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Subject: Environment

  • The cost of cleaning air

    The article deals with the issue of allocation of funds to tackle air pollution and issues with it.

    Allocation in the budget

    • A ₹4,400 crore package was announced in last budget for 2020-21 to tackle air pollution in 102 of India’s most polluted cities.
    • The funds would be used to reduce particulate matter by 20%-30% from 2017 levels by 2024 under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).

    Issues with estimating the scale of the problem

    • It is unclear if this amount is adequate because the scale of the problem is unknown.
    • Delhi government spent money on the measurement of pollution for in Delhi that far exceeds s allocations that find mention in the Centre and State government’s budgeting books.
    • The funds allocated don’t account for the trained manpower and the support system necessary to effectively maintain the systems and these costs are likely to be significant.
    • Historically, cites have used manual machines to measure specified pollutants and their use has been inadequate.
    • An analysis by research agencies Carbon Copy and Respirer Living Sciences recently found that only 59 out of 122 cities had PM 2.5 data available.
    • Only three States, had all their installed monitors providing readings from 2016 to 2018.
    • Prior to 2016, making comparisons of reduction strictly incomparable.
    • Now manual machines are being replaced by automatic ones and India is still largely reliant on imported machines.
    • In the case of the National Capital Region, at least ₹600 crore was spent by the Ministry of Agriculture over two years to provide subsidised equipment to farmers in Punjab and Haryana and dissuade them from burning paddy straw.
    • Yet this year, there have been more farm fires than the previous year and their contribution to Delhi’s winter air woes remain unchanged.
    • This indicates that money alone doesn’t work.

    Conclusion

    A clear day continues to remain largely at the mercy of favourable meteorology. While funds are critical, proper enforcement, adequate staff and stemming the sources of pollution on the ground are vital to the NCAP meeting its target.

  • Glacial Lake Outburst in Ladakh

    In August 2014, a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) hit the village of Gya in Ladakh, destroying houses, fields and bridges. Researchers now have mapped the evolution of Gya glacial lake and note the cause of the flood.

    What is glacial lake outburst flood?

    • A GLOF is a type of outburst flood that occurs when the dam containing a glacial lake fails.
    • An event similar to a GLOF, where a body of water contained by a glacier melts or overflows the glacier, is called a Jökulhlaup.
    • The dam can consist of glacier ice or a terminal moraine.
    • Failure can happen due to erosion, a buildup of water pressure, an avalanche of rock or heavy snow, an earthquake, volcanic eruptions under the ice, or glacier collapses into it.

     How did it happen in Ladakh?

    • It was not a spillover but rather a tunnelling of drainage process that caused GLOF in Gya lake.
    • Imagine a bucket full of water. It can overflow when you drop a stone, or the water can drain if there is a hole under the bucket.
    • Similarly, here the flooding did not happen due to the spillovers due to an avalanche or landslide, rather there was a thawing of the ice cores in the moraine.

    Back2Basics: Glacial Landforms

    Glacial landforms are landforms created by the action of glacier movements.

    As the glaciers expand, due to their accumulating weight of snow and ice they crush and abrade and scour surfaces such as rocks and bedrock.  The resulting erosional landforms include striations, cirques, glacial horns, arêtes, trim lines, U-shaped valleys, over-deepening and hanging valleys.

    • Cirque: Starting location for mountain glaciers
    • Cirque stairway: a sequence of cirques
    • U-shaped, or trough, valley: U-shaped valleys are created by mountain glaciers. When filled with ocean water so as to create anthe glacial action erodes through, a spillway (or col) forms
    • Valley step: an abrupt change in the longitudinal slope of a glacial valley

    When the glaciers retreated leaving behind their freight of crushed rock and sand (glacial drift), they created characteristic depositional landforms.  Examples include glacial moraines, eskers, and kames. Drumlins and ribbed moraines are also landforms left behind by retreating glaciers.

    • Esker: Built-up bed of a subglacial stream
    • Kame: Irregularly shaped mound
    • Moraine: Feature can be terminal (at the end of a glacier), lateral (along the sides of a glacier), or medial (formed by the merger of lateral moraines from contributary glaciers)
    • Outwash fan: Braided stream flowing from the front end of a glacier

  • Cyclonic storms during October

    October to December period is among the favourable months for the development of cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. This year, however, October passed without witnessing a cyclonic storm.

    Must read: [Burning Issue] Tropical Cyclones and India

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/burning-issue-tropical-cyclones-and-india/

    When do cyclones form and hit Indian coasts?

    • About 80 cyclones are formed around the world annually, out of which five are formed in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, together known as the North Indian Ocean.
    • India’s east and west coasts are prone to cyclones with the maximum associated hazards—rain, heavy winds and storm surge— faced by coastal districts of West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
    • Cyclones in the North Indian Ocean are bi-modal in nature, that is, they occur during two seasons— April to June (pre-monsoon) and October to December (post-monsoon).
    • Of these, May and November remain the most conducive for the development of cyclones.

    When have cyclones skipped October, previously?

    • Cyclonic disturbances— either in the form of a well-marked low pressure, depression or a deep depression— are common in October.
    • Ocean disturbances enter the Bay of Bengal from the South China seaside and head towards the Indian coast.
    • IMD officials have attributed it to the weak La Nina conditions along the equatorial Pacific Ocean.
    • Cooler than normal sea surface temperatures over this region—termed as La Nina— has been prevailing since August this year.

    Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO)

    • Because Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO) was positioned in a favourable phase, the low-pressure systems intensified maximum up to a deep depression.
    • MJO is kind of an eastward-moving cyclic weather event along the tropics that influences rainfall, winds, sea surface temperatures and cloud cover. They have a 30 to 60-day cycle.
    • Most importantly, there was the high wind shear noted between the different atmospheric levels, last month.
    • The vertical wind shear— created due to significant wind speed difference observed between higher and lowers atmospheric levels— prevented the low-pressure systems and depression from strengthening into a cyclone.

  • Using the crucial expertise of CAPFs

    The article emphasises the role played by the CAPFs in dealing with the disasters.

    Dealing with the disasters

    • When disaster strikes our country, be it natural or man-made, the government summons the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to carry out the task of overcoming the disaster.
    • The CAPFs help in carrying out rescue and relief operations, and also mitigates the pains and problems arising out of the disaster.

    Role played by CAPFS during Covid

    • CAPFs comprise the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Sashastra Seema Bal, Assam Rifles and the ITBP.
    • Even before the country got to know about the COVID-19, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) had already set up its 600-bed quarantine centre in Chawla on the outskirts of New Delhi.
    • The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had roped in specialists from the Safdarjung Hospital to coordinate with ITBP officials.
    • Doctors and paramedical personnel of other CAPFs were also roped in.
    • The expertise acquired by ITBP personnel and the Standard Operating Procedure prepared by the ITBP came handy for the States and other police forces in establishing their own quarantine centres and COVID-19 hospitals.

    Role of NDRF during Covid-19

    • NDRF personnel are wholly drawn from the CAPFs.
    • So, they form a good reserve of trained personnel when they go back to their parent force after their stint with NDRF.
    • With 12 battalions of the NDRF— each comprising 1,149 personnel — spread across the country, its experts have the core competency to tackle biological disasters like COVID-19.
    • Such personnel can be deployed at quarantines centres after short-term courses.
    • A proposal mooted by NITI Aayog last year, to conduct a bridge course for dentists to render them eligible for the MBBS degree, could be revived, and such doctors could be on stand-by to help in such emergency crises.

    Conclusion

    It is these CAPF personnel who give a semblance of existence of government administration even in the remotest corners of the country. Their versatile experience can be utilised to the nation’s advantage.

    B2BASICS:

    CAPF

    The Central Armed Police Forces refers to uniform nomenclature of five security forces in India under the authority of Ministry of Home Affairs. Their role is to defend the national interest mainly against the internal threats.

  • Green Hydrogen based vehicular fuel

    Transport sector has been a major contributor of Green House Gases in India. Moving towards cleaner fuels brings to fore two options battery-operated electric vehicle (EV) and hydrogen fuel cell EV. The article compares the two.

    Vehicular emission and steps taken to deal  with it

    • The transport sector in India contributes one-third of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, within which the lion’s share is that of road transport.
    • The government has made concerted efforts to tackle vehicular emissions with policies steps and programmes such as the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME I) scheme, FAME II, tax benefits, etc.

    Blending hydrogen

    • Typically, hydrogen can be produced in one of three ways, i.e., from fossil fuels (grey hydrogen), through carbon capture utilisation & storage (CCUS) application and fossil fuels (blue hydrogen), or by using renewable energy (green hydrogen). 
    • Indian Oil Corporation Limited has patented a technology that produces H-CNG (18% hydrogen in CNG) directly from natural gas, without having to undertake expensive conventional blending.
    • This compact blending process provides a 22% reduction in cost as compared to conventional blending.
    • In comparison to CNG, H-CNG allows for a 70% reduction in carbon monoxide emissions and a 25% reduction in hydrocarbon emissions.
    • The new H-CNG technology requires only minor tweaks in the current design of CNG buses.
    • However, the issue is that the  Hydrogen-spiked CNG is still being produced from natural gas-a fossil fuel.

    Electric vehicle Vs. Fuel cell

    • From a commercial viability standpoint, two cleaner fuel alternatives come to mind—battery-operated electric vehicles (BEV) and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV).
    • Hydrogen FCEVs has reduced refuelling time (5 minutes versus 30-40 minutes with fast charges), higher energy density, longer range, etc.
    • However, one needs to focus on is the entire life cycle of these vehicles as opposed to restricting the analysis to just the carbon-free tailpipe emissions.
    • According to a report by Deloitte (2020) on hydrogen and fuel cells, the lifecycle GHG emissions from hydrogen FCEVs ranges between 130-230 g CO2e per km.
    • The lower end of the range depicts the case of hydrogen production from renewables while the higher end reflects the case of hydrogen production from natural gas.
    • The corresponding life cycles GHG emissions for BEV and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles range between 160-250 g CO2e and 180-270 g CO2e respectively.
    • The cost of lithium ion-based battery-operated vehicles has been reducing while hydrogen fuel cell technology is relatively quite expensive.
    • A hydrogen-run vehicle achieves an energy efficiency rate of 25-35% (roughly 45% of energy is lost during the electrolysis process alone).

    Way forward

    • Given that these are early days for FCEV, one can be hopeful that we will be able to achieve economies of scale and attain cost reductions.
    • Hydrogen Council (2020) on hydrogen cost competitiveness that states scaling up and augmenting fuel cell production from 10,000 to 200,000 units can deliver a 45% reduction in the cost per unit.
    • Similarly, the versatility of hydrogen allows for complementarity across its numerous applications.
    • Moreover, based on the numbers quoted by this report, fuel cell stacks for passenger vehicles are expected to exhibit learning rates of 17% in the coming future.
    • The corresponding figures for commercial vehicles stand at 11%.
    • Efforts are underway in India, and the research activities pertaining to hydrogen have been compiled and recently released in the form of a country status report.
    • In their quest for becoming carbon neutral by 2035, Reliance Industries plan to replace transportation fuels with hydrogen and clean electricity.
    • Similarly, the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is considering setting up a green hydrogen production facility in Andhra Pradesh.
    • The ministry of road transport and highways issued a notification proposing amendments to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (1989) to incorporate safety standards for hydrogen fuel cell technology vehicles.
    • As per a policy brief issued by TERI, demand for hydrogen in India is expected to increase 3-10 fold by 2050.

    Consider the question “What are the benefits and challenges in the adoption of hydrogen as vehicular fuel?”

    Conclusion

    Against this backdrop, the future of hydrogen, particularly green hydrogen, looks promising in India.

    Source:-

    https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/fuelling-a-green-future/2121991/

  • Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) and its flaws

    A special instrument for access to crop genetic resources, i.e. Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) system, is fraught with challenges.

    What is ABS?

    • The Nagoya Protocol sought to ensure commercial and research utilization of genetic resources led to sharing its benefits with the government and the community that conserved such resources.
    • The Nagoya Protocol deals with Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
    • It is a 2010 supplementary agreement to the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
    • It sets out obligations for its contracting parties to take measures in relation to access to genetic resources, benefit-sharing and compliance.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Which one the following is associated with the issue of control and phasing out of the use of ozone-depleting substances?

    (a) Bretton Woods Conference

    (b) Montreal Protocol

    (c) Kyoto Protocol

    (d) Nagoya Protocol

    A deviation from its purpose

    • The CBD was created with wild biodiversity in mind, especially medicinal plants where the source of a particular genetic resource and associated traditional knowledge can often be established easily.
    • The situation is different with respect to genetic resources for food and agriculture, including crops and livestock.
    • Humans have modified these in an incremental manner and in many different geographical locations far from where they were originally domesticated.

    India at loss

    • India was a victim of misappropriation or bio-piracy of our genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, which were patented in other countries.
    • Well-known examples of this include neem and turmeric. It was expected that the Nagoya Protocol on ABS, a key missing pillar of the CBD, would address this concern.

    Threats to livestocks

    • Animal genetic resources composed of breeds and strains of domesticated animals that humans have developed out of 40 wild species in the past 10,000 years were placed under the purview of the Nagoya Protocol.
    • India is a key repository of genetic resources related to animals and holds a rich diversity of distinct livestock breeds. It is, therefore, essential that these breeds are protected.
    • The impending and on-going implementation of the Nagoya Protocol at national levels, therefore, creates some urgency for the animal genetic resource sector to engage with these questions.

  • Brown Carbon ‘Tarballs’

    A study has highlighted that brown carbon ‘tarballs’ that fasten the glacial melting has been found in the Himalayan atmosphere.

    We are still to find a solution for the ill-fated Delhi air,  and here comes another blow from the stubble burnings.

    What are Brown Carbon ‘Tarballs’?

    • Tarballs are small light-absorbing, carbonaceous particles formed due to burning of biomass or fossil fuels that deposit on snow and ice.
    • They are formed from brown carbon, emitted during the burning of fossil fuels.
    • The median sizes of externally mixed tarballs and internally mixed tarballs were 213 and 348 nanometre respectively.
    • Primary brown carbon (BrC) co-emitted with black carbon (BC) from biomass burning is an important light-absorbing carbonaceous aerosol.
    • The black carbon from the Indo-Gangetic Plain can reach the Himalaya region and influence glacial melting and climatic change.

    Highlights of the study

    • Until now, black carbon was found to be transported long distances by the wind to the Himalayan atmosphere.
    • The study revealed that a dense array of active fire spots — corresponding to large-scale wheat-residue burning on the Indo-Gangetic Plain — occurred along the pathways of Himalaya.
    • The percentage of the tarballs increased on days of higher levels of pollution and could contribute to the hastening of glacial melt and global warming.
    • The researchers concluded that tarballs from long-range transport can be an important factor in the climatic effect and would correspond to a substantial influence on glacial melting in the Himalaya region.

  • Pusa Bio-Decomposer

    Delhi CM has said that the “Pusa bio-decomposer” is a success in Delhi and he will inform the Supreme Court that it is an effective way to prevent stubble burning.

    Pusa Bio-decomposer provides a unique alternative against the stubble burning practices.

    Pusa Bio-decomposer

    • It is a solution developed by the scientists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa, which can turn crop residue into manure in 15 to 20 days and therefore, can prevent stubble burning.
    • It involves making a liquid formulation using Pusa decomposer capsules and readily available inputs, fermenting it over 8-10 days, and then spraying the mixture on fields.
    • It is a mix of seven fungi that produce enzymes to digest cellulose, lignin and pectin in paddy straw.
    • The fungi thrive at 30-32 degree Celsius, which is the temperature prevailing when paddy is harvested and wheat is sown.

    Back2Basics: Decomposition

    • Decomposition refers to a biological process of breaking down organic material into smaller constituent parts.
    • The decomposition of organic substances is ecologically significant. It plays a part in the nutrient cycle. It is an essential process of recycling matter in the biosphere.
    • A decomposer is an organism whose ecological function involves the recycling of nutrients by performing the natural process of decomposition as it feeds on decaying organisms.
    • Examples of decomposers are fungi and bacteria that obtain their nutrients from a dead plant or animal material.
    • They break down cells of dead plants and animals into simpler substances, which become organic nutrients available to the ecosystem.

  • Char-chaporis of Assam

    A proposed museum reflecting the “culture and heritage of the people living in char-chaporis” has stirred up a controversy in Assam.

    Do you know?

    Phumdis are a series of floating islands, exclusive to the Loktak Lake in Manipur. They cover a substantial part of the lake area and are heterogeneous masses of vegetation, soil and organic matter, in different stages of decay.

    What are char-chaporis?

    • A char is a floating island while chaporis are low-lying flood-prone riverbanks.
    • They are used interchangeably as they keep changing shapes — a char can become a chapori, or vice versa, depending on the push and pull of the Brahmaputra.
    • Prone to floods and erosion, these areas are marked by low development indices.
    • While Bengali-origin Muslims primarily occupy these islands, other communities such as Misings, Deoris, Kocharis, Nepalis also live here.
    • In the popular imagination, however, chars have become synonymous to the Bengali-speaking Muslims of dubious nationality.

    Who are the Miyas?

    • The ‘Miya’ community comprises descendants of Muslim migrants from East Bengal (now Bangladesh) to Assam.
    • They came to be referred to as ‘Miyas’, often in a derogatory manner.
    • The community migrated in several waves — starting with the British annexation of Assam in 1826, and continuing into Partition and the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

  • WWF Water Risk Filter

    Nearly a third of the 100 cities in the world susceptible to ‘water risk’ — defined as losses from battling droughts to flooding — are in India, according to the WWF Water Risk Filter.

    Try this question for mains:

    Q.For Indian cities to break away from the vicious loop of flooding and water scarcity, nature-based solutions like restoration of urban watersheds and wetlands could offer an alternative. Examine.

    What is Water Risk Filter?

    • This is an online tool, co-developed by the Worldwide Fund for Nature that helps evaluate the severity of risk places faced by graphically illustrating various factors that can contribute to water risk.
    • Launched in 2012, it is a practical online tool that helps companies and investors assess and respond to water-related risks facing their operations and investments across the globe.
    • After a major upgrade in 2018, the Water Risk Filter 5.0 enables companies and investors to Explore, Assess, Value and Respond to water risks.
    • Lately, the Water Risk Filter provides scenarios of water risks for 2030 and 2050, integrating climate and socio-economic changes in different pathways.

    Highlights of the recent analysis

    • It reported 30 Indian cities that would face a ‘grave water risk’ by 2050 due to a dramatic increase in their population percentage to 51 per cent by 2050, from 17 per cent in 2020.
    • Jaipur topped the list, followed by Indore and Thane. Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi also featured on the list.
    • The global list includes cities such as Beijing, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Mecca and Rio de Janeiro. China accounts for almost half the cities.

    Major recommendations

    • The future of India’s environment lies in its cities. As India rapidly urbanizes, cities will be at the forefront both for India’s growth and for sustainability.
    • For cities to break away from the current vicious loop of flooding and water scarcity, nature-based solutions like restoration of urban watersheds and wetlands could offer solutions.
    • Urban watersheds and wetlands are critical for maintaining the water balance of a city, flood cushioning, micro-climate regulation and protecting its biodiversity, the report notes.