Context: Haryana State government’s moves to seek Supreme Court’s permission to resume mining in the Aravalli hill region. Mining has been banned in Gurugram and adjoining districts for more than a decade now as per the Supreme Court orders. What is causing degradation of Aravalli? Increasing population pressure Changes in rainfall pattern Spreading of sand dunes Flawed plantation drives. …
Context: According to a study, Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is losing its stability and is very likely that AMOC will decline over the 21st century. What is Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation(AMOC)? AMOC is a large system of ocean currents. It is the Atlantic branch of the ocean conveyor belt or Thermohaline circulation (THC) and distributes …
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Context: The intensity of severe cyclonic storms in the North Indian Ocean region has shown an increasing trend in the past four decades. Why do we need to study the North Indian Ocean? The impact of global warming due to climate change and its effect on extreme weather events such as frequency and high-intensity tropical cyclones formed …
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Is India facing a water-stressed situation? India has 16% of the world population, but only 4% of freshwater resources. Water availability in the country was about 5,000 cubic metres per capita per year at the time of independence. It was greater than what was necessary. The global norm for a water-stress situation is 1700 cubic …
Utility: Direct question can be asked on this topic. Context: Parts of Canada and USA are reeling under severe heatwave caused due to a heat dome. What is a heat dome? According to The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a heat dome occurs when the atmosphere traps hot ocean air like a lid or cap. Heat …
Deep Ocean Mission: Deep Ocean Mission aims to explore the deep ocean for resources. It also aims to develop deep-sea technologies for sustainable use of ocean resources. Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Earth Sciences(MoES) will be the nodal Ministry for implementing this mission. Duration of the mission: The mission will be implemented over a period of 5 years in …
Context: According to the Council on Energy, Environment and Water(CEEW) report the cyclone frequency has doubled after 2005 in India. Micro Climatic Changes are contributing to this change. Key Findings of the report: In the last 50 years, India has recorded a 12-fold increase in the number of cyclonic events such as extreme rainfall, floods, sea-level …
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Context: Earth’s axis of rotation has been rotating faster than normal since the 1990s due to the significant melting of glaciers caused by global warming. According to NASA, the spin axis drifted around 10 cm every year in the 20th century. It means, in a year, polar motion exceeds 10 metres. Concept of earth’s axis …
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Impacts of Desert Dust Particles on Indian Summer Monsoon: Strong winds carry the dust particles from the Middle East into the atmosphere. Dust particles absorb solar radiation and become extremely hot. This causes heating of the atmosphere. Heat decreases the air pressure and changes wind circulation patterns. Further, it increases the moisture transport capacity of …
Volcanic Eruptions Volcanic eruptions happen when lava and gas are discharged from a volcanic vent. The most common consequences of this are population movements as large numbers of people are often forced to flee the moving lava flow. Types: Volcanic activity and volcanic areas are commonly divided into six major types: Icelandic: It is characterized by effusions of …