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Subject: Environment

  • What is Laschamp Excursion?

    This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in DownToEarth.

    The world experienced a few centuries of apocalyptic conditions 42,000 years ago, triggered by a reversal of the Earth’s magnetic poles combined with changes in the Sun’s behaviour. This event is called as Laschamps Excursion.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2018:

    Q.The term “sixth mass extinction/sixth extinction” is often mentioned in the news in the context of the discussion of

    (a) Widespread monoculture Practices agriculture and large-scale commercial farming with indiscriminate use of chemicals in many parts of the world that may result in the loss of good native ecosystems.

    (b) Fears of a possible collision of a meteorite with the Earth in the near future in the manner it happened 65million years ago that caused the mass extinction of many species including those of dinosaurs.

    (c) Large scale cultivation of genetically modified crops in many parts of the world and promoting their cultivationin other Parts of the world which may cause the disappearance of good native crop plants and the loss offood biodiversity.

    (d) Mankind’s over-exploitation/misuse of natural resources, fragmentation/loss, natural habitats, destructionof ecosystems, pollution and global climate change.

    Laschamp Excursion

    • The Laschamp event was a geomagnetic excursion (a short reversal of the Earth’s magnetic field). It occurred 41,400 years ago, during the end of the Last Glacial Period.
    • This event is named after the village where it was discovered in the French Massif Central.
    • It led to series of catastrophic events like the ozone layer was destroyed, electrical storms raged across the tropics, solar winds generated spectacular light shows (auroras), Arctic air poured across North America, ice sheets and glaciers surged and weather patterns shifted violently.
    • During these events, life on earth was exposed to intense ultraviolet light, Neanderthals and giant animals known as megafauna went extinct, while modern humans sought protection in caves.

    The Adams Event

    • This last major geomagnetic reversal triggered a series of dramatic events that have far-reaching consequences for our planet.
    • Because of the coincidence of seemingly random cosmic events and the extreme environmental changes found around the world 42,000 years ago, researchers have called this period the “Adams Event”.

  • Mawsynram: Wettest place on Earth sees a decreasing trend in rainfall

    A recent study that looked at the rainfall pattern in the past 119 years found a decreasing trend at Cherrapunji and nearby areas.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.“Climate is extreme, rainfall is scanty and the people used to be nomadic herders.” The above statement best describes which of the following regions?

    (a) African Savannah

    (b) Central Asian Steppe

    (c) North American Prairie

    (d) Siberian Tundra

    Mawsynram

    • Mawsynram is a town in the East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya state in northeastern India, 60.9 kilometres from Shillong.
    • Mawsynram receives the highest rainfall in India.
    • It is reportedly the wettest place on Earth, with an average annual rainfall of 11,872mm but that claim is disputed.
    • According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Mawsynram received 26,000 millimetres (1,000 in) of rainfall in 1985.

    Why it rain highest in Mawsynram?

    • Because of the uneven relief of India due to the presence of a number of hill ranges, the monsoon is not able to shed its moisture evenly over India.
    • Windward sides receive more rainfall and leeward sides receive less rainfall.
    • Mawsynram lies in the funnel-shaped depression caused by the Khasi range in Meghalaya.
    • The Bay of Bengal branch of monsoons is trapped in it and causes heavy rainfall.

    Decreasing rainfall trends

    • The research analysed daily rain gauge measurements during 1901–2019 and noted that the changes in the Indian Ocean temperature have a huge effect on the rainfall in the region.
    • There was a reduction in the vegetation area in northeast India in the past two decades, implying that human influence also plays an important role in the changing rainfall patterns.
    • The traditional way of cultivation known as Jhum cultivation or shifting cultivation is now decreased and being replaced by other methods.
    • Also, previous studies have noted there is sizable deforestation in the region.

  • India Inc must follow global example, take affirmative action on climate change

    The article explains the global trend in investors and lendors are demanding companies to recognise their impact on environment and act on it.

    Accountability on climate change: global trend

    • There is a wave of investors pushing large corporations from across sectors, to recognise their carbon footprint and take affirmative action.
    • Aviva, the British insurance company announced it would divest stock and bond holdings in 30 of the biggest corporate emitters of carbon, if their boards failed to take affirmative action over climate change.
    • MPs in the United Kingdom called on the Bank of England to ratchet up environment standards in its pandemic stabilising, corporate bond programme.
    • Swedbank AB, Sweden’s biggest mortgage bank, has taken a decision not to provide fresh loans to new oil and gas projects.

    Companies realising social and environmental impacts

    • Several large and growing companies, especially in Europe, are realising their social and environmental impacts and making it a boardroom agenda even without investor guns on their heads.
    • Schneider Electric, the energy management and automation company, has embedded environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into every facet of its activities.
    •  The company climbed from 29th to number 1 rank in the 2021 Global 100 ranking in the Corporate Knights index of the world’s most sustainable companies.
    • Only one company from India, Tech Mahindra, has made it to the world’s 100 most sustainable list.

    Indian scenario

    • Indian institutional lenders and investors are simply not demanding enough on sustainability.
    • A majority of Indian companies are only meeting compliance norms set out by various state or city authorities.
    • Rarely do they go beyond rule-based compliances and implement environment, social and governance or ESG goals with purpose and passion like their European counterparts.

    Way forward

    • SEBI is putting the final touches on the Business Responsibility and Environment Reporting (BRSR) guidelines.
    • The new ESG reporting norm will apply to the top 1,000 listed companies on Indian exchanges.
    • Under BRSR reporting guidelines, companies will have to declare their R&D spends on improving environmental and social outcomes. 
    • They will have to disclose energy and water consumed to turnover ratios, and the percentage of recycled or reused input materials, among many other social and governance disclosures such as CSR, employee skilling and gender diversity.
    • It’s time for lending institutions and investors to align with SEBI and use their muscle to drive a deeper change.

    Consider the question “Indian institutional lenders and investors are  not demanding enough on sustainability from the companies. Rarely do they go beyond rule-based compliances and implement environment, social and governance or ESG goals with purpose and passion like their European counterparts. In light of this, suggest the measures to nudge the businesseses to act on their environmental responsibilities.” 

    Conclusion

    Stepping up green standards to meet Paris Climate Agreement goals cannot be the government’s responsibility alone. Businesses must be part of the movement, or the target of containing global warming to less than 1.5 degrees of pre-industrial levels, will remain elusive.

  • 54,000 lives lost in Delhi due to air pollution

    Air pollution claimed approximately 54,000 lives in Delhi in 2020, according to a Greenpeace Southeast Asia analysis of the cost to the economy due to air pollution.

    Try this question from CS Mains 2015:

    Q.Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata are the three megacities of the country but the air pollution is a much more serious problem in Delhi as compared to the other two. Why is this so?

    Deaths due to Air Pollution

    • Globally, approximately 1,60,000 deaths have been attributed to PM 2.5 air pollution in the five most populous cities — Delhi, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Shanghai and Tokyo.
    • Six Indian cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Lucknow — feature in the global analysis.
    • An estimated 25,000 avoidable deaths in Mumbai in 2020 have been attributed to air pollution.
    • Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad estimated an approximate 12,000, 11,000, and 11,000 avoidable deaths respectively due to polluted air.

    The ‘Cost Estimator’

    • The ‘Cost Estimator’, an online tool that estimates the real-time health impact and economic cost from fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) air pollution in major world cities.
    • It was deployed in collaboration between Greenpeace Southeast Asia, IQAir and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
    • Using real-time ground-level PM 2.5 measurements collated in IQAir’s database, the algorithm applies scientific risk models in combination with population and public health data.

    Computing the “Lost Years”

    • To show the impact of air pollution-related deaths on the economy, the approach used by Greenpeace is called ‘willingness-to-pay.
    • It refers to a lost life year or a year lived with a disability is converted to money by the amount that people are willing to pay in order to avoid this negative outcome.
    • The cost estimator also sustained the estimated air pollution-related economic losses of â‚č1,23,65,15,40,000.

    Greenpeace recommends-

    • Despite a temporary reprieve in air quality owing to the lockdown, the latest figures from the report underscore the need to act immediately.
    • The need of the hour is to rapidly scale up renewable energy, bring an end to fossil fuel emissions and boost sustainable and accessible transport systems.

  • Hyderabad wins Global ‘Tree City’ Status

    Hyderabad city has received another feather in its cap by being chosen as one among the ‘Tree Cities of the World’.

    Tree Cities of the World

    • The Tree Cities of the World programme is an international effort to recognize cities and towns committed to ensuring that their urban forests and trees are properly maintained, sustainably managed, and duly celebrated.
    • This status is accorded by the Arbor Day Foundation jointly with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN.
    • To receive recognition, a town or city must meet five core standards:
    1. Establish Responsibility
    2. Set the Rules
    3. Know What You Have
    4. Allocate the Resources and
    5. Celebrate the Achievements

    Try this question:

    Q.The Miyawaki Forests technique has to potential to revolutionize the concept of urban afforestation in India. Discuss.

    Why it is a great achievement?

    • Hyderabad is the only city in the country to have been selected for this recognition in response to its commitment to growing and maintaining urban forestry.
    • The recognition stands Hyderabad alongside 120 cities from 23 countries, including developed nations such as USA, UK, Canada, Australia and others.

  • India and Australia were evolutionary neighbours

    Bhimbetka, which has yielded a fossil of Dickinsonia dating back about 550 million years, is the first time the particular fossilized organism has been recorded in India.

    Why does this fossil matter?

    • It dates back to an era regarded as the precursor to the explosion of life on earth during the Cambrian period.
    • Thus it puts India firmly on the map for studies of the Ediacaran era along with Australia and Russia.

    Here’s what makes the discovery a global milestone:

    (a) Ediacaran Period

    • The finding gives lead about the earliest living species during a period of the earth’s history known as the Ediacaran, named after the Ediacara Hills in South Australia.
    • This is the period in Earth’s history when Dickinsonia and several multicellular organisms existed.
    • It was approximately 635 million years ago (Ma) and 541 Ma, with the living creatures of the era, called vendobionts.

    Now take this opportunity to revise the Geological time scale from your NCERTs. Try differentiating between different era, periods and epoch.

    (b) India’s Proximity to Australia

    • Studies of the rock characteristics in and around Bhimbetka show that they share several characteristics with rocks in Australia.
    • Dickinsonia fossils from India were found by the scientists to be identical to the Rawnsley Quartzite in South Australia.
    • This provides evidence of their age and the proximity of the two landmasses in Gondwanaland in that era.
    • The evidence however did not support reconstructions adjusted for the polar wander phenomenon [which involves motion of continents over geologic time and its impacts].

     Use of Zircon dating

    • The age of fossil rock is determined using Zircon isotopes.
    • Zircon dating of the youngest Maihar sandstone in Madhya Pradesh puts its age at 548 Ma.
    • The lower Bhander group in the Son and Chambal valleys yielded an isotope-derived age for limestones ranging from 978 Ma to 1073 Ma, situating it in the older Tonian period.
    • The Ediacaran period was the precursor to the Cambrian (about 541 Ma to 485.4 Ma) when the earth witnessed an explosion of life forms and much of which makes up modern animal life today.

  • Species in news: Giant Leatherback Turtle

    Proposals for tourism and port development in the Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) Islands has left conservationists worried over the fate of some of the most important nesting populations of the Giant Leatherback turtle.

    What is the news?

    • There is concern that at least three key nesting beaches — two on Little Andaman Island and one on Great Nicobar Island — are under threat due to mega “development” plans announced in recent months.
    • These include NITI Aayog’s ambitious tourism vision for Little Andaman and the proposal for a mega-shipment port at Galathea Bay on Great Nicobar Island.

    Giant Leatherback Turtle

    IUCN status: Vulnerable

    • The largest of the seven species of sea turtles on the planet and also the most long-ranging, Leatherbacks are found in all oceans except the Arctic and the Antarctic.
    • Within the Indian Ocean, they nest only in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the A&N Islands.
    • They are also listed in Schedule I of India’s Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, according it the highest legal protection.
    • The population in A&N Islands is among the most important colonies of the Leatherback globally.

    About Galathea Bay

    • The Galathea Bay is adjacent to Galathea National Park in Great Nicobar Island.
    • It was earlier proposed as a wildlife sanctuary in 1997 for the protection of turtles and was also the site of a long-term monitoring programme.
    • The monitoring was stopped after the tsunami devastation of 2004, but it provided the first systematic evidence of numbers and importance of these beaches.

  • Species in news: Mandarin Duck

    A rare Mandarin duck was observed floating in the Maguri-Motapung beel (or wetland) in Assam’s Tinsukia district for over a week is spectacular.

    Mandarin duck

    IUCN status: Least Concerned

    • Considered the most beautiful duck in the world, the Mandarin duck, or the (Aix galericulata) was first identified by Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist Carl Linnaeus in 1758.
    • The eBird website, a platform that documents birds world over, describes it as a “small-exotic looking bird” native to East Asia.
    • It’s very beautiful, with majestic colours and can be spotted from a distance.

    Its habitat and breeding

    • The migratory duck breeds in Russia, Korea, Japan and northeastern parts of China. It now has established populations in Western Europe and America too.
    • In 2018, when a Mandarin duck was spotted in a pond in New York City’s Central Park, it created a flutter among local residents.
    • It was recorded in 1902 in Dibru River in the Rongagora area in Tinsukia.

    About Maguri beel

    • The Maguri Motapung wetland is an Important Bird Area as declared by the Bombay Natural History Society.
    • It is located close to the Dibru Saikhowa National Park in Upper Assam.
    • The entire ecosystem is very important as it is home to at least 304 bird species, including a number of endemic ones like Black-breasted parrotbill and Marsh babbler.
    • In May 2020, the beel was adversely affected by a blowout and fire at an Oil India Limited-owned gas well.

  • Cost of development in the fragile mountains

    The article explains the relationship between development activities in Uttarakhand and the devastating floods.

    Cause of recent flash flood in Uttarakhand

    • According to Planet Labs, ice along with frozen mud and rocks fell down from a high mountain inside the Nanda Devi Sanctuary, from a height of 5,600 m to 3,300 m.
    • This created an artificial lake within the sanctuary in Rontigad, a tributary of Rishi Ganga.
    • Within eight hours, this lake burst open and its water, laden with mud and stones, rushed through the Rishi Ganga gorge which opens near Reni.
    • Studies say that the current winter season has seen little rain and snow, with temperatures being highest in the last six decades.
    •  So, the effects of chemical weathering were much more active in the higher Himalayas.
    •  There is a possibility of more such events this year.

    Factors responsible

    1) Development with no regard for the environment

    • As a mountain system, the Himalayas have had earthquakes, avalanches, landslides, soil erosion, forest fires and floods, and these are its natural expressions, parts of its being.
    • Except for earthquakes, humans have directly contributed towards aggravating all the other phenomena.
    • The Ravi Chopra committee formed by the SC recommended closure of all the 24 hydro projects in question by Wildlife Institute of India.
    • The SC also formed another committee to look at the impact of the Chaardham road project.
    • Road and hydro projects are being operated in the Himalayas with practically no rigorous research on the ecological history of the area, cost-benefit analysis and many other aspects including displacement of communities, destruction of biodiversity, agricultural land, pastures as well as the cultural heritage of the area.

    Dilution of Environmental Impact Assessment rules

    • Earlier, while independent experts carried out the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), today it is assigned to a government agency, which does the work for other government departments.
    • Furthermore, during the lockdown, the government changed the EIA rules and diluted labour laws (most of the workers in both the affected projects belong to unorganised sector) in the name of pandemic measures.

    2) Climate change

    • Another factor which cannot be overlooked is that of climate change.
    • Studies have suggested that the pace of this change is faster in mountains and fastest in the Himalayas.
    • While earthquakes and weathering work at their own pace, climate change can contribute towards altering their natural speed.

    Need for studying the 2013 calamity

    •  We can look back at the terrible calamity of 2013, and see how it washed away the encroachments in river areas-dams, barrages, tunnels, buildings, roads.
    • The communities paid a much heavier price than what they received in compensation.
    • Further, the 2013 calamity has to be studied and understood in all the other regions and river valleys of Uttarakhand, Western Nepal and Himachal.
    • It was not specific to Kedarnath, although much of the focus was directed there.
    • Till date, we don’t have any white paper on this calamity.
    • The India Meteorological Department failed in its prediction and wrongly announced at the end of the first week of June that the monsoon will reach Uttarakhand by June 27-28.
    • It reached on June 16-17 with 300-400 per cent more rain, a record never heard of before.
    •  24 big and small hydro projects were destroyed.
    • The muck created by these projects was also the cause of their destruction.
    • The road debris, always dumped in rivers, was another cause.
    • The smaller rivers were more aggressive in 2013.

    Consider the question “What are the factors responsible for the devastating floods in the Uttarakhand? Suggest the measures for disaster mitigation.”

    Conclusion

    The Himalayas have been giving us life through water, fertile soil, biodiversity, wilderness and a feel of spirituality. We cannot and should not try to control or dictate the Himalayas.

  • Farakka ‘lock’ and Hilsa Fish

    It has been reported that an old project to facilitate the movement of Hilsa upstream along the Ganga to its spawning grounds of yore may come to fruition this year.

    What is the news?

    • Back in February 2019, the government had unveiled a project to redesign the navigation lock at the Farakka Barrage at a cost of Rs 360 crore to create a “fish pass” for the Hilsa.

    Hilsa Fish

    • In scientific parlance, the Hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) is an anadromous fish.
    • It lives most of its life in the ocean, but during the rainy season, the Hilsa moves towards the estuary, where the rivers of India and Bangladesh meet the Bay of Bengal.
    • A large part of the shoal travels upstream in the Padma and the Ganga — some are known to move towards the Godavari, and there are records of Hilsa migration to the Cauvery.
    • Culinary lore has it that the fish that travel the farthest upstream have the best combination of the flavours of the sea and the river.

    Try this question from CSP 2019:

    Q. Consider the following pairs:

    Wildlife Naturally found in
    1. Blue-finned Mahseer Cauvery River
    2. Irrawaddy Dolphin Chambal River
    3. Rusty-spotted Cat Eastern Ghats

    Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

    a) 1 and 2 only

    b) 2 and 3 only

    c) 1 and 3 only

    d) 1, 2 and 3

    Obstructions created by Farakka Barrage

    • Historical records also show that until the 1970s, the Hilsa would swim the Ganga upstream to Allahabad — and even to Agra.
    • But the Farakka Barrage, which became operational on the Ganga in 1975, disrupted the westward movement of the Hilsa.
    • The barrage had a navigation lock that stopped the fish from swimming upstream beyond Farakka.
    • In Buxar on the border of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the last recorded catch of the Hilsa was made 32 years ago.
    • The role of the Farakka Barrage in disrupting the Hilsa’s journey is well documented and has been discussed in Parliament as well.
    • On August 4, 2016, then Union Water Resources Minister told Lok Sabha about plans to create “fish ladders” to help the fish navigate the obstacle posed by the barrage.

    Fish ladders/fishways/fish passes

    • Fish passes — also known as fish ladders or fishways — aim to assist fish in crossing obstacles presented by dams and barrages.
    • They usually consist of small steps that allow the fish to climb over the obstacles and enable them to reach the open waters on the other side.