with financial and technical assistance.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3

    Back2Basics: REDD+

    • REDD+ is a mechanism developed by Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
    • It creates a financial value for the carbon stored in forests by offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development.
    • Developing countries would receive results-based payments for results-based actions.
    • REDD+ goes beyond simply deforestation and forest degradation and includes the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.
    • It aims to create incentives for communities so that they stop forest degrading practices.

  • What is the ‘Heat Dome’ causing record temperatures in USA?

    A US city has recorded the highest temperatures as high as 46-degree Celsius part due to the historic heatwave that lasted as a result of a phenomenon referred to as a “heat dome”.

    What is a Heat Dome?

    • To understand what causes a heat dome, one should liken the Pacific Ocean to a large swimming pool in which the heater is turned on.
    • Once the heater is on, the portions of the pool close to the heating jets will warm up faster and therefore, the temperature in that area will be higher.
    • In the same way, the western Pacific ocean’s temperatures have increased in the past few decades and are relatively more than the temperature in the eastern Pacific.
    • This strong change in ocean temperature from the west to the east is what a team of scientists believe is the reason for the heat dome.
    • This occurs when the atmosphere traps heat at the surface, which encourages the formation of a heatwave.
    • To compare, the reason that the planet Venus is the hottest in the Solar System is that its thick, dense cloud cover traps the heat at the surface, leading to temperatures as high as 471 degrees Celsius.

    Is this heat wave a result of climate change?

    • It cannot be said for sure if the heatwave is a direct result of global warming.
    • Scientists are usually wary of linking climate change to any contemporary event mainly because of the difficulty in completely ruling out the possibility of the event having been caused by some other reason.
    • Similarly, scientists who have been studying the climate tend to agree that the heat waves occurring today are more likely to be a result of climate change for which humans are responsible.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.Consider the following statements:

    1. Jet streams occur in the Northern Hemisphere only.
    2. Only some cyclones develop an eye.
    3. The temperature inside the eye of a cyclone is nearly 100C lesser than that of the surroundings.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 2 only

    (d) 1 and 3 only

  • [pib] Glacial Lake Atlas of Ganga River Basin

    The Ministry of Jal Shakti has released the Glacial Lake Atlas of Ganga Basin.

    Glacial Lake Atlas

    • The atlas is based on the inventoried glacial lakes in part of the Ganga River basin from its origin to the foothills of the Himalayas covering a catchment area of 2,47,109 sq. km.
    • The study portion of the Ganga River basin covers part of India and the transboundary region.
    • The Atlas is available on National Hydrology Project or NHP-Bhuvan Portal.
    • It can be used by water resources professionals, researchers, disaster management authorities and other stakeholders for managing the glacial lakes as well as to mitigate the possible adverse impacts of GLOF and climate change.

    Expected utility of the atlas is:

    • The atlas provides a comprehensive and systematic glacial lake database for Ganga River basin with size > 0.25 ha
    • In the context of climate change impact analysis, the atlas can be used as reference data for carrying out change analysis, both with respect to historical and future time periods
    • The atlas also provides authentic database for regular or periodic monitoring changes in spatial extent (expansion/shrinkage), and formation of new lakes
    • The atlas can also be used in conjunction with glacier information for their retreat and climate impact studies.
    • The information on glacial lakes like their type, hydrological, topographical, and associated glaciers are useful in identifying the potential critical glacial lakes and consequent GLOF risk.
    • Central and State Disaster Management Authorities can make use of the atlas for disaster mitigation planning and related program.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.Consider the following Pairs :

    Glacier: River

    1. Bandarpunch : Yamuna
    2. Bara Shigri : Chenab
    3. Milam : Mandakini
    4. Siachen : Nubra
    5. Zemu : Manas

    Which of the following pairs given above are correctly matched? (CSP 2019)

    (a) 1,2 and 4

    (b) 1,3 and 4

    (c) 2 and 5

    (d) 3 and 5

  • Places in news: Yellowstone National Park

    A new assessment of climate change in the Yellowstone National Park shows that it has lost a quarter of its annual snowfall.

    Yellowstone National Park

    • Yellowstone NP is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho.
    • Yellowstone was the first national park in the US and is also widely held to be the first national park in the world.
    • The park is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features, especially Old Faithful geyser, one of its most popular.
    • While it represents many types of biomes, the subalpine forest is the most abundant. It is part of the South Central Rockies forests ecoregion.
    • The area also represents the one point where the three major river basins of the western U.S. converge.
    • The rivers of the Snake-Columbia basin, Green-Colorado basin, and Missouri River Basin all begin as snow on the Continental Divide as it weaves across Yellowstone’s peaks and plateaus.

    Impact of climate change

    • Since 1950, average temperatures in the Greater Yellowstone Area have risen 1.3°C and potentially, more importantly, the region has lost a quarter of its annual snowfall.
    • The loss of snow there has repercussions for a vast range of ecosystems and wildlife, as well as cities and farms downstream that rely on rivers that start in these mountains.
    • It is home to the southernmost range of grizzly bear populations in North America and some of the longest intact wildlife migrations, including the seasonal traverses of elk, pronghorn, mule deer and bison.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.Consider the following pairs:

    River                              Flows into

    1. Mekong –                   Andaman Sea

    1. Thames –                     Irish Sea
    2. Volga –                     Caspian Sea
    3. Zambezi –                  Indian Ocean

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (CSP 2020)

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 3 only

    (c) 3 and 4 only

    (d) 1,2 and 4 only

  • Retreating Monsoon is a global phenomenon: Study

    Rainfall during retreating monsoon, which parts of South India experience every year, is not a local anomaly and is global in nature and scale, according to a recent study by the University of Sydney.

    What is Retreating Monsoon?

    • In India, retreating monsoon is the withdrawal of south-west monsoon winds from North India.
    • The withdrawal is gradual and takes about three months.
    • With the retreat of the monsoons, the clouds disappear and the sky becomes clear. The day temperature starts falling steeply.
    • Monsoon rains weaken all over India except few southeastern states.
    • It is helpful in Rabi crop cultivation.

    What has the research found?

    • The research has identified regions in the northern hemisphere that receive the bulk of the rainfall during September, October and November and southern hemisphere that receive most of the rainfall from March to August.
    • The discovery that these are part of a global pattern and not one-off occurrences means they can be systematically studied, which will help understand how these communities could be affected by climate change.
    • Peninsular India and parts of South-East Asia are among the eight regions examined in the study.

    Factors affecting the retreat

    • The eight global regions identified by the study that receive most of their rainfall after summer, have several things in common.
    • They lie on the eastern fringes of landmasses and are in close proximity to mountain ranges with modest heights.

    Two predominant factors cause the phenomenon:

    • First, the low mountain range in each region runs from north to south, shielding it from west-bound winds that trigger summer monsoon.
    • After summer, the range aids in the ‘orographic lift’ or rising of east-bound air mass from a lower to higher elevation, forming clouds and resulting in rain.
    • The second factor is atmospheric convection or vertical movement of air.
    • As the earth is heated by the sun, different surfaces absorb different amounts of energy and convection may occur where the surface heats up very rapidly.
    • As the surface warms, it heats the overlying air, which gradually becomes less dense than the surrounding air and begins to rise.
    • This condition is more favorable from September to February because of the role played by sea surface temperature or water temperature.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.The seasonal reversal of winds is the typical characteristic of:

    (a) Equatorial climate

    (b) Mediterranean climate

    (c) Monsoon climate

    (d) All of the above climates

  • NatGeo recognizes ‘Southern Ocean’ as globe’s fifth ocean

    The National Geographic magazine has recognized the ‘Southern Ocean’ as the world’s fifth ocean June 8, 2021 hoping others will soon follow suit.

    Answer this PYQ from CSP 2019 in the comment box:

    Q.The most important fishing grounds of the world are found in the regions where:

    (a) warm and cold atmospheric currents meet

    (b) rivers drain out large amounts of freshwater into the sea

    (c) warm and cold oceanic currents meet

    (d) continental shelf is undulating

    Southern Ocean

    • The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica.
    • As such, it is regarded as the second-smallest of the five principal oceanic divisions: smaller than the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans but larger than the Arctic Ocean.
    • Over the past 30 years, the Southern Ocean has been subject to rapid climate change, which has led to changes in the marine ecosystem.

    What has NatGeo attempted?

    • The magazine says the Southern Ocean is the only ocean ‘to touch three other oceans and to completely embrace a continent rather than being embraced by them’.
    • Its northern limit is a latitude of 60 degrees south.
    • It is also defined by its Antarctic Circumpolar Current that was formed 34 million years ago. The current flows from west to east around Antarctica.
    • The Southern Ocean is home to large populations of whales, penguins, and seals.

    Why such a move?

    • Usually, the magazine has followed the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) on marine names, it said in an article notifying the change.
    • The IHO too had recognized ‘Southern Ocean’ as a distinct body of water surrounding Antarctica in 1937 but had repealed the same in 1953.

  • [pib] Aerosol Nucleation

    Scientists tracing the concentration, size and evolution of aerosol particles smaller than 3 nanometers at an urban location in India have found the frequent formation of sub-3nm aerosol particles in the atmosphere.

    What is Aerosol Nucleation?

    • The formation of small molecular clusters of sub-3nm size is technically called aerosol nucleation, and subsequent growth of these newly formed clusters to the large sizes is called atmospheric new particle formation (NPF).
    • NPF occurs everywhere in the terrestrial troposphere, and therefore it is a large source of aerosol numbers to the atmosphere.
    • Though extensively studied globally using field observations, laboratory experiments and modelling approach, it is largely unexplored in India.

    What has the new research found?

    • The research showed that a pool of sub-3nm particles is often present in the atmosphere, but how fast these clusters grow depends on various factors.
    • The scientists observed that only half of these events showed newly formed molecular clusters growing past 10 nm size.
    • Thus particle size distributions display a conventional banana-shaped aerosol growth, which is indicative of regional NPF event.

    Role of Sulphur

    • The team found a strong positive correlation between sub-3nm particle concentrations and sulphuric acid concentrations, confirming the potential role of sulfuric acid in the formation of sub-3nm particles.
    • While NPF often starts with sulphuric acid in the atmosphere, sulphuric acid alone fails to explain observed particle formation and growth rates in the atmosphere.
    • Other vapours such as ammonia, amines and organics play a crucial role in the growth of newly formed particles.
    • This has critical importance as a major fraction of these newly formed particles can reach to sizes of cloud condensation nuclei where they have climatic impacts.

  • Glacier melting in Hindu Kush Himalayas

    Up to two billion people in southeast Asia can face food and water shortages even as the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) mountain ranges lose up to two-thirds of its ice by 2100, a United Nations-backed research flagged.

    Hindu Kush Himalayas

    • The HKH region, often referred to as the ‘Third Pole’, is spread over 3,500 square kilometers across eight countries including India, Nepal, and China.
    • The range forms the western section of the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region (HKH) and is the westernmost extension of the Pamir Mountains, the Karakoram, and the Himalayas.
    • It divides the valley of the Amu Darya (the ancient Oxus) to the north from the Indus River valley to the south.
    • It contains the world’s third-largest storage of frozen water after the Antarctica and Arctic.
    • Over 240 million people live in the region’s mountains; 1.7 billion live in the river basins downstream, while food grown in these basins reaches three billion people.

    Continuous warming

    • HKH region continues to warm through 21st century even if the world was able to limit global warming at the agreed 1.5 degrees Celsius.
    • Another study published in 2019 on the ice thickness of glaciers had estimated that glaciers in the HKH may contain 27 percent less ice than previously suggested.
    • The HKH region lies downwind from some of the most heavily polluted places on Earth. This threatens agriculture, climate as well as monsoon patterns.

  • World’s largest iceberg breaks off from Antarctica

    A huge ice block has broken off from western Antarctica into the Weddell Sea, becoming the largest iceberg in the world and earning the name A-76.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.On the planet earth, most of the freshwater exists as ice caps and glaciers. Out of the remaining freshwater, the largest proportion:

    (a) is found in the atmosphere as moisture and clouds

    (b) is found in freshwater lakes and rivers

    (c) exists as groundwater

    (d) exists as soil moisture

    A-76 Iceberg

    • A-76 is the latest in a series of large ice blocks to dislodge in a region acutely vulnerable to climate change, although scientists said in this case it appeared to be part of a natural polar cycle.
    • The iceberg, measuring around 170 km long and 25 km wide, with an area of 4,320 sq km is now floating in the Weddell Sea.
    • Slightly larger than the Spanish island of Majorca, A-76 had been monitored by scientists since it began to separate from the Ronne Ice Shelf.
    • It joins the previous world’s largest title holder A-23A — approximately 3,880 sq. km. in size — which has remained in the same area since 1986.
    • A-76 was originally spotted by the British Antarctic Survey and the calving — the term used when an iceberg breaks off — was confirmed using images from the Copernicus satellite.

    Note: 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 water.

  • Places in news: Leang Sakapao Caves

    Researchers have reported that Pleistocene-era rock paintings dating back to 45,000-20,000 years ago in cave sites in southern Sulawesi, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, are weathering at an alarming rate.

    Have you ever found the mention of ‘Altamira Caves’ in your NCERTs?

    Leang Sakapao Caves

    • This cave art of Sulawesi is much older than the prehistoric cave art of Europe.
    • The artwork in the area includes what is believed to be the world’s oldest hand stencil (almost 40,000 years ago), created by pressing the hand on a cave wall and spraying wet red-mulberry pigments over it.
    • A nearby cave features the world’s oldest depiction of an animal, a warty pig painted on the wall 45,500 years ago.

    Impact of climate change

    • The artwork made with pigments was decaying due to a process known as haloclasty, which is triggered by the growth of salt crystals due to repeated changes in temperature and humidity.
    • This is caused by alternating wet and dry weather in the region.
    • Indonesia has also experienced several natural disasters in recent years, which have quickened the process of deterioration.

    Note:

    Mark all islands of the Indonesian Archipelago in your Atlas.