· subsidy and 80% discount would be given for setting up of custom hiring centres for these...

Burning of stubble down 40%, SC told 2

Unchecked warming will raise mortality levels in India: study 4

How cities can lead the charge on climate change 6

Let’s clear the air 7

To mitigate air pollution, look beyond tokenism 10

Clearing the air: On Delhi's air pollution 12

U.S. begins formal pullout from Paris deal 14

‘Indian lungs under extreme stress’ 16

As the seas come closer 18

Wealth from the stubble 21

Over 11,000 scientists worldwide declare global climate emergency 23

From Plate to Plough: A crop for clean air 26

India’s efforts towards mitigating climate change 29

Meghalayan rainforests similar to equatorial ones 32

Trump slams India and China, says Paris pact is unfair to the U.S. 35

Progress on childhood pneumonia, diarrhoea falling short, finds global study 37

India walks its green talk 40

Chemicals in Garcinia plants of northeast could be beneficial for humans, finds study 41

Arctic Ocean may be ice-free for part of year by 2044, finds study 43

Hungry tides of the Sundarbans: How the rising seas create environmental migrants 46

Recognising the climate crisis 51

‘Nilgiri Tahr’ Conserve the species and its habitat 53

World action to combat global warming inadequate, says UNEP 55

Air pollution linked to higher risk of glaucoma: Study 57

Greenhouse gases surge to record in 2018, exceeding 10-yr average rate: U.N. 60

Index

crac

kIAS.co

m

Source : www.thehindu.com Date : 2019-11-02

BURNING OF STUBBLE DOWN 40%, SC TOLDRelevant for: Environment | Topic: Environmental Degradation - GHGs, Ozone Depletion and Climate Change

An agricultural worker setting fire to crop residue on the outskirts of Mohali.File photo

The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has informed the Supreme Court thatincidents of stubble burning in the three States neighbouring Delhi and the National CapitalRegion have come down by 41% since 2016.

The Centre claimed that stubble burning has seen a reduction of 11%, 29.5% and 24.5% in2018 in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, respectively, when compared to 2017.

In an affidavit, the Union Ministry said after the 2018 Budget, special central schemes, having atotal outlay of Rs. 1151.8 crore, have been rolled out to tackle air pollution and for in-situmanagement of crop residue and promotion of agriculture mechanisation.

The machines to manage crop residue would be disbursed among individual farmers for 50%subsidy and 80% discount would be given for setting up of custom hiring centres for thesemachines.

For the year 2018-19, the Centre has already disbursed 100% of its share of funds with Rs.269.38 crore for Punjab, Rs. 137.84 crore for Haryana, Rs. 148.6 crore for Uttar Pradesh andRs. 28.51 crore to Central agencies.

The affidavit said 33,075 pieces of crop residue control machinery have been distributed toPunjab, 11,941 to Haryana and 18,706 to Uttar Pradesh.

Machinery sanctioned for distribution in 2019 to these States are 24,214, 14,677 and 7,418 toPunjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, respectively.

Incentive schemes to achieve zero stubble burning have been introduced at the pradhan, grampanchayat and village levels.

A high-level task force is working to manage air pollution in the national capital, the Ministry said.

You need to subscribe or sign-up to read Today's Paper articles.

Already have an account ? Sign in

Find mobile-friendly version of articles from the day's newspaper in one easy-to-read list.

Enjoy reading as many articles as you wish without any limitations.

A select list of articles that match your interests and tastes.

Move smoothly between articles as our pages load instantly.

A one-stop-shop for seeing the latest updates, and managing your preferences.

We brief you on the latest and most important developments, three times a day.

https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=todayspaper&utm_medium=tp-national&utm_campaign=tppaywall&#signin

crac

kIAS.co

m

*Our Digital Subscription plans do not currently include the e-paper ,crossword, iPhone, iPadmobile applications and print. Our plans enhance your reading experience.

Support The Hindu's new online experience.

Already a user? Sign In

ENDDownloaded from crackIAS.com

© Zuccess App by crackIAS.com

https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=adblocker&utm_medium=signin&utm_campaign=adblocker&#signin

crac

kIAS.co

m


UNCHECKED WARMING WILL RAISE MORTALITYLEVELS IN INDIA: STUDY

Relevant for: Environment | Topic: Environmental Degradation - GHGs, Ozone Depletion and Climate Change

Summers in India are set to grow hotter. File

A rise in average temperatures across India would increase death rates by 10%, translating intoan extra million and a half deaths by the end of the century, says a report by researchers basedat The Climate Impact Lab, a collaboration of researchers from multiple U.S. universities andorganisations. This level of mortality would result if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise inthe way they do today.

The analysis studies trends in mortality with the rise in temperatures in a range of countries andadjusts for future scenarios of more people getting richer and being able to adapt better towarming.

The researchers collected statistics on causes of death in 40 countries, including India, theUnited States, China, the European Union, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Japan.

This was to cover a range of climate and economic conditions, and compute the extent to whichexposure to increased heat would increase death. These deaths could be the result of exposureto heat strokes or increased cardiovascular risk.

“We include the costs of adapting to climate change to give us the full mortality risk associatedwith climate change,” the authors noted in their paper, which is being peer-reviewed.

If greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated, the average temperature in India is expected toincrease from 24°Celsius today to 28°C by 2100.

Days with temperatures above 35°C are expected to triple from the current average of 5.1 to15.8 by 2050 and 42.8 by 2100.

Punjab has the highest annual average temperatures in India and the analysis finds that wherecurrent temperature trends to continue, 16 States are projected to be hotter than what Punjab istoday. Odisha is expected to have the highest increase in the number of extremely hot days,rising from 1.6 in 2010 to 48.05 by 2100. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh,Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are estimated to contribute 64% of the total excess deaths.

If steps are taken to cut emissions such that they peak by 2040 to prevent temperature riseexceeding 2°C over pre-industrial levels, the excess death rates due to heat could drop to 10per 1,00,000, a nearly 80% decline from what India is currently heading towards, said Amir Jina,one of the researchers based at the University of Chicago.

You have reached your limit for free articles this month.

Register to The Hindu for free and get unlimited access for 30 days.


Sign up for a 30-day free trial. Sign Up

https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=meterpaywall&utm_medium=health&utm_campaign=meterpaywall&#signin

https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=meterpaywall&utm_medium=health&utm_campaign=meterpaywall

crac

kIAS.co

m








Support quality journalism - Subscribe to The Hindu Digital

Please enter a valid email address.

The last confirmed case of WPV3 was recorded in northern Nigeria in 2012.

Researchers have found that immune cells called microglia, which play an important role inreorganising the connections between nerve cells, fighting

Subscribe to The Hindu now and get unlimited access.

Already have an account? Sign In






https://subscription.thehindu.com/subscription?utm_source=article_tail&utm_medium=bottom&utm_campaign=subscription

https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=curtainraiser&utm_medium=signin&utm_campaign=subscription#signin

https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=curtainraiser&utm_medium=signup&utm_campaign=subscription


crac

kIAS.co

m

Source : www.hindustantimes.com Date : 2019-11-04

HOW CITIES CAN LEAD THE CHARGE ON CLIMATECHANGE


Nov 04, 2019-Monday-°C

Humidity-

Wind-

Metro cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata

Other cities - Noida, Gurgaon, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Bhopal , Chandigarh , Dehradun, Indore,Jaipur, Lucknow, Patna, Ranchi

Powered by

By 2050, large portions of Mumbai may be under water due to the sea level rise, if emissions arenot kept in check, says a new study by American scientific research organisation, ClimateCentral. The key reason behind the sea level rise is thermal expansion of sea water and meltingof glaciers due to rise in global temperatures. The main effects of sea level rise will includecoastal flooding, higher storm surges and displacement of population.

It is clear from the study that Indian cities, irrespective of where they are located, need to planand invest more in climate resilience for their survival, and also because disruptions will have adomino effect on other cities too in the form of migration. To do so, first, cities must reduce theircarbon footprint. Second, they must strengthen their natural defences (such as mangroves andwetlands), which most are destroying at a rapid pace in their desire to develop. The ClimateCentral report also underlines the importance of such defences when it says that Mumbai’sgreen zones are likely to survive the rise in sea levels, while many other areas won’t. Third,invest in the right kind of infrastructure, taking into account the fact that these systems must begood enough not just to withstand extreme weather events, but also come back into operationquickly as and when disaster strikes. A recent (September 2019) GoldmanSachs report saidcities will be on the frontline of the need to adapt because they are home to more than half theworld’s population and generate roughly 80% of global GDP. Given the scale of the task, urbanadaptation will likely need to draw on innovative sources of financing.

Last, urban adaptation may raise questions of fairness — such as which cities can supportadaptation and which cannot, or where limited resources should be directed within cities. Thecentral and state governments must ensure that there is equity in the adaption process so thatthe poor are not left out.



crac

kIAS.co

m

Source : www.indianexpress.com Date : 2019-11-04

LET’S CLEAR THE AIRRelevant for: Environment | Topic: Environmental Conservation, Sustainable Development, and EIA

© 2019 The Indian Express Ltd.All Rights Reserved

Gogoi is a member of Lok Sabha.

As Delhi’s Air Quality Index crosses 500, the national capital has officially entered the publichealth emergency category. Schools have been shut, children are complaining of breathingproblems, but the state and Central governments are simply indulging in blame-games. Whensomething as fundamental as the health of our children is at risk, we should devise a morerobust, permanent solution to the problem of pollution. This forms the basis of the need foramending the 1981 Air Act and making it more compatible with contemporary India.

Air pollution in India is not simply an environmental problem, but a major public health concern.It impacts all those breathing in the polluted air — children, the elderly, women and men alike.As its concentration worsens in India and statistics grow more grim, so do our policymakers’reactions. As a father of a three-year-old, my concern for my child’s health is shared bynumerous other families. Recently, the Centre for Science and Environment reported that airpollution kills an average 8.5 out of every 10,000 children in India before they turn five. Similarly,the WHO in 2016 reported that pollution has led to the deaths of over 1 lakh children in India.Overall, several internationally acclaimed studies have affirmed that life expectancy in India hasdeclined anywhere between two to three years.

Statistics show that India is in a worse situation compared to its global counterparts. Accordingto Greenpeace, 22 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities are in India and Delhi has yet againbagged the position of the world’s most polluted capital. These are grim figures, especially whencompared to India’s neighbours: Five in China, two in Pakistan and one in Bangladesh. In 2018,India was placed in the bottom five countries on the Environmental Performance Index, ranking177th out of 180 countries, along with Bangladesh, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, andNepal.

Because of the toxic air and the lax liability system, young children’s health and quality of life arebeing significantly affected. Currently, breathing in Delhi’s air is similar to smoking 22 cigarettesin a day. One can only imagine the impact on the lungs of our children. And yet, there is adeafening silence at the helm of policymaking because it has not become an electoral priority forpolitical leaders. Besides a few underfunded programmes, the government shows no willingnessto bring a bill or law compelling central and state governments to ensure that its citizens arebreathing clean air.

The Indian government needs to identify the tangible benefits that concrete legislation on airpollution has brought across the world. In the United States, the Clean Air Act has proven thatpublic health and economic progress can go together. For instance, the aggregate nationalemissions of the six common pollutants in the USA dropped an average of 73 per cent from1970 to 2017. Through one piece of legislation, the US has challenged multiple sources ofpollution, airborne or motor vehicle-led. Similarly, after declaring a war on pollution, Chinesecities reduced particulate concentration by 32 per cent in 2018. In a country with a human powerand technical know-how like India, achieving a better feat is not impossible.

However, in India, we are ignoring the change that progressive legislation can bring. In recent

crac

kIAS.co

m

times, the government has worked on a much hyped “mission-mode” — drafting policies andprogrammes to alleviate pollution. But with little to no legal mandate or a budgetary allocation ofas little as Rs 300 crore under programmes such as the National Clean Air Programme, no trueenforcement of targets and goals is guaranteed. In such dire circumstances with high stakes,higher targets need to be set, penalties need to be stricter, and the mandate needs to bestronger.

It is therefore essential to retrace our steps back to the Air Act of 1981 that governs our pollutioncontrol system. There is unanimous consensus amongst many court rulings, ParliamentCommittee reports, media investigations, and several environmentalists that under the 1981 AirAct, the Pollution Control Boards are presently unable to fulfil their mandate as watchdogsagainst polluting industries. A new bill will plug many loopholes in the 1981 Act and would alignthe functions and priorities of the Pollution Boards towards reducing the adverse impact ofpollution on human health in India.

India’s pollution liability regime has never prioritised the adverse impact of pollution on health. Inits present form, India’s Air Act does not mention or prioritise the importance of reducing thehealth impact of rising pollution. This is the first change that a new law on air pollution shouldbring, protecting health needs to become the central mission that the boards work towards. Forinstance, at any point that the State Boards find evidence of excess air pollution, they shouldtake all measures possible to actively disseminate this information to the masses. When the airquality goes from normal to toxic and hazardous, the boards must be empowered to declarepublic health emergencies, with the power to temporarily shut down all polluting activities. Whilethese changes might introduce an additional burden on industries to proactively check theiremissions, the additional burden is worth the lives that will be saved as a result.

Accountability and deterrence are essential in making sure industries comply with emissionstandards. While the boards cannot levy penalties, in the new law they should be empowered toencash environmental compensations from polluting industries to make up for the cost ofmitigating the damage the violating industry has caused. This possibility of paying compensationwould be a strong reinforcement for industries to adopt cleaner technologies and comply withstandards. Finally, in a federal set-up, the Centre and states must work in synergy to ensure thattargets set for the country and states are fulfilled. Therefore, the new law must push Central andstate boards to convene joint sittings with a multi-sectoral participation from ministries such ashousing, urban development, agriculture and road transport. Air pollution is not, and has neverbeen, a problem with a single solution. It is caused by emissions from vehicles, industries andagriculture, construction dust, and other factors related to household consumption and municipalplanning.

Because multiple ministries and government departments are involved, without appropriatepolitical leadership, public commitment will remain on paper only. Therefore, the new law on airpollution must give an additional mandate to either a senior minister, such as the minister ofenvironment, forest and climate or the prime minister’s office needs to be involved directly.Greater public transparency is essential to the success of winning the war on air pollution. Thereis no better watchdog than active citizens, which is why the pollution targets must be madepublic every year for their perusal and to be evaluated at the end of the year. To incentivise theindustries to better themselves through environmental compensations, the industries and theirrespective state boards must be ranked in order of their efficiency and programme delivery.

Breathing clean air is the fundamental right of every Indian citizen. Human health must becomea priority when it comes to legislating on air pollution. As 2019 nears its end, and the season ofsmog begins, there is an urgent need for India to be a pollution free nation. Pollution controlboards must be empowered sufficiently to ensure that pollution does not take more lives or

crac

kIAS.co

m

hinders the overall progress of India.

The writer is a Congress MP in Lok Sabha

Download the Indian Express apps for iPhone, iPad or Android

© 2019 The Indian Express Ltd. All Rights Reserved



crac

kIAS.co

m

Source : www.livemint.com Date : 2019-11-04

TO MITIGATE AIR POLLUTION, LOOK BEYONDTOKENISM

Relevant for: Environment | Topic: Environmental Conservation, Sustainable Development, and EIA

The pollution problem in NCR is partly because of the nature of its topography

Beginning Monday, the odd-even scheme for automobiles plying in Delhi will kick in.Coincidentally, the weekend preceding it saw a steep deterioration in the air quality index or AQIin the city; forcing Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) to declarea public health emergency on Friday as a desperate measure to contain the silent killer.

Unless the weather turns, especially if the rains turn up on Thursday as forecast and the crosswinds regain momentum, the much touted odd-even scheme is unlikely to guarantee the desiredmitigation to bring down AQI below the prevailing hazardous levels.

The odd-even scheme, first introduced three years ago, is an out-of-the-box idea with unprovenclaims on containing AQI levels. It is though a terrific concept (like the laser light display toutedas a replacement for crackers this Diwali) to focus attention on air pollution, especially thatcaused by automobiles; but by exempting two-wheelers and not allowing privately-ownedhybrids and CNG (compressed natural gas) vehicles, the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhigovernment has inexplicably undermined its own campaign.

This is not to condemn the effort—anything at this stage is welcome. Instead, this is to nudge allstakeholders, not just the state and Union government, to realise the time for tokenism is over.

For three years now, the National Capital Region (NCR) has seen the pollution saga play outevery winter; while some politicians can take solace in the marginal fall in AQI levels eventhough it stays in hazardous territory, the reality is that if something is not done urgently thenNCR will soon become unlivable in the six months beginning October-November.

It is time to take the debate beyond the predictable binaries—looking for single causes likestubble burning—and viewed more holistically.

But any solution first needs to understand the problem. The NCR pollution problem is partlybecause of the nature of its topography. It is shaped like a saucer and hence is hugelydependent on a cross breeze—which serves it for most of the year, except in winter—to keep itsAQI under control; exactly why the stubble burning that happens in the early part of the yeardoes not harm Delhi as much. The obvious inference is that mitigation efforts have to be thatmuch more to make up for this handicap.

Further, vehicular pollution, the gorilla in the room, has been growing very sharply. As previouslypointed out in this column the emissions of particulate matter (PM) by automobiles have surgedby 40% in eight years ended 2018; according to the Economic Survey put out by the Delhigovernment, there were 10.9 million vehicles in NCR at the end of 2018.

Clearly, there is a strong foundation to Delhi’s pollution problem. What stubble burning andbursting of crackers does, in the absence of cross winds, is to send the pollution problem overthe tipping point.

Just as the problem is complex, the solution too has to be nuanced and holistic; and not where

https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/iEvf8LnIQkHIFWSuELmAaO/Opinion--Delhis-pollution-problem-Myth-and-reality.html

crac

kIAS.co

m

you try and kick the can down the lane by engaging in a high decibel blame game.

Experts have long been making a case for public transport. The assumption among policyplanners is that the Metro Rail, an extremely capital-intensive option which nonetheless hasbeen critical in addressing transport woes of NCR’s working population, especially women, is thebest solution. If dovetailed with a robust public bus network it will undoubtedly magnify the gains;unfortunately this is not the case.

Similarly, focus on building and maintaining good roads (which at the moment are mostly inneglect) and actually implementing laws to ensure only road-worthy vehicles ply, could go a longway in mitigation. Remember every time you brake to avoid a pothole and then accelerate youremissions are that much more.

Finally, the ultimate stakeholders, the residents of Delhi, have to force a public debate. Withelections around the corner, this may well be a good time to get our elected politicians to committo a timeline to contain pollution in the city. The only freebie that matters is clear air; and ourpoliticians who always aver the cause of the poor should remember that like income inequalitypollution is hardest on those at the bottom of the pyramid.

Time to walk the talk.

Anil Padmanabhan is managing editor of Mint and writes every week on the intersection ofpolitics and economics.

Comments are welcome at [email protected]

Log in to our website to save your bookmarks. It'll just take a moment.

Your session has expired, please login again.

You are now subscribed to our newsletters. In case you can’t find any email from our side,please check the spam folder.



crac

kIAS.co

m


CLEARING THE AIR: ON DELHI'S AIR POLLUTIONRelevant for: Environment | Topic: Environmental Conservation, Sustainable Development, and EIA

Delhi is once again in the grip of its annual, winter pollution crisis. The city’s tryst with airpollution crises isn’t new. The rising prominence of particulate matter (PM) from varioussources has long been a public health scourge. What differentiates the prevalent PM crisis fromearlier ones is the public’s ability to monitor pollution levels for themselves. Themeasurement of pollution, which used to be the domain of weather agencies or pollutioncontrol boards, can now be done with consumer appliances. However, increased publicawareness and social media angst haven’t translated into meaningful public action. The GradedResponse Action Plan (GRAP) in Delhi, which provides for a ratcheting slew of measures —from stopping construction work to halting private vehicles — isn’t effective when air qualityreaches its nadir. It recommends action only after pollutants soar. A Task Force — whichcomprises top officials of Delhi and the Centre — advises the Environmental Pollution ControlAuthority, which is in charge of enforcing the GRAP. Rarely does it recommend tough pre-emptive action and when it does, there’s no real pressure on municipal bodies and police toensure that polluters are punished.

There is a sense of resignation among both the Centre and the Delhi government abouttackling the pollution crisis. Meteorology and Delhi’s geography render the city vulnerable to acertain amount of winter pollution, particularly when wind speeds drop to less than 10 kmph.However, preventing local sources of pollution from worsening air quality will require both theState and the Centre to implement unpopular decisions. This would include an outright ban ontwo wheelers, three wheelers and cars when air quality starts to deteriorate, a halt onconstruction, shutting down power plants in the vicinity of Delhi and a substantial spike inparking rates. And, of course, getting the farmers of Punjab and Haryana to not burn stubble atall. Even if this confluence of miracles were to occur, it wouldn’t guarantee blue skies on awindless day and, therefore, political brownie points. This makes it convenient for governmentsto engage in theatre such as having Ministers bicycle to work and blaming farmers for burningrice chaff. The Delhi government and the Centre routinely cite pollution figures averaged for theentire year to claim success of some piecemeal measure or the other but hide the lows ofOctober and November. Tackling Delhi’s winter air requires tough steps that need to be in placeat least a couple of months before the plummet. At the very least it requires a truly empowered,independent agency that can implement measures while negotiating the tricky relationshipbetween the Centre and Delhi. Else, beyond the momentary outrage, the fight against pollutionwill remain on a prayer, and the wind.








https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/delhi-chokes-as-pollution-levels-hit-three-year-high/article29869822.ece


https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/delhis-air-quality-remains-severe/article29881818.ece

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/wind-brings-down-pollution-levels-in-delhi-still-in-severe-category/article29861940.ece





https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=meterpaywall&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=meterpaywall&#signin

https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=meterpaywall&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=meterpaywall

crac

kIAS.co

m







Boris Johnson seems bent on delivering a no-deal Brexit












crac

kIAS.co

m


U.S. BEGINS FORMAL PULLOUT FROM PARIS DEALRelevant for: Environment | Topic: Environmental Degradation - GHGs, Ozone Depletion and Climate Change

Donald TrumpNICHOLAS KAMM

The world’s climate action efforts were left on shakier ground on Monday after the United Statesnotified the United Nations of its formal withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, the 2015 globalagreement for countries to cut emissions and reverse global warming.

President Donald Trump had said in 2017 that he was taking the U.S. — the world’s secondlargest CO2 emitter — out of the deal. Monday was the first day the rules of the agreementpermitted the U.S. to begin that process. The withdrawal will take a year — until just after the2020 U.S. Presidential elections.

“President Trump made the decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement because of theunfair economic burden imposed on American workers, businesses, and taxpayers by U.S.pledges made under the Agreement,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a pressstatement on Monday.

Pragmatic model

“In international climate discussions, we will continue to offer a realistic and pragmatic model —backed by a record of real world results — showing innovation and open markets lead to greaterprosperity, fewer emissions, and more secure sources of energy,” Mr. Pompeo said.

The U.S. would have to, by 2025, cut its emissions to 26%-28% below the 2005 levels as part ofits contribution to the Paris goal of keeping global temperature increases in this century to within2 degrees Celsius relative to pre-industrial temperature averages.

‘America isolated’

President Trump has, in the past, called climate change a hoax created by China and hisadministration has reversed several Obama-era climate policies — including, now, the decisionto be a part of the Paris Agreement.

“This is not America first; once again, it’s America isolated,” former U.S. Secretary of State JohnKerry and former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a Washington Post op-ed.

“The EU with our partners stand ready to strengthen cooperation with all parties to implement it,”the European Union’s Climate Action Commissioner, Miguel Arias Cañete, tweeted on Tuesday.

“We will continue working with stakeholders and entities in the United States who remaincommitted to ambitious climate action.”





https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=todayspaper&utm_medium=tp-international&utm_campaign=tppaywall&#signin

crac

kIAS.co

m











crac

kIAS.co

m


‘INDIAN LUNGS UNDER EXTREME STRESS’Relevant for: Environment | Topic: Environmental Degradation - GHGs, Ozone Depletion and Climate Change

Acute respiratory infections (ARI) accounted for 69.47% of morbidity last year which was thehighest in the communicable disease category, leading to 27.21% mortality.

Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengalreported a large number of patients and fatalities due to ARI as per the National Health Profile-2019, which was recently released by the Union Health Ministry.

According to World Health Organisation, acute respiratory infection is a serious ailment thatprevents normal breathing function and kills an estimated 2.6 million children annually everyyear worldwide. Indians face the double burden of heavy air pollution in addition to the high rateof ARI which hits children the hardest, said experts here.

“When you breathe in polluted air, particles and pollutants penetrate and inflame the linings ofyour bronchial tubes and lungs. This leads to respiratory illness such as chronic bronchitis,emphysema, heart disease, asthma, wheezing, coughing and difficulty in breathing. Childrenseem to be most vulnerable to the harmful effects of air pollution,’’ noted Samantha Castellino,consultant paediatrician, Surya Hospitals, Mumbai. Dr. Castellino said with the air qualitydeteriorating, parents should ensure their kids get minimum exposure to pollutants and are wellprotected to prevent respiratory issues.

Archana Dhawan Bajaj, gynaecologist, Nurture IVF Centre, said: “The current level of airpollution poses a high risk to pregnant women and the baby. The foetus receives oxygen fromthe mother, and if she is breathing polluted air, it can increase the health risk of unborn babies.Pregnant women in the first trimester need to be more careful as risk increases and pollutioncan cause a medical condition called intrauterine inflammation. Prenatal exposure to pollutantsincreases risk of pre-term delivery and low birth weight, factors that can lead to developmentaldisabilities later on.’’

Manav Manchanda, senior respiratory specialist, Asian hospital, Faridabad, explained thatchildren are particularly susceptible as they “breathe through their mouths, bypassing thefiltering effects of the nasal passages and allowing pollutants to travel deeper into the lungs.”“Children may ignore early symptoms of air pollution effects, such as an asthma exacerbation,leading to attacks of increased severity,’’ he said.








https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=todayspaper&utm_medium=tp-national&utm_campaign=tppaywall&#signin

crac

kIAS.co

m








crac

kIAS.co

m


AS THE SEAS COME CLOSERRelevant for: Environment | Topic: Environmental Degradation - GHGs, Ozone Depletion and Climate Change

“Large portions of coastal cities like Mumbai could be fully submerged by 2050.” Picture shows ahome in the city built next to the sea during high tide in September. | Photo Credit: PUNITPARANJPE

How many people will be forced to migrate as a result of climate change? Figures range fromtens of millions to hundreds of millions, but the multiple entanglements of climate change make itdifficult to get accurate estimates. People may move because of drought, violence, degradationof local ecosystems, war or job loss. Poverty, adverse effects of globalisation and conflict mayget worse with climate change, which is why it is often referred to as a “threat multiplier”.

Getting accurate sea level rise (SLR) projections has also always been difficult. Along withexpansion of warm waters and melting of glaciers, subsidence of land also increases relativeSLR. Models for glacier melt are not as well developed as other models that study globalwarming. SLR projections going beyond 2050 are therefore not as accurate as those until mid-century. There is broad agreement that if high emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) were tocontinue, average global SLR could be as high as two metres by the end of this century.

Past studies, which used NASA’s Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) database,underestimated the land and people affected by SLR because tree-tops and tall buildingscaused errors in assessments. A new study by Scott Kulp and Benjamin Strauss, published inNature Communications, uses neural networks to improve accuracy and finds that the areaaffected by SLR will be substantially more than previously estimated. This means that thevarious effects from SLR: coastal flooding, salt water intrusion into land, destruction of coastalinfrastructure, communities and ecosystems will be much more than anticipated.

While earlier measures suggest that five million people in India will be annually affected bycoastal flooding, the new estimates point to 36 million; similarly, in Bangladesh instead of fivemillion, 42 million will be threatened. By 2050, in a scenario that limits warming to 2°C aboveaverage pre-industrial temperatures, about 150 million people worldwide will be permanentlybelow the high tide line along the coast and, by 2100, the numbers will rise to 360 million people.The new estimates indicate that about a billion people reside on land along the coast going up toan elevation of 10 metres (the low elevation coastal zone) and the bulk of them, more than twothirds, are below the five-metre elevation.

Most of the people found to be at risk from coastal events live in Asia — residing in countries likeChina, Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Japan.

Very large fractions of coastal populations in these countries will be vulnerable. Other than Asiaand the Netherlands, there are 20 countries (13 of which are small island nations) in which morethan a tenth of their population are expected to reside below the high tide line by 2100, and thisis with deep cuts to emissions. Coastal cities, such as Alexandria, Ho Chi Minh City, Basra andShanghai are among the most vulnerable and large portions of Mumbai and Kolkata will be fullysubmerged by 2050.

The effects on the economy, coastal communities, infrastructure and land will be immense andpeople living along the coast will be forced to move inland, probably to nearby towns and cities.When this is not possible, such as on small island nations or in low-lying delta regions likeVietnam, people will be forced to move across borders, thus affecting political stability.

https://www.thehindu.com/profile/photographers/PUNIT-PARANJPE/

https://www.thehindu.com/profile/photographers/PUNIT-PARANJPE/

crac

kIAS.co

m

Denial cannot be a mechanism to deal with these anticipated challenges from climate change.

Preparing for SLR will entail protecting the coast through measures such as natural barriers,levees, flood barriers and even hard barriers. But engineering protection mechanisms areexpensive and have consequences for the coastline. Stopping infrastructure construction alongthe coast and integrating anticipated SLR effects into coastal planning are essential. Thegovernment should not be in a situation of moral hazard where it ends up bailing out investors,insurers and others who have increased their exposure to risk. Planning for retreat from themost vulnerable areas well ahead of time is essential. Urban policies, especially in mid-sizetowns, should integrate proposals for new migrants.

Turning border regions into fortress worlds will also not be justified, both in practical and ethicalterms. What is required is preparation in advance with regional policies for labour, regionalagreements for migration and for advance skill development.

Given that South Asia is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change and the countrieshere share ecological zones, borders and coastlines, in addition to language and familyhistories, coordinated management of extreme events, advance preparation for migration intomid-size towns and better ecosystem support in the hinterland are useful ways to collaborateand build regional partnerships. And, since migrants in general cannot, for the most part, bedistinguished from climate migrants, rights, services and policies need to be applied to allmigrants. Otherwise, countries will create multiple classes of migrants — as many have accusedAustralia of doing — based on their reasons for moving and places of origin.

It is tempting to assume that these are impossible goals to set for India, but that is a short-sighted perspective. Our long history has shown that the subcontinent has always been a placethat welcomes people. Investing in the rural economy, reducing unemployment, reducingpoverty and improving measures for sustainability can improve people’s lives and increase theirresilience and openness to “others”. The protests across the world by people of all ages showthat there is fervour for transformation to deal with the climate crisis. This is our historic momentto act decisively.

Sujatha Byravan is a scientist who studies science, technology and policy











https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=meterpaywall&utm_medium=op-ed&utm_campaign=meterpaywall&#signin

https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=meterpaywall&utm_medium=op-ed&utm_campaign=meterpaywall

crac

kIAS.co

m




How an idea for a ‘perfect Mumbai feature story’ failed to materialise












crac

kIAS.co

m


WEALTH FROM THE STUBBLERelevant for: Environment | Topic: Environmental Conservation, Sustainable Development, and EIA


The writer is Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh.

At times, situations press us into a corner where we need to face the challenges head on andreach a long-term solution. Pollution caused by burning of parali (crop residue) is one suchunprecedented crisis. We must act not only because it is choking Delhi or there is a 50 per centrise in respiratory illnesses, be it COPD or asthma cases, in the National Capital Region (NCR)area, but also because we are losing soil fertility and there is a rise in incidents of cancer inPunjab and Haryana.

Farmers in Haryana and Punjab burn up to 35 million tonnes of parali,which is responsible forsignificant percentage of Delhi-NCR’s air pollution levels. One study estimates that crop residueburning released 149 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, nine million tonnes of carbon monoxide,0.25 million tonnes of suphur oxides and 1.28 million tonnes of particulate matter.

Let us look at the background of this issue. Farmers in Haryana and Punjab have to move to thenext winter crop in a very short interval, following the Rabi crop sowing. If they are late, due toshort winters these days, they might face considerable losses. If parali is left in the field, pestslike termites may attack upcoming crop. Already in an economically-precarious situation, farmersgo for the cheapest option for stubble disposal — burning. A farmer knows about the pollutioncrisis. But we also need to know his problems — pests, markets and soil fertility.

Agriculture is a regenerative process, one which recycles. What we need is to utilise everyproduct in the process and return it to the soil in one form or another. From 35 million tonnes ofparali,we can obtain 21 million tonnes of high-grade organic fertiliser. The total amount ofnitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and sulphur in the 23 million tonnes of parali annually burnt inNorthwest India is about seven lakh tonnes, valued at Rs 1,000 crore. This apart, organic carbonis also destroyed during stubble burning. Thus, parali offers an important source for meeting thenutrient requirements of crops and improving soil health. These nutrients also reduce the risk ofcancers in Punjab by reducing the levels of carcinogens in soil.

Farmers cannot do this alone. The state needs to step in and engage already-existingmechanisms like the MGNREGA for this purpose. To do this, the Centre needs to allow states toinclude activities like harvesting and composting in MGNREGA. This has been a longstandingdemand of many states. Parali can be mixed with cow dung and few natural enzymes underMGNREGA to generate high-grade compost, and also reduce air pollution in North India.

In Chhattisgarh, we have already undertaken this innovative experiment by setting up gauthans.A gauthan is a dedicated five-acre plot, held in common by each village, where all the unusedparali(pairain Chhattisgarhi) is collected through parali daan (people’s donations) and isconverted into organic fertiliser by rural youth. This provides them a living. Our governmentsupports only the transportation of parali from the farm to the nearest gauthan. The state hassuccessfully developed 2,000 gauthans.

Now, since the Supreme Court has taken a cognisance of the pollution crisis, it is high time tooffer the best possible solutions. I presented this concept to the Niti Aayog recently. It involves

crac

kIAS.co

m

an integrated regenerative rural development model of narwa (rivulet regeneration), garuwa(cattle conservation), ghuruwa (composting) and baari (kitchen garden) through a participatoryprocess using MGNREGA. I request the Supreme Court to constitute a committee consisting ofeconomists, agricultural experts, farmer delegates and bureaucrats to evaluate the paraliburning crisis and explore the possibilities of expanding schemes like the MGNREGA toharvesting and composting.

A collective intervention using traditional wisdom and local resources and facilitated by soundadministrative support can upturn this national problem.

The writer is Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh





crac

kIAS.co

m


OVER 11,000 SCIENTISTS WORLDWIDE DECLAREGLOBAL CLIMATE EMERGENCY


Climate activists participate in a student-led climate change march in Los Angeles, United Stateson Friday, November 1, 2019. | Photo Credit: AP

More than 11,000 scientists from 153 countries have declared a global climate emergency,warning that “untold suffering” is inevitable without deep and lasting shifts in human activitiesthat contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and other factors related to climate change.

In a paper published on Tuesday in the peer-reviewed journal BioScience, 11,258 signatories,including 69 from India, presented climate change trends and provided a set of methods tomitigate the threat.

China, France reaffirm support of Paris climate agreement, call it ‘irreversible’

The climate emergency declaration is based on the scientific analysis of more than 40 years ofpublicly available data, covering a broad range of factors including energy use, surfacetemperature, population growth, land clearing, deforestation, polar ice mass, fertility rates, grossdomestic product and carbon emissions.

“Despite 40 years of major global negotiations, we have continued to conduct business as usualand have failed to address this crisis,” said William J. Ripple, a professor of ecology at theOregon State University (OSU) College of Forestry in the U.S.

“Climate change has arrived and is accelerating faster than many scientists expected,” Mr.Ripple said in a statement.

The global coalition of scientists, led by Mr. Ripple and Christopher Wolf from OSU, point to sixareas where humanity should take immediate steps to slow down the effects of a warmingplanet. These include energy, short-lived pollutants, nature, food, economy and population.

U.S. begins formal pullout from Paris deal

“Our basic needs include food and energy supplies, and the ability to sustain it. To meet thisnecessity, we have been exploiting nature. which has caused tremendous damage”, GyanPrakash Sharma, an assistant professor at Delhi University and one of the signatories, told PTI.

Referring to India, he said environmental patterns including the monsoon, have changed.

“There is a tremendous change in the monsoon pattern across the country, which has triggeredchanges in agricultural practices”, Mr. Sharma said.

According to the paper, mitigating and adapting to climate change entails major transformationin the way global society functions and interacts with natural ecosystems.

The signatories said they are encouraged by the recent surge of concern. “Governmental bodiesare making climate emergency declarations. School children are striking... Ecocide lawsuits areproceeding in courts. Grassroots citizen movements are demanding change, and many

https://www.thehindu.com/profile/photographers/AP/

crac

kIAS.co

m

countries, States and provinces, cities, and businesses are responding,” they said.

“As an ‘Alliance of World Scientists’, we stand ready to assist decision-makers in a just transitionto a sustainable and equitable future,” the scientists added.

Deciphering Greta’s climate message

According to Thomas Newsome of the University of Sydney, scientists have a moral obligationto warn humanity of any great threat.

“From the data we have, it is clear we are facing a climate emergency,” Mr. Newsome said in astatement.

Graphics in the paper illustrate several key climate change indicators over the 40 years sincescientists from 50 nations met at the First World Climate Conference in Geneva in 1979.

The scientists noted that multiple global assemblies in recent decades have agreed that urgentaction is essential, but greenhouse gas emissions are still rising rapidly.

Other ominous signs include a sustained rise in the per capita meat production, the global treecover loss and the number of airline passengers, they said.

There are certain encouraging signs — the decrease in global birth rates, decelerated forest lossin the Brazilian Amazon and an increase in wind and solar power — but even these changes aretinged with worry, the scientists noted.

For example, the decline in birth rates has slowed over the last 20 years and the pace of theforest loss in the Amazon appears to be increasing again, they wrote.

“Global surface temperature, ocean heat content, extreme weather and its costs, sea level,ocean acidity, and area burnt in the United States are all rising,” Mr. Ripple said.

“Globally, ice is rapidly disappearing as demonstrated by the decrease in the minimum summerArctic sea ice, Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, and glacier thickness. All these rapidchanges highlight the urgent need for action,” he said.










https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=meterpaywall&utm_medium=energy-and-environment&utm_campaign=meterpaywall&#signin

https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=meterpaywall&utm_medium=energy-and-environment&utm_campaign=meterpaywall

crac

kIAS.co

m





Switzerland’s glaciers have lost a tenth of their volume in the past five years alone — a meltingrate unmatched during observations stretching back












crac

kIAS.co

m


FROM PLATE TO PLOUGH: A CROP FOR CLEAN AIRRelevant for: Environment | Topic: Environmental Conservation, Sustainable Development, and EIA


The writer is chair professor for agriculture at ICRIER. Views are personal

Last week, as the Air Quality Index (AQI) touched emergency levels in the National CapitalRegion, the Supreme Court came down heavily on the chief secretaries of four states — Punjab,Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. They were berated for their failure to “give clean air to Delhiresidents”. Paddy stubble burning in states neighbouring Delhi, especially Punjab, is being seenas one of the reasons for the smog in the national capital. The honourable judges of the apexcourt have asked the Punjab government to pay Rs 100 per quintal to farmers as an incentivefor desisting from burning stubble. Solutions such as subsidising Happy Seeders are also beingtalked about. But these solutions seem to be scratching the surface of the paddy problem.

The problem is much deeper than stubble burning and nothing will be served by pulling up chiefsecretaries of Delhi’s neighbouring states. The solution to the problem rests with the politicalclass — both in the Centre as well as in these states. It is the elected representatives, and notbureaucracy, who make policies for grain management.

The Punjab-Haryana region was not India’s rice belt, before the Green Revolution. Punjab wasknown for “makki ki roti and sarson ka saag”, but now it is rare to see makki (corn) in the state.Much of the kharif area in the region is under rice — about 3.1 million hectares in Punjab and1.4 million hectares in Haryana. This has caused havoc with the groundwater table that hasbeen depleting at about 33 cms each year. Groundwater in more than three-fourths of blocks inPunjab is over-exploited. Paddy cultivation in this belt is against the region’s natural waterendowment.

In order to save water during the peak summer season, the Punjab government passed a law in

crac

kIAS.co

m

2009 outlawing paddy sowing before June 15. This pushes the rice harvesting to the lateOctober-mid-November period, leaving very little time for sowing the rabi crop, mainly wheat.Farmers rely on paddy harvesters that leave stubbles, which are then burnt to make the fieldready for sowing wheat. Farm labour has become expensive, especially during the peak season.

The question one needs to ask is why have Punjab and Haryana gone in a big way for paddycultivation when their water resource endowment does not align with the crop’s requirement.One kilogram of rice requires about 5,000 litres of irrigation water in this belt. And, the naturalrainfall is too less for the purpose. Farmers cultivate paddy as it gives them higher profits,compared to competing crops like corn. The key reasons for that are the massive subsidies onpower provided by the state government and fertiliser subsidy given to them by the Centre.Moreover, they are assured procurement of paddy by state government agencies on behalf ofthe Food Corporation of India.

In the eastern parts of the country, water is available much more abundantly. About two millionhectares of rice growing area in the northern belt needs to shift to this part of the country. Thebasmati-growing area in the Northern belt is about 1.2 million hectares; it produces 4.6 milliontonnes of basmati. But the value of basmati is almost three times higher than that of commonrice and much of that is exported (see figure-1). So Punjab and Haryana should focus oncultivating basmati, that is known to give three times higher value for every drop of water. Thestates should try to get away from common paddy, which is largely meant for the PublicDistribution System — PDS rice is being sold at Rs 3/kg under the National Food Security Act.

How can one encourage farmers to shift from paddy to, say, corn? That boils down to policy,both at the Centre and state-level. Can the Centre and the states abolish the fertiliser and powersubsidies? The chances of that happening are remote, given the place of free power and cheapfertilisers in the country’s political discourse. A move towards giving these subsidies in cash on

crac

kIAS.co

m

per hectare basis to farmers can lead to some improvement. Farmers could be encouraged tochange their crop preference if the Centre and the Punjab and Haryana governments announcea cash incentive of Rs 12,000 per hectare — shared equally between the Centre and the states— for growing corn in place of paddy. Our calculations suggest that the combined subsidy onpower for irrigation and fertiliser in paddy cultivation is about Rs 15,000/ha. So, giving Rs12,000/ha for corn cultivation actually is transferring the subsidy from rice cultivation to corncultivation. It will not cost the state or central exchequer anything extra. Moreover, corncultivation will have to be absorbed, not by government procurement but by feed mills forpoultry, starch mills and ethanol. So, tax incentives for the corn-based industry in this belt couldcreate a more market-aligned demand for corn.

This is just the right time to make this switch from paddy to corn as rice stocks with governmentare way above the buffer stock norms (see figure-2). This speaks of massive inefficiency in grainmanagement. In fact, the Centre should announce that it will not procure more than say 50 percent of production of common paddy from the blocks that are over-exploited. Further, it will notgive to the state procurement agencies more than 4 per cent as commission, mandi fee, or anycess for procuring on behalf of FCI.

An incentive of Rs 12,000/ha to the farmer to switch from paddy to corn and cutting downprocurement from overexploited blocks may accomplish what the Supreme Court’s hauling up ofthe chief secretaries may not.

The writer is Infosys Chair Professor for Agriculture at ICRIER





crac

kIAS.co

m


INDIA’S EFFORTS TOWARDS MITIGATING CLIMATECHANGE


Managing change: It is high time to change track and take to proven methods like drip irrigationand aerobic cultivation. | Photo Credit: G.N. Rao

At the recently held meeting on climate change at the U.N. in New York, the Swedish schoolstudent Greta Thunberg directed two scathing statements towards the attending representativesof over a hundred nations. One was, “You have stolen my childhood with empty words,” and theother: “You all come to us young people for hope (in mitigating the damage...). How dare you?”As Krishna Kumar’s perceptive analysis of her statements (November 1, issue of The Hindu)showed, the audience did not own up that their industries were responsible for the climatechange; instead they agreed upon comfortable targets of decades for the reduction of carbonemission. As he points out, not only the richer nations but also the richer people in every nationcontinue to believe that they can buy relief and escape from the consequence of climate changefor their progeny.

It is because of the carbon-rich fossil fuel-burning which started during the Industrial Revolutionof the 1750s till today that the globe has warmed by about 2 degrees, affecting the lives ofhumans, animals, plants, and microbes. Oceans are warmer, icebergs are melting, and henceGreta’s J’accuse.

It was in 2015 when nations across the globe met in Paris, and 197 signatory countries havepromised to own up and to limit the increase to no more than 1.5 degrees over the pre- industriallevels by 2030. India is one of them. Vishnu Padmanabhan, in his blog, points out the four bigclimate challenges for India. India has promised to cut its emission intensity by 33-35% by theyear 2030, as compared to 2015 levels. It looks like this is desirable and achievable. Firstchallenge: Most of India's emissions come from energy (largely coal-based) production (68%),industry (20%), agriculture, food and land use (10%). It becomes vital that we use other meansof energy, produced by, for instance, hydroelectric power, windmills, solar power, nuclear powerand others. India hopes to produce 40% of its energy from such non-coal sources.

Next, turning to agriculture, land use and water resources, these too contribute to climatechange. How? The minimum support price, subsidies, free 24-hour electric power supply, andwater-intensive crops are some. It is high time we restrict these and take to proven methods,and work on innovative ones. Some of these are drip irrigation (as Israel has done), aerobiccultivation (a water- saving agronomic practice, and researching on improving specific traits thatlead to better roots that go down to deeper levels in the ground, as initiated by the University ofAgricultural Sciences, Bengaluru), better and more nutritious grains. Doing these on rice — amajor water-guzzling plant of India — will go far in water conservation. More nutritious varietiessuch as the new Samba Masoori (developed at CCMB and NIPGR, which is incidentally lower incarbohydrate, hence good for diabetics) should be promoted among farmers. Stubble burningmust stop; we need to find better ways. This is no ‘rocket science’; Indian scientists andtechnologists can and should find ways that are better and safer.

The third is to bring down atmospheric CO2 levels through natural means. Forestation andplanting of local varieties of trees must increase. Here, it is worth following the steps taken bythe Philippines government. Each student there must plant and nurture 10 locally-suited treesbefore he/she gets a school certificate/ college degree. Note that local trees absorb water and

https://www.thehindu.com/profile/photographers/G-N-Rao/

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/deciphering-gretas-climate-message/article29845947.ece

crac

kIAS.co

m

send it down to earth. India has planned to create additional ‘carbon sinks’ through forestationand tree plantation, so as to bring down 2.5-3 billion tonnes of CO2.

Several publications have focused on how climate change and global warming has graduallybecome injurious to health. The paper “Global climate change and infectious diseases” byShuman (NEJM 2010, 362:1061-63; doi:10.1056/NEJM/09129310) points out, as we burn morefossil fuel, the temperature rise, associated heat wave and heavier rain make perfect conditionsfor insects (and the germs/viruses they host) to thrive. Thanks to the warmer climate, water-borne diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, as well as malaria, dengue and chikungunya haveincreased in numbers and in geographical spread across hilly, cold as well as warm deserts andsea coasts. Another important paper by V Ramana Dhara et al. (Climate change and infectiousdiseases in India: implications for health care providers, Ind. J. Med. Res. 2013: 138(6):847.852)points out how rising sea surface temperatures increase tropical cyclones and storm surges,leading to polluted water, insanitary conditions, population displacement, toxic exposures,hunger and malnutrition across the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea coast. Some are transmittedfrom animals to humans and of course human-to-human. The latest example is Nipah virus,transmitted by bats to humans. It is here that we should appreciate the prompt action taken byKerala government in arranging to isolate people, work with biological labs in India and abroadto identify more such initiatives from State and Central governments.

Happily enough, many of our labs and drug companies are involved both in-house andcollaborative research in order to design drugs from India’s natural plant sources, biosimilars,repurposing known drugs for other ailments and vaccines. We will be able to rise to the occasionand can even be world- leaders in this field. Note how our drug and biotechnology companieshave provided drugs to the needy across the word at affordable costs, how just a handful ofvaccine companies in India supply almost 40% of the world’s childhood vaccines and how someof them are already working on vaccines for other current epidemics.

[email protected]












https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=meterpaywall&utm_medium=29931763&utm_campaign=science&#signin

https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=meterpaywall&utm_medium=29931763&utm_campaign=science

crac

kIAS.co

m



The 2019 Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded to John B. Goodenough, M. StanleyWhittingham and Akira Yoshino for working towards the development of practical lithium-ionbatteries.









https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=curtainraiser&utm_medium=29931763&utm_campaign=science#signin

https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=curtainraiser&utm_medium=29931763&utm_campaign=science


crac

kIAS.co

m


MEGHALAYAN RAINFORESTS SIMILAR TOEQUATORIAL ONES

Relevant for: Environment | Topic: Biodiversity, Ecology, and Wildlife Related Issues

Despite being the northernmost in the world, this rainforest is similar in structure and diversity toothers found near the Equator.

The northeastern State of Meghalaya known for its wettest districts and living root bridges is alsohome to a lowland tropical rainforest north of the Tropic of Cancer. A new study discovers thatthis rainforest, the northernmost in the world, is similar in structure and diversity to the otherrainforests found near the Equator.

Tropical rainforests are the terrestrial areas on the earth teemed with enormous diversity of treesand other life-forms which make the largest sink of carbon. Although these forests cover justabout 6% of the Earth's land surface, about four-fifth of world's documented species can befound in tropical rainforests. Characteristically, tropical rainforests occur in “hot and wet” habitatswhere all months receive precipitation and there is no dry season.

Rainforests usually occur near the Equator and about five degrees North and South latitudesfrom the Equator are considered the real home of the lowland tropical rainforest. The extremespread of tropical rainforests in northern limits in the world has been found in northeasternregion of India where high rainfall-receiving habitats with hot and humid climate, especially inMeghalaya and Namdapha in Arunachal Pradesh are now known to boast species-richrainforests.

Uma Shankar from the Department of Botany, North-eastern Hill University set out to study theNamdapha rainforests in Arunachal Pradesh in late 1990s and in Meghalaya a few years ago.“We wanted to note how far north these rainforests extend and how different they are from theones found near the Equator,” he adds. “Decoding what were the precursors for their stretcheddistribution in this region was also an interesting task.”

The team found that the climatic conditions in the region — high rainfall and humidity, andperfect annual mean temperature — were conducive for the survival of the rainforests. Sincerainforests have a complicated structure, the team looked at over two hectares of forest area,studying nearly 2,500 individuals including trees, shrubs and herbs. Over 180 different taxa wereidentified of the total, and it was noted that tropical Asian species made up 95% of theabundance. Although these rainforests had fewer species and individuals of liana or woodyclimbing plants, the levels of beta diversity were high. Also compared to Equatorial rainforests,they had a higher proportion of rare species and good representation of the members of familiesof Fagaceae and Theaceae in the Meghalayan rainforests.

The results published recently in Plant Diversity note that though the species diversity wassimilar to the other rainforests, the Meghalayan rainforest trees showed short stature. While thetrees in the Equatorial region are known to grow from 45 to 60 m in height, the highest ones inMeghalaya could reach only up to about 30 m. Dr. Shankar adds that in order to survive at thishigher latitude the trees would have to make some compromises.

The region had a high density of 467 trees per hectare. Though this is lower compared withequatorial rainforests, it fell in the intermediate category for rainforests around the Tropic ofCancer. Also, the richness of species per hectare was the highest among all lowland rainforests

crac

kIAS.co

m

near the Tropic of Cancer.

Though it has so many special aspects, the team writes that this region has been virtuallyignored on the world maps of tropical rainforests.

Dr. Shankar explains that these rainforests depend on local community-based conservationpractices. A paper published by the team in 2017 noted that “the local tribes have a rich cultureof preserving forests as ‘sacred groves’...Inquiries with locals reveal that the rainforests haveremained free from grazing, fire and commercial logging, and strong anecdotal religious beliefsand taboos continue to remain popular among the tribes.”But recent developmental and touristactivities have started to degrade patches of these rainforests, and Dr. Shankar adds that inorder to preserve these rainforests, immediate rules need to put in place.














Switzerland’s glaciers have lost a tenth of their volume in the past five years alone — a meltingrate unmatched during observations stretching back






https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=meterpaywall&utm_medium=29931744&utm_campaign=energy-and-environment&#signin

https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=meterpaywall&utm_medium=29931744&utm_campaign=energy-and-environment


https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=curtainraiser&utm_medium=29931744&utm_campaign=energy-and-environment#signin

https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=curtainraiser&utm_medium=29931744&utm_campaign=energy-and-environment


crac

kIAS.co

m



crac

kIAS.co

m


TRUMP SLAMS INDIA AND CHINA, SAYS PARIS PACTIS UNFAIR TO THE U.S.


In a speech that railed against his friends and foes, U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesdaysaid the Paris Agreement would require the U.S. to ‘pay countries’ such as India [for technologyand support to fight climate change], justifying his withdrawal from the climate treaty.

Speaking at the Economic Club of New York, a think-tank in the city, Mr Trump said theAgreement was “economically unfair”, killing American jobs and shielding “foreign polluters”.

“It is so unfair. It doesn’t kick in for China until 2030. Russia goes back into the 1990s, where thebase-year was the dirtiest year ever in the world,” Mr. Trump claimed.

“India…we are supposed to pay them money because they’re a developing nation,” Mr. Trumpsaid, his arms outstretched. “I said, ‘We’re a developing nation too’,” he added, to laughter fromthe audience.

India featured again during the question-and-answer session that followed the President’sspeech.

“We have a relatively small piece of land, the United States,” Mr. Trump said. “And you comparethat to some of the other countries like China, like India, like Russia... that are doing absolutelynothing to clean up their smoke stacks and ...all of their plants and all of their garbage thatthey’re dropping in the sea and that floats into Los Angeles…”

Special discount offer on The Hindu subscription only for Today’s paper readers











https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=todayspaper&utm_medium=29958125&utm_campaign=tp-international&#signin


crac

kIAS.co

m



crac

kIAS.co

m


PROGRESS ON CHILDHOOD PNEUMONIA, DIARRHOEAFALLING SHORT, FINDS GLOBAL STUDY

Relevant for: Environment | Topic: Environmental Pollution - Air, Water, Soil & E-waste

A file photo of diarrhoea patients getting treatment. Photo used for representational purposeonly.

The 10th pneumonia and diarrhoea progress report card has found that health systems arefalling short of ensuring the world’s most vulnerable children access to prevention and treatmentservices in the 23 countries that together account for 75% of global pneumonia and diarrhoeadeaths in children under five.

India, which is home to a large population of under-five children, accounts for a major portion ofthese deaths, notes the report.

“Rollout of rotavirus vaccines, beginning in 2016, and the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine,beginning in 2017, helped India’s scores improve. India’s exclusive breastfeeding rate, at 55%,is among the highest of the 23 countries. However, the proportion of children receiving importanttreatments, as with many other countries, remains below targets. Half of the children withdiarrhoea receive ORS (oral rehydration solution) and 20% receive zinc supplementation — tohelp protect against, prevent and treat pneumonia and diarrhoea,” notes the report.

This report analyses how effectively countries are delivering 10 key interventions, includingbreastfeeding, vaccination, access to care, use of antibiotics, ORS, and zinc supplementation.

Meanwhile, additional reports from organisations like Save the Children and UNICEF have notedthat, in 2017, the highest risk factors for child pneumonia death in India were: 53% caused bychild wasting, 27% by outdoor air pollution, and 22% caused by indoor air pollution from solidfuels.

Pulmonologit Prashant Saxena from Max Hospital, Saket noted that children are the worst hit bysustained high levels of air pollution.

These measures are proven to help prevent deaths due to these illnesses and could helpachieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal target of reducing under-five mortality to atleast as low as 25 per 1,000 live births by 2030.

The report card concludes that progress continues slowly and that the global community mustincrease investment and support countries in developing smart, sustainable strategies that closegaps and accelerate progress.

Globally, pneumonia and diarrhoea led to nearly one of every four deaths in children under fiveyears of age in 2017. Released ahead of World Pneumonia Day, on November 12, the 2019Pneumonia and Diarrhoea Progress Report Card, by the International Vaccine Access Center(IVAC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, describes progress in fightingpneumonia and diarrhoea in countries with the highest absolute number of deaths, and for thefirst time in countries with the highest rates of deaths from these illnesses.

The Pneumonia and Diarrhoea Progress Report, issued annually for a decade, finds as in pastyears that immunisation coverage — the most frequently updated indicators in the report —

crac

kIAS.co

m

generally makes up the highest scores. Use of exclusive breastfeeding continues to lag behind,as does access to treatment, particularly zinc supplements for diarrhoea.

Bill Moss, Professor in the Department of International Health noted that newer vaccines suchas rotavirus and pneumococcal vaccine are not yet reaching most children in these 23 countries,and access to treatments such as basic antibiotics and ORS is surprisingly low across most ofthe countries included.

The report adds that 16 out of 23 countries assessed failed to meet the targets for any of 10interventions to protect against and treat pneumonia and diarrhoea, as outlined in the WorldHealth Organisation and UNICEF’s Integrated Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Controlof Pneumonia and Diarrhoea. Three of the 23 countries met the 90% target coverage rate for atleast four vaccines, while one was able to attain 90% level of coverage for all four treatmentmeasures.



















https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=meterpaywall&utm_medium=29956072&utm_campaign=health&#signin

https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=meterpaywall&utm_medium=29956072&utm_campaign=health


https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=curtainraiser&utm_medium=29956072&utm_campaign=health#signin

https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=curtainraiser&utm_medium=29956072&utm_campaign=health

crac

kIAS.co

m






crac

kIAS.co

m

Source : www.livemint.com Date : 2019-11-13

INDIA WALKS ITS GREEN TALKRelevant for: Environment | Topic: Environmental Conservation, Sustainable Development, and EIA

Its Brown To Green Report 2019 has reportedly noted that ours is the only country among G20nations that is close to its 'pathway' chalked out towards ensuring the world’s mean temperaturerises no further than 1.5° Celsius

Among the world’s major economies, India seems the most serious about doing its bit to containclimate change. So suggests a report released by Climate Transparency, a global non-government organization. Its Brown To Green Report 2019 has reportedly noted that ours is theonly country among G20 nations that is close to its “pathway" chalked out towards ensuring theworld’s mean temperature rises no further than 1.5° Celsius, a goal set by the Paris Agreementagainst global warming.

That’s a remarkable achievement. Remember, G20 countries together represent more than four-fifths of the world’s gross domestic product, so this group of 20 probably accounts for anoverwhelming bulk of all carbon emissions. This also means that if the world’s ecosystem is tobe saved, this lot has to bear the bulk of the responsibility.

While several other G20 states are likely to achieve their targets, the report seems displeasedwith the progress made by most. South Korea, Canada and Australia, in particular, are reportedto be laggards. The world’s biggest economy, the US, has rejected the Paris accord. The verysignal sent by this appears to have weakened the world’s will to adhere to its emission-reductionagenda. This is unfortunate, to say the least. Or battle against climate change is a race againsttime—one that we can’t afford to lose. The report also lauded India for its investments inrenewable energy. It’s safe to say that the country is doing a good job. Some deft diplomacy atthe international level might be able to enjoin others to do likewise.

Log in to our website to save your bookmarks. It'll just take a moment.

Your session has expired, please login again.

You are now subscribed to our newsletters. In case you can’t find any email from our side,please check the spam folder.



crac

kIAS.co

m


CHEMICALS IN GARCINIA PLANTS OF NORTHEASTCOULD BE BENEFICIAL FOR HUMANS, FINDS STUDY


The “volatile chemicals” were found in the leaves of six species of Garcinia that were studied forthe first time- Garcinia assamica, G arcinia dulcis, G arcinia lanceifolia, G arcinia morella, Garcinia pedunculata and G arcinia xanthochymus.

Chemicals in certain plants of the northeast are bad for herbivores but could be good forhumans, says a new botanical study.

The “volatile chemicals” were found in the leaves of six species of Garcinia that were studied forthe first time. These species are Garcinia assamica, Garcinia dulcis, Garcinia lanceifolia,Garcinia morella, Garcinia pedunculata and Garcinia xanthochymus.

The study by four plant specialists, including Assam Forest Department officer Jatindra Sarma,has been published in the latest issue of the US-based Natural Product Research.

The other researchers are Lekshmi N. Menon and K.B. Rameshkumar of Thiruvananthapuram’sJawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute and P.S. Shameer of IndianCouncil of Agricultural Research’s Central Tobacco Research Station in Dindigul.

The genus Garcinia with some 250 species of trees and shrubs is distributed in southeast Asia,the Indian subcontinent and tropical Africa. The Indian subcontinent has 44 of this species, withthe northeast hosting 19 of them.

Of these, Garcinia assamica is a newly discovered species. Only a few trees were recordedfrom areas near western Assam’s Manas National Park.

“We identified 64 volatile compounds from the essential oils obtained by hydro-distillation fromthe six Garcinia species. The major compounds were (E)-caryophyllene, a-copaene and b-selinene,” Mr. Sarma told The Hindu.

The compositions of North East Garcinia species were compared with those of the WesternGhats species. The former were found to have (E)-caryophyllene as the major chemicalcompound found to retard the growth of other plants in the vicinity and repulse herbivore attacks.

“This compound possesses anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, anti-fibrotic, anxiolytic,anaesthetic, anti-cancer, antioxidant, antimicrobial and other biological activities that can bestudied further for medicinal use,” Mr. Sarma said.

Earlier studies across the world had established the genus Garcinia as a source oftherapeutically active substances and possessing essential oils exhibiting antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Oils rich in a-copaene compounds from the north-eastern Garcinia species were also found tohave human-friendly properties similar to (E)-caryophyllene.

“Given their tremendous health benefits, nurseries are now raising different species of Garciniaas a commercial crop. The fruit of this plant has been used traditionally in Assam for controlling

crac

kIAS.co

m

dysentery and diarrhoea. It has the potential for marketing as an anti-obesity agent,” Mr. Sarmasaid.














The 2019 Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded to John B. Goodenough, M. StanleyWhittingham and Akira Yoshino for working towards the development of practical lithium-ionbatteries.














crac

kIAS.co

m


ARCTIC OCEAN MAY BE ICE-FREE FOR PART OFYEAR BY 2044, FINDS STUDY


In this file photo, ice chunks float in the Arctic Ocean as the sun sets near Barrow, Alaska. |Photo Credit: AP

Human-caused climate change is on track to make the Arctic Ocean functionally ice-free for partof each year starting sometime between 2044 and 2067, according to a study.

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the U.S. noted that as longas humans have been on Earth, the planet has had a large cap of sea ice at the Arctic Circlethat expands each winter and contracts each summer.

Satellite observations show that since 1979, the amount of sea ice in the Arctic in September —the month when there is the least sea ice, before water starts freezing again — has declined by13% per decade, the researchers said.

Scientists have been attempting to predict the future of Arctic sea ice for several decades,relying on an array of global climate models that simulate how the climate system will react to allof the carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere.

However, the models’ predictions have disagreed widely, according to the study published in thejournal Nature Climate Change.

Among the current generation of models, some show ice-free Septembers as early as 2026,while others suggest the phenomenon will begin as late as 2132.

The study’s lead author, Chad Thackeray, an assistant researcher at UCLA, said one reasonpredictions about sea ice loss diverge so much is that they differ in how they consider a processcalled sea ice albedo feedback.

The process occurs when a patch of sea ice completely melts, uncovering a seawater surfacethat is darker and absorbs more sunlight than ice would have.

That change in the surface’s reflectivity of sunlight, or albedo, causes greater local warming,which in turn leads to further ice melt, the researchers said.

The cycle exacerbates warming — one reason the Arctic is heating up twice as fast as the restof the globe, they said.

Thackeray and co-author Alex Hall, a UCLA professor, noted that sea ice albedo feedback notonly happens over long periods of time due to climate change, but also happens every summerwhen sea ice melts for the season.

Satellite observations over the past few decades have tracked that seasonal melt and resultingalbedo feedback, they said.

Thackeray and Hall assessed 23 models’ depiction of seasonal ice melt between 1980 and 2015and compared them with the satellite observations.

https://www.thehindu.com/profile/photographers/AP/

crac

kIAS.co

m

They retained the six models that best captured the actual historical results and discarded theones that had proven to be off base, enabling them to narrow the range of predictions for ice-free Septembers in the Arctic.

“Arctic sea ice is a key component of the earth system because of its highly reflective nature,which keeps the global climate relatively cool,” Thackeray said.

There are other environmental and economic implications to ice loss as well, the researcherssaid.

Sea ice is critical to the Arctic ecosystem, and to the fishing industry and indigenous peopleswho depend on that ecosystem, they said.

The researchers explained that as Arctic ice is lost, more waters are used for commercialshipping and oil and gas exploration, which presents economic opportunity for some nations.

However, they noted, this also contributes to further greenhouse gas emissions and climatechange.












Why you should pay for quality journalism - Click to know more








https://subscription.thehindu.com//whypayfornews?utm_source=hindu&utm_medium=articlebottom&utm_campaign=whypay



crac

kIAS.co

m



crac

kIAS.co

m


HUNGRY TIDES OF THE SUNDARBANS: HOW THERISING SEAS CREATE ENVIRONMENTAL MIGRANTS


”The rapid erosion of Ghoramara island , located at the mouth of the Bay of Bengal, hasgrabbed the attention of all those attempting to understand how rising sea levels and climatechange are impacting lives and migration patterns.” Residents onboard a ferry heading toGhoramara. | Photo Credit: Rajeev Bhatt

“How many times have you rebuilt your house?” Sujit Mondal does not answer at first; he justgazes at the deceptive calm of the river he has to cross by boat to reach his home inGhoramara. The 44-year-old resident of the sinking island of the Sundarbans archipelago hasclearly been asked this question more times than he can count. Finally he answers: “At leastfour”.

Tucked under Mondal’s arm are several metres of neatly rolled net tarpaulin. He has bought itfor 1,800 to cover the betel leaf trees he had planted a few weeks ago. He places it in his oldmechanised boat. During the half-hour journey to his house, Mondal speaks of storms,particularly Cyclone Aila that wreaked havoc in the region in 2009. Tourists, journalists,researchers and climate watchers have all told him that the next cyclone will have a devastatingimpact on the quickly eroding island, Mondal says.

The ravages of monsoon are visible as the boat reaches Ghoramara. On a thatched hut hangs agreen board that reads ‘Ghoramara Ferry Ghat’. The board is the only constant on the island;everything else is always changing. In fact, every year, with houses and acres of land beingswallowed by a hungry sea, the topography of the island alters. The total area of Ghoramarawas 8.51 sq km in 1975; it reduced to 4.43 sq km in 2012. The rapid erosion of the island,located at the mouth of the Bay of Bengal, has grabbed the attention of all those attempting tounderstand how rising sea levels and climate change are impacting lives and migration patterns.

Ghoramara is unique in other ways too. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi demonetised all500 and 1,000 banknotes in 2016, Ghoramara, which had no bank or ATM facility, survived oncredit as there was no way of exchanging cash. Three years later, there is still no bank on theisland. People make do with a post office. The last boat from the island departs for mainlandWest Bengal long before sunset, leaving the islanders cut off from the rest of the country atnight. There is no grid-connected electricity and no din of modern life; only the sound of waveslapping the shores.

West Bengal, where erosion leads to land loss

Mondal shows me his betel leaf plantation, situated a few hundred metres from the sea. He sayshis neighbour Nantu Das’s crops were destroyed after the embankments were breached byseawater. The precariousness of their lives and livelihoods is obvious, but when asked what it islike to be living on a sinking island, the residents show annoyance. “What is the point of askingus if the state does not care?” they retort. Sanjib Sagar, the gram pradhan of the island, hasmaintained that issues like sea level rise cannot be dealt with at his level.

There is no proper healthcare either. Rituparna Ghati, an auxiliary midwife, says in her eightyears of work, doctors set foot on the island only once, to attend a vaccination camp to preventan outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis. Ghati is perhaps the only health worker in the entire State

https://www.thehindu.com/profile/photographers/Rajeev-Bhatt/

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/No-banks-no-ATMs.-How-a-Sunderbans-island-survives-in-the-time-of-demonetisation/article16445350.ece

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/No-banks-no-ATMs.-How-a-Sunderbans-island-survives-in-the-time-of-demonetisation/article16445350.ece

crac

kIAS.co

m

whose target population has reduced from 5,623 in 2011 to 4,696 now. There is no infrastructurefor institutional deliveries on the island. Her job is to ensure that pregnant women are admittedto a state-run facility on the mainland days before the baby is due. Once her work is over, Ghatiheads back to the mainland.

Given the state of affairs, it is natural that the rate of migration from Ghoramara is high. Thereare more women than men on every boat ride. In every other household, the men have left theisland in search of jobs. They work as labourers in Kerala or Tamil Nadu, returning only duringfestivals or when the rising waters destroy their homes forcing them to rebuild yet again.

Visiting Ghoramara for the first time, Pranabesh Maity, a resident of a nearby island, GangaSagar, drops in at a primary school to find out the drop-out rate of students. SabyasachiPradhan, the teacher in-charge of Mandirtala Free Primary School, is prompt with figures. “Thisyear we have 126 children. Last year there were 136, and the year before there were 144.People know that they will have to move out and are getting their children admitted at differentplaces,” he says.

Many villagers, like Mondal, are planning to earn some money and relocate to Ganga Sagar. ButMaity, who has a Masters in Linguistics from Calcutta University, points out that parts of GangaSagar too are eroding. And so he has a mission at hand: he plans to plant mangroves andeducate children about environmental events and their impact on the Sundarbans.

Ganga Sagar, which appears like a drop of water on a satellite map, is the largest island in theSundarbans archipelago. Every year, pilgrims flock to the island during Makar Sankrati. Home to2.16 lakh people and covering an area of 280 sq km, it had a high decadal population growth of20.38% between 2001 and 2011. One of the reasons could be that people from smaller sinkingislands are moving to Ganga Sagar, says Tuhin Ghosh of the School of Oceanographic Studies,Jadavpur University.

Mondal wants to relocate to Bamkinagar locality on Ganga Sagar island after his fourth housetoo was claimed by the rising waters in Ghoramara. But life there is no better. One afternoon inAugust, the kutcha road that separates the localities of Bamkimnagar and Sumatinagar, on theeastern side of Ganga Sagar island, is muddy. People wade through knee-deep sludge to gofrom one house to another. The last house, which is exposed to the sea, belongs to TumpaMondal. She and her two daughters, one aged three years and the other six months, wait insidetheir hut. The tide water has receded but it has left its mark on the house. There is dampness inthe air and the walls are mossy. “The house floods twice a day,” she says. “We just sit on ourbed waiting for the water to recede. I have added bricks under the legs of the bed. So now thebed is at a higher level.” The family has no other place to go. Sometimes they share the bed withgoats when the water rises.

A daily battle with the sea at Sundarbans

Some areas of Ganga Sagar —Dhablat Shibpur, for instance, located on the southeastern side— have particularly suffered a lot of erosion in the past few years. Almost hundreds of acres arecovered by mud. In the middle of this vast expanse still stand a few houses. One of thembelongs to Abhijit Mondal. The 26-year-old repairs an old boat and narrates a tale that is nodifferent from the stories of the residents of Ghoramara. They are all dependent on the sea fortheir livelihood, the same sea that sometimes destroys their homes. In the neighbouring village,Beguakhali, after a stormy night, locals venture out to sea to collect fish spawns. They get 150for collecting 1,000 spawns.

Bamkim Hazra, the MLA of Ganga Sagar, under whose constituency the islands of Ghoramara

crac

kIAS.co

m

and Mousuni also fall, has no solution to the problem. Though he was recently appointedchairman of the Gangasagar Bakkhali Development Authority, set up to accelerate developmentin the region, the MLA responds in the same way that the gram pradhan of Ghoramara did.“Local bodies can do nothing in this case. Only the State and the Centre can do something,” hesays during an interaction with journalists at a climate change workshop.

The MLA spoke at length about the Gangasagar Mela, which has been declared a nationalfestival like the Kumbh Mela. Then he spoke about saving the Kapil Muni Temple, which is theseat of an annual pilgrimage. “The sea is advancing at a rate of 15 feet a year and soon thetemple will go under,” he pointed out. He said a 77 crore sea walling project was the onlysolution.

According to Hazra, over the past few years, about 1,120 families have relocated to GangaSagar from Ghoramara. These families have been given about six bighas of land on the island.Some have settled in a locality called Jibantala. Going from one house to another in the localityis a challenge because of the mud. There is no trace of a road.

The last hut at the end of the stretch belongs to Sheikh Safi. He came from Ghoramara toGanga Sagar with his wife and two children in 2017. A daily wage labourer, Safi says hisgrandfather had 60 bighas of land in Ghoramara. While the family insists that they had not gotany land from the government, the government responded that many people have settled in theland of the forest department, and will have to wait till the land records are changed.

Studies over the decades have recorded that the sea level in the area rose from 2.26 mm a yearin 2002 to 12 mm in 2014 and by another 2.9 mm in 2019. All these figures are higher than thesea-level rise along the Indian coast (average increase of 1.7 mm a year). It’s a welldocumented fact that islands have already begun disappearing: Lohachara went under in 2006and the uninhabited island of New Moore was claimed by the sea in 2011.

Sunderbans island shrinks by half

At a presentation, Tuhin Ghosh points out that Ganga Sagar, Ghoramara, and Mousuni islandsare part of the Hooghly River estuarine system where there has been maximum humanintervention. The Farraka Barrage, for instance, changed the sediment circulation pattern.Ghosh says reduced sediment supply in the region has led to changes in river hydrodynamicsand coastal erosion. “The rate of erosion here is more than the rate of accretion which is due tosediment starvation,” he adds.

A report by the National Centre for Coastal Research in 2018 pointed out that West Bengal lostmaximum land due to coastal erosion in the country (99 sq km between 1990 and 2016).However, the land gain in the State, due to accretion, has been only 16 sq km. An analysis ofthe entire Sundarbans points out that between 1969 and 2009, about 210 sq km of landmasshas eroded in the region.

In his book Rivers of the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta: A Fluvial Account of Bengal, riverexpert Kalyan Rudra quotes data from the India Meteorological Department to say that theSundarbans experienced 367 depressions, 68 storms, and 77 cyclones between 1901 and2012. The most disastrous was Aila in May 2009, which claimed more than 300 lives.

Rudra says Ghoramara, Sagar and Mousuni are located in the western part of the Sundarbans.Mangroves in these areas have been cleared for human habitation, he says, making theseislands more vulnerable. He describes the Bengal Delta as a “subsiding delta”, which meansthat in the western part of the Sunderbans, land has been lost to the sea and there has been no

crac

kIAS.co

m

new addition of land. He also warns that cyclones in the Sundarbans will increase because seasurface temperature is rising at 0.5°C per decade in the region and the global average is 0.05°Cper decade. And since the western part of the Sundarbans has no mangrove protection, itremains most vulnerable.

Mousuni, which lies a few km south of Ghoramara and Ganga Sagar, is similarly exposed to thesea. Some believe that the unique sea horse shape of the island is most likely due to erosion.

At the southernmost tip of the island, where the remnants of vegetation and houses destroyedby the rising seas are still visible, a number of small resorts and backpackers’ destinations havecome up in suicidal defiance of the sea and its erratic ways.

Suresh Bhandari has grand plans of building another resort similar to the one he already has atthe edge of the sea. The locals who moved away from here after sea waters rose have allowedBhandari to use what was left of the land to construct a resort. In the Sundarbans, people ekeout a living by fishing, collecting prawn seeds, and betel leaf farming. But people at Mousunihave forayed into the tourism business. The number of home stays in the island are onlyproliferating.

“Suresh babu has taken up a difficult job. It might take him years to build it. Ours is complete,”says Chittaranjan Dolui of Chittaranjan Royal Rest House and Hut. Dolui has taken a loan of 15lakh to set up his hotel. “Please tell people in Kolkata about our facility,” he says.

Dolui believes that tourists will flock to the island in the winter season. It is not clear whatprompted these investors to suddenly think of these islands, 130 km from Kolkata, as potentialtourist destinations. As in Ghoramara, not even basic healthcare is available here. The healthcentre, spread over a few acres, is shut on a Friday and looks as if it hasn’t been visited by adoctor in many months.

Climate change impact: Sunderbans steadily losing its famed mangroves

Mousuni now has a 2 km concrete embankment, something which people in Ghoramara andGanga Sagar believe will solve their problem. The embankment constructed on the western partof the island in Baliara is almost 60 feet high and built at an angle to prevent flooding. It was builtat a cost of 33 crore. However, when the tide is high, sea water flows into the island.

By the end of October, people living on the three islands felt that the worst of the monsoons andthe season’s biggest storms were over. But their hopes crashed when Cyclone Bulbul madelandfall near Ganga Sagar on November 9. Rudra was monitoring the movement of the cycloneand was surprised that it remained over the Sundarbans from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. “The locals saythat it was the longest cyclone they have witnessed,” he says. The islanders were saved asthere was low tide and the seawater did not breach the embankments when the cyclone madelandfall, experts say. The damage caused by Cyclone Aila, which made landfall during high tide,was worse as the seawater submerged large parts of the island. The sea level during high tideand low tide can vary as much as four metres, Rudra says. Cyclone Bulbul caused widespreaddamage to the Sundarbans. According to the State government, 5 lakh houses were destroyedand 35 lakh people in the coastal regions were affected.

When the cyclone struck Mousuni, Chittaranjan Dolui stayed indoors. His son Tapan Dolui wasat the lodge built for tourists. “Of the 12 rooms we built for tourists, four have been destroyed. Ofthe 30 lodges on the island, barring one or two all have suffered damage,” he says. OnGhoramara, the cyclone brought many changes to the landscape including destruction of SujitMondal’s betel leaf planatation.

crac

kIAS.co

m

After Cyclone Bulbul, Pranabesh Maity, who has planted 30,000 mangrove saplings this year,returned to his home in Ganga Sagar to interact with students. “I want to tell them how unstablethese islands are,” he says. “It is the sea and the rivers that have given us everything — land,fish and all that the people of the Sundarbans need to survive. And someday when the riversand sea come to reclaim everything, you have to be prepared.”














As the monsoon draws to a close, thousands of butterflies make their way to the Western Ghats









https://subscription.thehindu.com/whypayfornews?utm_source=hindu&utm_medium=articlebottom&utm_campaign=whypay



crac

kIAS.co

m

Source : www.hindustantimes.com Date : 2019-11-25

RECOGNISING THE CLIMATE CRISISRelevant for: Environment | Topic: Environmental Degradation - GHGs, Ozone Depletion and Climate Change

Nov 25, 2019-Monday-°C

Humidity-

Wind-

Metro cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata

Other cities - Noida, Gurgaon, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Bhopal , Chandigarh , Dehradun, Indore,Jaipur, Lucknow, Patna, Ranchi

Powered by

Words matter. The impending catastrophe of our times—a drastic modification of the world’sclimate, and steeply rising global temperatures — seems minor when you call it a “climatechange”. The term does not correctly reflect the enormity of the existential threat. This is why,from today, Hindustan Times will call this emergency what it is – a “climate crisis”.

Consider what is happening. Due to carbon emissions, global temperatures have warmed by 1degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels. It may not seem like a lot. But a world that is just adegree warmer has resulted in wildfires in California and Sydney, and annual wildfires in theArctic. The five warmest years on record were the last five years, and with the 20 warmestoccurring in the past 22 years, there is enough evidence to prove that the globe is not justwarming, it is heating. All of this is already translating into huge costs in terms of lives andlivelihoods. The Arctic is warming at 2-3 times than the global average, and summer monthswith no Arctic sea ice are a very real possibility. The global ocean has absorbed 90% of theworld’s excess heat since 1970. A warmer ocean means more extreme weather events, from arise in the number of cyclones to devastated fish populations due to increased acidification ofoceans, from the death of coral reefs to collapsing ecosystems.

The situation at home is as dire. India will see some of the worst outcomes of a warming world.Our coasts are threatened by rising sea levels and extreme weather events, while the loss ofHimalayan glaciers will affect 580 million people in the Ganga river basin alone. About 177million people live in India’s low-lying coastal districts, where sea levels are slated to rise by over1m by 2100. A recent paper in October stated how mega cities like Mumbai will be submerged in30 years. And within India, it will be the most marginalised of the communities who will pay thehighest price. In 2018-19, as many as 2,400 Indians lost their lives to extreme weather eventssuch as floods and cyclones. These events are increasing in both frequency and intensity. Thecrisis now calls for a sustained, multi-pronged approach, where the government, the privatesector, universities, and local communities and individuals do their bit to reverse the tide. It istime to accept that this is not a mere change; it is not a problem. It is a crisis.


crac

kIAS.co

m


crac

kIAS.co

m


‘NILGIRI TAHR’ CONSERVE THE SPECIES AND ITSHABITAT


The Nilgiritragus hylocrius, commonly known as ‘Nilgiri Tahr’, is a mountain ungulate seendistributed patchily in the southern mountain ranges of Western Ghats from Nilgiris in the Northto Kanyakumari in the south of both Tamilnadu and Kerala states. Once it has ranged 200 kmnorth of its present distribution. Nilgiri Tahr is the state animal of Tamilnadu.

This sheep species is confined to the higher altitude grasslands with steep rocky cliffs andmountainous slopes. There are three areas with continuous extent of grasslands and cliffs whichare Mukurthi National Park (76.4km²) and grass hills in Tamilnadu and Eravikulam National Park(94km²) in Kerala.

Since the Tahr is only using the rolling grasslands with steeply cliffs as its habitat, conservingthe species and its habitat directly helps in preserving the Shola-grassland complexes of theWestern Ghats, which provide various ecosystems services like oxygen, water, hydro-electricity,carbon sequestration etc.,

WWF carried out field surveys in most all of its distributional ranges during 2008-2012 whichbrought out a comprehensive report on Nilgiri Tahr population status and current distribution.Population numbers were estimated between 3000-3500 in the wild. Thirteen new locations tothe science were identified during the surveys.

Based on habitat connectivity, the whole range was divided into five conservational blocks.

• Block-I includes areas of Mukurthi NP, Nilgiris FD, Nilambur FD and Silent valley NP. Thisblock holds around 700 Nilgiri Tahr

• Block-II includes Coimbatore FD, Palghat FD and parts of Mannarkad FD. This block hasaround 200 Nilgiri Tahr

• Block-III includes Aanamalai TR, Parambikulam TR, Neliampathy WLS, Eravikulam NP,Munnar FD Kodaikanal WLS and Adimali FD which holds the largest population among theseblocks of around 1600 individuals

• Block-IV has Srivilliputhur WLS, Theni FD, Meghamalai WLD, Periyar TR, Ranni FD and NellaiWildlife Sanctuary and has around 700 Nilgiri Tahr

• Block-V consists of Kalakkad-Mundanthurai TR, Neyyar WLS, Peppara WLS and KanyakumariWLS which harbours around 300 Nilgiri Tahr.

While speaking to D. Boominathan, Landscape Coordinator, WWF-India said that “regularmonitoring of animal density, population status and threat assessment in any forest area wouldbe helpful in scientific management and conservation of the species and its habitat. Annualpopulation estimation exercises are being carried out in Mukurthi NP of Tamilnadu andEravikulam NP of Kerala. All other Tahr ranging areas should also be doing the annualpopulation estimation to do management interventions. The good sign is new set of ForestGuards and Foresters being recruited by Tamilnadu. This would help fill up the vacancy gapswhich would strengthen protection. Provisions should be made available for new anti-poaching

crac

kIAS.co

m

camps (permanent and floating camps) through protection needs assessment”

Eminent Biologist Dr. Johnsingh says that “There is a great potential for re-introduction of NilgiriTahr in Western Ghats in places where they occurred in the past. Kerala and Tamilnadu forestdepartment should take up this programme to increase the Nilgiri Tahr population in the WesternGhats. There are several places where it can be easily done and one such place is Glenmorganhills in the Nilgiris forest division to begin with”.

Predit, Nilgiri Tahr Coordinator, WWF-India added that “Due to its evolutionary adaptation theNilgiri Tahr is restricted in the steeply cliffs and mountainous terrain; the animal hasn’t got theattention which it should get otherwise in terms of conservation values.

Most people aren’t aware of its presence, distribution and its significance. It’s our collectivewisdom to protect these mountain guardians for our own survival and for generations to come.Declaring a ‘World Nilgiri Tahr day’ would be the first step to get the attention this elusive andimportant animal deserves”

(Inputs from

Predit M.A., WWF,

Photos: Renuka Vijayaraghavan)

Special discount offer on The Hindu subscription only for Today’s paper readers












https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=todayspaper&utm_medium=30065897&utm_campaign=tp-national&#signin

crac

kIAS.co

m


WORLD ACTION TO COMBAT GLOBAL WARMINGINADEQUATE, SAYS UNEP


India is the third-largest emitter behind the United States and China respectively. | File | PhotoCredit: Sushil Kumar Verma

Ahead of the 25th edition of the Conference of Parties in Madrid in December, the UnitedNations Environment Programme (UNEP) has warned that countries’ action to combat globalwarming was inadequate. On the whole, countries must cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissionsby at least three-fold — ideally five-fold — to have a fighting chance at containing the severesteffects of global warming.

“Unless global greenhouse gas emissions fall by 7.6% each year between 2020 and 2030, theworld will miss the opportunity to get on track towards the 1.5°C temperature goal of the ParisAgreement,” says a press statement accompanying the UNEP report.

Every year, the UNEP assesses the gap between anticipated emissions in 2030 and levelsconsistent with the 1.5°C and 2°C targets of the Paris Agreement.

Also read: Greenhouse gases surge to record in 2018, exceeding 10-yr average rate: U.N.

The report finds that greenhouse gas emissions had risen 1.5% per year over the last decadeand emissions in 2018, including from land-use changes such as deforestation, hit a new high of55.3 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent. Global temperatures have already risen about 1°C sincepre-industrial times and negotiations, such as those under way at the COP, are aimed atpreventing temperatures from rising more than a half-or one degree. Current commitments bycountries — all voluntary — will see temperatures rise by 3.2°C over pre-industrial levels.

“The summary findings are bleak. Countries collectively failed to stop the growth in global GHGemissions, meaning that deeper and faster cuts are now required,” says the report.

Also read: India to work with China, Pakistan to gauge impact of climate change

Fossil carbon-dioxide emissions from energy use and industry, which dominate total GHGemissions, grew 2.0% in 2018, reaching a record 37.5 GtCO2 per year. By 2030, emissionswould need to be 25% and 55% lower than in 2018 to put the world on the least-cost pathway tolimiting global warming to below 2C and 1.5°C respectively.

India is the third-largest emitter behind the United States and China respectively, though 28developed countries of European Union, as a block, emit more than India. India’s per capitaemissions, however, are significantly below the United States, China, Russia, Japan and manycountries.

“India, Russia and Turkey are projected to be more than 15% lower than their NDC (NationallyDetermined Contribution) target emission levels. These results suggest that the three countrieshave room to raise their NDC ambition significantly,” the survey results note.

India has committed to ensuring that its non-fossil fuels constitute 40% of the total electricitygeneration capacity, the emission intensity of the economy reduces by 33 to 35% by 2030 from

https://www.thehindu.com/profile/photographers/Sushil-Kumar-Verma/

https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/un-climate-talks-to-take-place-in-madrid-in-december/article29856595.ece

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/greenhouse-gases-surge-to-record-in-2018-exceeding-10-yr-average-rate-un/article30076114.ece

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/india-to-work-with-china-pakistan-to-gauge-impact-of-climate-change/article29620759.ece

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/co2-levels-poised-for-record-high/article25674341.ece

crac

kIAS.co

m

2005 level, and increase forest and tree cover to create additional carbon sink of 2.5-3 billiontonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent.


























crac

kIAS.co

m


AIR POLLUTION LINKED TO HIGHER RISK OFGLAUCOMA: STUDY

Relevant for: Environment | Topic: Environmental Pollution - Air, Water, Soil & E-waste

Glaucoma, a neuro-degenerative disease, is the leading global cause of irreversible blindnessand affects over 60 million people worldwide. | File | Photo Credit: C.V. Subrahmanyam

Exposure to polluted air is associated with an increased risk of glaucoma, a debilitating eyecondition that can cause blindness, according to a study.

The findings, published in the journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, show thatpeople in neighbourhoods with higher amounts of fine particulate matter pollution were at least6% more likely to report having glaucoma than those in the least-polluted areas.

Also read: India, U.K. scientists collaborate on clean air solutions for Delhi

“We have found yet another reason why air pollution should be addressed as a public healthpriority, and that avoiding sources of air pollution could be worthwhile for eye health alongsideother health concerns,” said lead author Paul Foster, a professor at the University CollegeLondon (UCL) in the UK.

“While we cannot confirm yet that the association is causal, we hope to continue our research todetermine whether air pollution does indeed cause glaucoma, and to find out if there are anyavoidance strategies that could help people reduce their exposure to air pollution to mitigate thehealth risks,” Foster said in a statement.

Glaucoma, a neuro-degenerative disease, is the leading global cause of irreversible blindnessand affects over 60 million people worldwide, the researchers noted.

It most commonly results from a build-up of pressure from fluid in the eye, causing damage tothe optic nerve that connects the eye to the brain, they said.

“Most risk factors for glaucoma are out of our control, such as older age or genetics. It’spromising that we may have now identified a second risk factor for glaucoma, after eyepressure, that can be modified by lifestyle, treatment or policy changes,” Mr. Foster said.

The findings were based on 111,370 participants of the U.K. Biobank study cohort, whounderwent eye tests from 2006 to 2010 at sites across Britain.

The participants underwent a test to measure intraocular pressure, and a laser scan of the retinato measure thickness of their eye’s macula, the central area of the retina.

The participants’ data was linked to air pollution measures for their home addresses, with theresearchers focusing on fine particulate matter, equal or less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter,or PM2.5.

The team found that people in the most-polluted 25% of areas were at least 6% more likely toreport having glaucoma than those in the least-polluted quartile.

They were also significantly more likely to have a thinner retina, one of the changes typical of

https://www.thehindu.com/profile/photographers/C-V-Subrahmanyam/

https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/uk-india-scientists-collaborate-on-clean-air-solutions-for-delhi/article30023764.ece

crac

kIAS.co

m

glaucoma progression, the researchers found.

Eye pressure was not associated with air pollution, which the researchers said suggests that airpollution may affect glaucoma risk through a different mechanism.

“Air pollution may be contributing to glaucoma due to the constriction of blood vessels, whichties into air pollution’s links to an increased risk of heart problems,” said the study’s first author,Sharon Chua from UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital.

“Another possibility is that particulates may have a direct toxic effect damaging the nervoussystem and contributing to inflammation,” Ms. Chua said.

The researchers noted that air pollution has been implicated in elevated risk of pulmonary andcardiovascular disease as well as brain conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’sdisease and stroke.

Particulate matter exposure is one of the strongest predictors of mortality among air pollutants.

The latest study adds to previous evidence that people in urban areas are 50 % more likely tohave glaucoma than those in rural areas, suggesting that air pollution may be a key contributorto that pattern.

“We found a striking correlation between particulate matter exposure and glaucoma. Given thatthis was in the U.K., which has relatively low particulate matter pollution on the global scale,glaucoma may be even more strongly impacted by air pollution elsewhere in the world,” Fostersaid.

“And as we did not include indoor air pollution and workplace exposure in our analysis, the realeffect may be even greater,” he said.












https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=meterpaywall&utm_medium=30085856&utm_campaign=health&#signin

https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=meterpaywall&utm_medium=30085856&utm_campaign=health

crac

kIAS.co

m












https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=curtainraiser&utm_medium=30085856&utm_campaign=health#signin

https://subscription.thehindu.com/signup?utm_source=curtainraiser&utm_medium=30085856&utm_campaign=health

crac

kIAS.co

m


GREENHOUSE GASES SURGE TO RECORD IN 2018,EXCEEDING 10-YR AVERAGE RATE: U.N.


The concentration of carbon dioxide, a product of burning fossil fuels that is the biggestcontributor to global warming, surged from 405.5 parts per million in 2017 to 407.8 ppm in 2018.| File | Photo Credit: Reuters

Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere hit a new record in 2018, rising faster than the averagerise of the last decade and cementing increasingly damaging weather patterns, the WorldMeteorological Organization (WMO) said on Monday.

The U.N. agency’s Greenhouse Gas Bulletin is one of a series of studies to be published aheadof a U.N. climate change summit being held in Madrid next week, and is expected to guidediscussions there. It measures the atmospheric concentration of the gases responsible for globalwarming, rather than emissions.

Also read: 'India third largest contributor to carbon emission'

“There is no sign of a slowdown, let alone a decline, in greenhouse gases’ concentration in theatmosphere — despite all the commitments under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change,”said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

“This continuing long-term trend means that future generations will be confronted withincreasingly severe impacts of climate change, including rising temperatures, more extremeweather, water stress, sea level rise and disruption to marine and land ecosystems.”

Also read: Arctic Ocean may be ice-free for part of year by 2044, finds study

The concentration of carbon dioxide, a product of burning fossil fuels that is the biggestcontributor to global warming, surged from 405.5 parts per million in 2017 to 407.8 ppm in 2018,exceeding the average rate of increase of 2.06 ppm in 2005-2015, the WMO report said.

Irrespective of future policy, carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere for centuries, locking inwarming trends.

“It is worth recalling that the last time the Earth experienced a comparable concentration of CO2was 3-5 million years ago,” Mr. Taalas said.

Levels of methane — a much more potent greenhouse gas than CO2 — and nitrous oxide alsohit new records, the report said.

The U.N. Environment Programme’s annual “emissions gap” report, due on Tuesday, assesseswhether countries emissions reduction policies are enough.




https://www.thehindu.com/profile/photographers/Reuters/

https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/un-climate-talks-to-take-place-in-madrid-in-december/article29856595.ece



https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/arctic-ocean-may-be-ice-free-for-part-of-year-by-2044-finds-study/article30004982.ece


crac

kIAS.co

m






















· subsidy and 80% discount would be given for setting up of custom hiring centres for these...

Documents