An image that has gone viral- A fish has been pictured swimming inside a jellyfish off Australia’s east coast in a remarkable and rare image, apparently the fish controls the direction of movement.

Back to Prelims-

This is a compilation of all environmental news published by Times of India newspaper for the past year. It has been compiled keeping in view of  2 important aspects of PRELIMS-

1. No other website/institute that we are aware of are doing this (Most have done it from thehindu  only)
2. There were few questions asked by UPSC from TOI last year which was not covered by HINDU, hence the compilation.

We sincerely hope it helps in the exam.

‘India’s temperature rose by 0.60 degree over last 110 years’

1. According to the Indian Meteorological Department(IMD), in line with rising temperatures across the globe, all India mean temperatures have risen nearly 0.60 degree Celsius over the last 110 years. Further IMD studies have highlighted that extreme events like heat waves have risen in the last 30 years.
2. 5th Assessment Report (AR5) of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published in 2014, globally averaged combined land and ocean surface temperature has risen by 0.85 degree Celsius over the period 1880 to 2012.

National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)

1. Launched in June, 2008 to deal with climate change and related issues.
2. NAPCC comprises of eight missions in specific areas of solar energy, enhanced energy efficiency, habitat, water, sustaining Himalayan ecosystems, forestry, agriculture and strategic knowledge for climate change.
   1. National Solar Mission
   2. National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency
   3. National Mission on Sustainable Habitat (Energy Conservation Building Code)
   4. National Water Mission (goal of a 20% improvement in water use efficiency)
   5. National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem
   6. Green India Mission( aims at afforestation of 6 million hectares of degraded forest lands and expanding forest cover from 23 to 33% of India’s territory.)
   7. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (development of climate-resilient crops, expansion of weather insurance mechanisms etc)
   8. National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change ( envisions a new Climate Science Research Fund,improved climate modeling, and increased international collaboration. It also encourages private sector initiatives to develop adaptation and mitigation technologies through venture capital funds)

Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle – IGCC

An integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) is a technology that uses a high pressure gasifier to turn coal and other carbon based fuels into pressurized gas—synthesis gas (syngas). It can then remove impurities from the syngas prior to the power generation cycle.

The IGCC plant can achieve major CO₂ reduction by effectively capturing the feedstock’s carbon inventory from the syngas, before it is combusted in the gas turbine. Captured CO₂ can then be buried underground.

National Silt Policy

Seeking to handle threat of floods in many parts of the country during Monsoon, the Centre will soon come out with a national silt policy which will enlist measures to scientifically desilt rivers which have over the years lost the capacity to hold water due to deposition of excessive silt.

Corals and Islands:-

Lizard Island- Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

SOUTH ARI ATOLL – Maldives

• The world has lost roughly half its coral reefs in the last 30 years.
• Coral reefs support a quarter of all marine species, as well as half a billion people around the world
• Even if the world could halt global warming now, scientists still expect that more than 90 percent of corals will die by 2050
• Often described as underwater rainforests, they populate a tiny fraction of the ocean but provide habitats for one in four marine species
• Reefs also form crucial barriers protecting coastlines from the full force of storms.
• Corals are invertebrates, living mostly in tropical waters. They secrete calcium carbonate to build protective skeletons that grow and take on impressive colors, thanks to a symbiotic relationship with algae that live in their tissues and provide them with energy.
• A temperature change of just 1 to 2 degrees Celsius (1.8 to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) can force coral to expel the algae, leaving their white skeletons visible in a process known as “bleaching.”
• The first global bleaching event occurred in 1998, when 16 percent of corals died.
• The problem spiraled dramatically in 2015-2016 amid an extended El Nino natural weather phenomenon that warmed Pacific waters near the equator and triggered the most widespread bleaching ever documented.
• Coral Reef Watch Program – It is a program of NOAA .The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is an American scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere.
• 50 reefs – Hoegh-Guldberg,is the inaugural Director of the Global Change Institute at the University of Queensland,helped launch an initiative called 50 Reefs, aiming to identify those reefs with the best chance of survival in warming oceans and raise public awareness. His project partner is Richard Vevers, who heads the XL Caitlin Seaview Survey, which has been documenting coral reefs worldwide.

India launches phase-out plan of the harmful refrigerant HCFC

Though the fresh plan is meant for the 2017-23 period, the final goal is to phase out consumption and manufacturing of this ozone-depleting refrigerant under an accelerated plan by 2030.

The HCFC is currently used in various sectors including refrigeration, air-conditioning and foam manufacturing.

Over 190 countries had in 1987 reached an agreement under Montreal Protocol to phase out the ODS in a time-bound manner. Under the Protocol, India has already successfully phased out the earlier generation of refrigerants, Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and Halon. The country is currently phasing out the HCFC in a gradual manner.

In a first, Centre launches survey to ascertain Gangetic dolphin numbers

The Centre has launched the first ever across-the-river survey in Ganga to determine the population of aquatic life, including that of the endangered Gangetic doplhin.

The authority is conducting the survey through Wildlife Institute of India (WII), an autonomous institution of Environment and Forest Ministry, under Namami Gange programme.

2017 is the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development

Global body concerned over massive destruction in Uttarakhand

International Road Federation (IRF), a Geneva based global body consisting of 90 countries working for better and safer roads worldwide which also has deparment of Road Tranport and Highways, CPWD and NHAI as members, has expressed deep concern at repeated loss of life, landslides, areas being cut off and chaos in the road network and infrastructure in the hill state of Uttarakhand for last several years during rains, and has stressed the need of adopting time tested sustainable solutions including floodplain mapping and taking flood proofing measures.

Kukrail’s a biodiversity heritage site, Lucknow

Six tigers to be relocated in Buxa Tiger Reserve

Buxa TR is in West Bengal.

El Salvador becomes the first country in the world to ban mining of metals for environmental protection

World’s first sanctuary for white tigers opens in MP

Isotopes indicate the source of groundwater. Significant variation in isotopic composition of groundwater indicated that the water in different parts of the state was recharged through different geo-hydrological processes. Groundwater recharged by water undergoing considerable evaporation during infiltration and percolation had more isotopic value than the one recharged by sources below ground.