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Subject: Geography

  • Places in news: Mount Vesuvius

    The Italian Culture Ministry announced the discovery of well-preserved remains of two men, who perished during the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Consider the following statements:

    1. The Barren Island volcano is an active volcano located in the Indian Territory.
    2. Barren Island lies about 140 km east of Great Nicobar.
    3. The last time the Barren Island volcano erupted was in 1991 and it has remained inactive since then.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 3 only

    (d) 1 and 3 only

    Mount Vesuvius

    • Located in southern Italy near the coastal city of Naples, the 4,203-ft (1,281 metres) tall Vesuvius is the only active volcano in mainland Europe.
    • Vesuvius has been classified as a complex volcano (also called a compound volcano), one that consists of a complex of two or more vents.
    • It typically has explosive eruptions and pyroclastic flows –– defined as a high-density mix of hot lava blocks, pumice, ash and volcanic gas.
    • It has erupted more than 50 times and is considered among the most dangerous volcanoes in the world due to its proximity to Naples and surrounding towns.
    • Its last serious eruption, lasting two weeks, was in 1944 during World War II, which left 26 Italian civilians dead and around 12,000 displaced.

    The eruption of 79 AD

    • In 79 AD, the Roman Empire-era sister cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed and buried during a catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius.
    • It was a catastrophic event that destroyed the ancient Roman city of Pompeii and killed around 16,000 people.
    • Pompeii, 8 km away from Vesuvius, served as a resort town on the Bay of Naples for Rome’s elite citizens, consisting of villas, cafes, marketplaces and a 20,000-seat arena.
    • In 63 AD, a major earthquake rattled the city, serving as a warning for the eruption to come. However, few residents bothered to abandon the region, known for its volatility.

  • Chinese dam projects on Brahmaputra and impact on downstream countries

    Scarcity of water in India and China

    • As India and China continue to grow demographically as well as economically amid increased consumption among its citizenry, both nations face water constraints.
    • China, which is home to close to 20 per cent of the world’s population, has only 7 per cent of its water resources.
    • Severe pollution of its surface and groundwater caused by rapid industrialisation is a source of concern for Chinese planners.
    • China’s southern regions are water-rich in comparison to the water-stressed northern part.
    • The southern region is a major food producer and has significant industrial capacity as a consequence of more people living there.
    • India is severely water-stressed as well.
    • Similar to China, India has 17 per cent of the world’s population and 4 per cent of water.
    • As in China, an equally ambitious north-south river-linking project has been proposed in India.

    Impact on downstream states

    • The construction of several dams along the Yarlung (Brahmaputra) river on the Chinese side has been a repeated cause for concern for Indian officials and the local people.
    • China has an ambitious plan to link its south and north through canals, aqueducts and linking of major rivers to ensure water security.
    • In pursuit of these goals, China, being an upper riparian state in Asia, has been blocking rivers like the Mekong and its tributaries, affecting Southeast Asian countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
    • It has caused immense damage to the environment and altered river flows in the region.
    • China sees these projects as a continuation of their historic tributary system as the smaller states have no means of effectively resisting or even significant leverage in negotiations.

    Challenges for India

    • There are now multiple operational dams in the Yarlung Tsangpo basin with more dams commissioned and under construction. These constructions present a unique challenge for Indian planners.
    • 1) Dams will eventually lead to degradation of the entire basin:
    • Silt carried by the river would get blocked by dams leading to a fall in the quality of soil and eventual reduction in agricultural productivity.
    • 2) The Brahmaputra basin is one of the world’s most ecologically sensitive zones.
    • It is identified as one of the world’s 34 biological hotspots.
    • This region sees several species of flora and fauna that are endemic to only this part of the world.
    • The river itself is home to the Gangetic river dolphin, which is listed as critically endangered.
    • 3) The location of the dams in the Himalayas pose a risk.
    • Seismologists consider the Himalayas as most vulnerable to earthquakes and seismic activity.
    • The sheer size of the infrastructure projects undertaken by China, and increasingly by India, poses a significant threat to the populations living downstream.
    • Close to a million people live in the Brahmaputra basin in India and tens of millions further downstream in Bangladesh.
    • 4) Damming Brahmaputra would result in water security in an era of unprecedented shifting climate patterns.
    • This security extends beyond water, as there is the potential to significantly change the flow rate during times of standoffs and high tensions.

    Way forward

    • Both sides must cease new constructions on the river and commit to potentially less destructive solutions.
    • Building a decentralised network of check dams, rain-capturing lakes and using traditional means of water capture have shown effective results in restoring the ecological balance while supporting the populations of the regions in a sustainable manner.

    Conclusion

    There are alternate solutions to solving the water crisis.  It is in the interest of all stakeholders to neutralise this ticking water bomb.

  • Strengthening the public health capacities in disasters

    The article highlights the importance of the robust public healthcare system for the disaster preparedness and suggests linking it with the primary healthcare.

    Reactive approach to disasters

    • In 2005, India enacted the Disaster Management Act, which laid an institutional framework for managing disasters across the country.
    • Under the Act, reactive, ad hoc measures applied in the event of a disaster, was to be replaced with a systematic scheme for prevention, mitigation, and responding to disasters of all kinds.
    • Disaster management considerations were to be incorporated into every aspect of development and the activities of different sectors, including health.
    • While some headway has indeed been achieved, the approach continues to be largely reactive.
    • Significant gaps remain particularly in terms of medical preparedness for disasters.

    Medical preparedness for disasters

    • Two important lessons emerge:-
    • First, health services and their continuing development cannot be oblivious to the possibility of disaster-imposed pressures.
    • Second, the legal framework for disaster management must push a legal mandate for strengthening the public health system.

    Role of private health sector during disaster

    • Instances of overcharging during Covid illustrates how requisitioning of private sector services during disasters can hardly be a dependable option in the Indian context.
    • This is particularly important since the future development of hospital care services is being envisaged chiefly under publicly financed health insurance, which would very likely be private-sector led.
    • The Indian private sector landscape, characterised by weak regulation and poor organisation, is incapable for mounting a strong and coordinated response to disasters.
    • During disasters, the limited regulatory ability could be further compromised.
    • While publicly financed insurance could be a medium to introduce some order into this picture, a large majority of private hospitals in the country are small enterprises which cannot meet the inclusion criteria for insurance.
    • Many of these small hospitals are also unsuitable for meeting disaster-related care needs.
    • Punitive action against non-compliant requisitioned hospitals becomes tricky during disasters since health services are already inadequate.
    • Private hospitals are known to prefer lucrative and high-end ‘cold’ cases, especially under insurance, and are generally averse to infectious diseases and critical cases with unpredictable profiles.

    Need for strong public sector capacities

    • Due to the above-cited limitations of the private sector, strong public sector capacities are imperative for dealing with disasters.
    • While the Disaster Management Act does require States and hospitals to have emergency plans, medical preparedness is a matter of policy, and, therefore, gaps are pervasive.
    • There is a strong case for introducing a legal mandate to strengthen public sector capacities via disaster legislation.
    • There is also scope for greater integration of disaster management with primary care.
    • Primary care stands for things such as multisectoral action, community engagement, disease surveillance, and essential health-care provision, all of which are central to disaster management.

    Way forward

    •  Evidence supports the significance of robust primary care during disasters, and this is particularly relevant for low-income settings.
    • Synergies with the National Health Mission, concurrently with the Disaster Management Act in 2005, could be worth exploring.
    • Interestingly, the National Health Mission espouses a greater role for the community and local bodies, the lack of which has been a major criticism of the Disaster Management Act.
    • Making primary health care central to disaster management can be a significant step towards building health system and community resilience to disasters.

    Consider the question “Robust public healthcare system is indispensable for the disaster preparedness which could be achieved through making the primary healthcare central to the disaster management. Comment.

    Conclusion

    While the novel coronavirus pandemic has waned both in objective severity and subjective seriousness, valuable messages and lessons lie scattered around. It is for us to not lose sight and pick them up.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • What are Western Disturbances?

    With the approaching winter, minimum temperatures in the national capital have trended downward over the last due to the arrival of northwesterly winds called Western Disturbances.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Westerlies in the southern hemisphere is stronger and persistent than in northern hemisphere. Why?

    1. The southern hemisphere has less landmass as compared to the northern hemisphere.
    2. Coriolis force is higher in the southern hemisphere as compared to the northern hemisphere

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) Only 1

    (b) Only 2

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

    Western Disturbances

    • A western disturbance is an extratropical storm originating in the Mediterranean region that brings sudden winter rain to the northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent.
    • It is a non-monsoonal precipitation pattern driven by the westerlies.
    • The moisture in these storms usually originates over the Mediterranean Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.
    • Extratropical storms are global phenomena with moisture usually carried in the upper atmosphere, unlike their tropical counterparts where the moisture is carried in the lower atmosphere.
    • In the case of the Indian subcontinent, moisture is sometimes shed as rain when the storm system encounters the Himalayas.
    • Western disturbances are more frequent and strong in the winter season.

    Their significance

    • Western disturbances, specifically the ones in winter, bring moderate to heavy rain in low-lying areas and heavy snow to mountainous areas of the Indian Subcontinent.
    • They are the cause of most winter and pre-monsoon season rainfall across northwest India.
    • Precipitation during the winter season has great importance in agriculture, particularly for the rabi crops.
    • Wheat among them is one of the most important crops, which helps to meet India’s food security. An average of four to five western disturbances forms during the winter season.
    • The rainfall distribution and amount vary with every western disturbance.

    Also read: Polar Vortex 

  • Ladakh Fault in Indus Suture Zone (ISZ)

    A recent survey has found that a tectonic fault line that runs through Ladakh, all along the Indus river, is not inactive as was previously thought and is, in fact, moving northward.

    Tap here to read more about Himalayan orogeny:

    Indus Suture Zone (ISZ)

    • A suture zone is a linear belt of intense deformation, where distinct terranes, or tectonic units with different plate tectonic, metamorphic, and paleogeographic histories, join together.
    • The ISZ represents a belt of tectonic compression caused by the underthrusting of the Indian shield/ plate against the Tibetan mass.
    • It marks the boundary between the Indian and Eurasian plates.
    • The suture zone stretches from the North-Western Himalayan syntaxis bordering the Nanga Parbat to the East as far as the Namche Barwa Mountain.

    Its tectonic activity

    • The Karakoram Range and the Ladakh plateau lie to the north of ISZ and originally formed a part of the European plate.
    • The zone has been neo-tectonically active for the past 78,000-58,000 years.
    • While the frontal and central parts of the Himalayas — the Shivaliks, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Sikkim — are still known to be active and moving.
    • The fault line runs all along the Indus river, from China through India and Pakistan.
    • The study was conducted in Ladakh from the north of Ladakh’s capital, Leh, to the Tso Moriri lake, a distance of 213 kilometres.

    Why the Ladakh region is more vulnerable?

    • Fault lines weaken the rock formation in the region through which it runs, making the area vulnerable to excessive erosion and landslides.
    • What makes the Ladakh region vulnerable is that unlike other areas in the Himalayas and the rest of the country, there is very little vegetation here and very few trees that can root the soil down.
    • So, in the case of a flash flood or a cloud burst, this can have a widespread impact.

  • The Human Cost of Disasters Report (2000-2019)

    The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) recently published its report titled “The Human Cost of Disasters”.

    The report holds much significance for prelims as well as mains. Just for the sake of information, we must be aware of the report.

    Highlights of the report

    • 7,348 major disaster events had occurred between 2000 and 2019, claiming 1.23 lives, affecting 4.2 billion people and costing the global economy some $2.97 trillion.
    • Of this, China (577 events) and the US (467 events) reported the highest number of disaster events followed by India (321 events).
    • Climate change is to be blamed for the doubling of natural disasters in the past 20 years says the report.
    • There had also been an increase in geophysical events like earthquakes and tsunamis that are not related to climate but are particularly deadly.

    Back2Basics: UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

    • The UNDRR was established in 1999 as a dedicated secretariat to facilitate the implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR).
    • It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
    • It is mandated to serve as the focal point in the UN system for the coordination of disaster reduction and to ensure synergies among the disaster reduction activities.
    • It has a vision to substantially reduce disaster risk and losses for a sustainable future with the mandate to act as the custodian of the Sendai Framework to which India is a signatory.

  • What is Global Warming Hiatus (GWH)?

    A new study on variability in the Mascarene High (MH) in the Southern Indian Ocean during global warming hiatus (GWH) has revealed that the region experienced significantly increased sea surface temperature (SST) during this period (1998-2016).

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.With reference to Ocean Mean Temperature (OMT), which of the following statements is/are correct? (CSP 2020)

    1. OMT is measured upto a depth of 26 degree Celsius isotherm which is 129 meters in the south-western Indian Ocean during January-March.
    2. OMT collected during January-March can be used in assessing whether the amount of rainfall in monsoon will be less or more than a certain long-term mean.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:
    (a) 1 only
    (b) 2 only
    (c) Both 1 and 2
    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

    What is Global Warming Hiatus (GWH)?

    • A global warming hiatus is referred to a global warming pause, or a global warming slowdown, which is a period of relatively little change in globally averaged surface temperatures.
    • The hiatus, however, can result in an increase in the SST.

    What is Mascarene High (MH)?

    • The Mascarene High (MH) is a semi-permanent subtropical high-pressure zone in the South Indian Ocean.
    • It is also called the Indian Ocean subtropical high, which is a high-pressure area located between 20° to 35° South latitude and 40° to 90° East longitude.
    • It is a region from where the cross-equatorial winds blow to India.
    • It has been named after the Mascarene Islands, in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of the islands belonging to Mauritius as well as the French RĂ©union Islands.
    • Apart from its large influence on African and Australian weather patterns, it also helps in driving the inter-hemispheric circulation between the Indian Ocean in the south and subcontinental landmass in the north.

    Role of MH

    • The warming in SST due to global warming has resulted in a decrease in the pressure gradient between the MH and the Indian landmass.
    • This in turn suppressed the intensity of low-level cross-equatorial winds over the western Indian Ocean affecting the onset of the monsoon over the Indian subcontinent and rainfall over East Asia.