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Mullaperiyar Dam

Why in News Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the Mullaperiyar Dam Supervisory Committee to issue directions on issues concerning the...

17 Mar 2021 Disaster Management
Dams and Destruction

Introduction About: A dam is a structure built across a river or stream to hold back water. Over the centuries dams have been built using...

16 Mar 2021 Disaster Management
Changing Climate and Deglaciation: A Warning Call

This article is based on “Climate and Consciousness” which was published in The Hindu on 04/03/2021. It talks about the impacts of...

05 Mar 2021 Disaster Management
Airline Mapping of Ocean Floor

Why in News The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) is planning to conduct airline mapping of Andaman and Nicobar Islands...

26 Feb 2021 Disaster Management
Chamoli Flash Floods

This article is based on “Rethinking run-of-the-river hydro projects” which was published in The Hindustan Times on 11/02/2021. It...

11 Feb 2021 Disaster Management
NDMA Guidelines to Tackle Glacial Bursts

Why in News A Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) is suspected to have caused the flash floods in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. In October...

10 Feb 2021 Disaster Management
Uttarakhand Flash Flood

Why in News Recently, a glacial break in the Tapovan-Reni area of Chamoli District of Uttarakhand led to massive Flash Flood in Dhauli Ganga and...

08 Feb 2021 Disaster Management
Ageing Dams of India: UN Report

Why in News According to a United Nations (UN) report "Ageing water infrastructure: An emerging global risk", over 1,000 large dams in India will be...

02 Feb 2021 Disaster Management
Report on Lightning Strikes

Why in News According to a report published by the Climate Resilient Observing Systems Promotion Council (CROPC), the number of deaths due to...

04 Jan 2021 Disaster Management
Mission Sagar-III

Why in News Recently, the Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kiltan has arrived at Sihanoukville Port, Cambodia as part of ongoing Mission Sagar-III. Key...

30 Dec 2020 Disaster Management
Extreme Climate Events: CEEW

Why in News According to a recent study on the report “Preparing India for Extreme Climate Events” released by the Council on Energy,...

12 Dec 2020 Disaster Management
Cyclone Nivar

Why in News Recently, the tropical cyclone Nivar has made landfall along the Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coast. Landfall refers to the phenomenon of a...

26 Nov 2020 Disaster Management
Evaluation of National Monsoon Mission

Why in News Recently, the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has evaluated the economic benefits of the National Monsoon Mission...

04 Nov 2020 Disaster Management
Mission Sagar - II

Why in news As part of ‘Mission Sagar-II’, the Government of India is providing assistance to Friendly Foreign Countries to overcome...

03 Nov 2020 Disaster Management
Typhoon Goni

Why in News Recently, Typhoon Goni has made landfall in the eastern Philippines. The Philippines is used to powerful storms - it is hit by an...

02 Nov 2020 Disaster Management
Urban Flooding

This article is based on “Time for a ‘sponge cities’ mission in India” which was published in The Hindu on 31/10/2020. It...

31 Oct 2020 Disaster Management
Typhoon Molave: Vietnam

Why in News Recently, Vietnam has been hit by one of its biggest storms in two decades - Typhoon Molave. Vietnam is prone to natural disasters in...

30 Oct 2020 Disaster Management
Tsunami Early Warning System in India

Why in News According to experts from the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information System (INCOIS), India is much safer against tsunami threats...

27 Oct 2020 Disaster Management
South Asian Flash Flood Guidance System

Why in News Recently, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has launched the South Asian Flash Flood Guidance System (FFGS), which is aimed at...

24 Oct 2020 Disaster Management
Bioremediation Mechanism for Oil Spills

Why in News The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chnnai has developed an eco-friendly crude oil bioremediation mechanism technology...

17 Oct 2020 Disaster Management

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		'title' => 'Mullaperiyar Dam',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/supreme-court-of-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Supreme Court (SC)</strong></a> has ordered the <strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/mullaperiyar-dam" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mullaperiyar Dam</a> Supervisory Committee</strong> to issue directions on issues concerning the <a href="/to-the-points/paper1/dams-and-destruction" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>dam's safety.</strong></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The SC constituted a <strong>permanent Supervisory Committee</strong> in<strong> 2014</strong> to<strong> oversee all the issues concerning Mullaperiyar dam.</strong> The dam is <strong>a source of friction between Tamil Nadu and Kerala.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Background:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>A <strong>petition</strong> was filed by a resident of Idukki district of Kerala to <strong>lower the water level of Mullaperiyar dam to 130 feet</strong> saying there is a <strong>danger of <a href="/to-the-points/paper1/earthquake-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earthquakes</a> and <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/flood-management-in-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener">floods</a></strong> in the area as monsoon progresses in the State.</li>
<li>The petitioner contended that the <strong>Supervisory Committee had become &ldquo;lethargical&rdquo;</strong> about the safety inspection and survey of the dam. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It had <strong>delegated its duties to a sub-committee of local officials.</strong></li>
<li>The instrumentation scheme, safety mechanism, etc, have not been finalised for the past six years.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Tamil Nadu&rsquo;s Stand:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Blamed Kerala for delaying the finalisation of the <strong>rule curve</strong> for the dam.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Rule curve</strong> in a dam decides the fluctuating storage levels in a reservoir. The gate opening schedule of a dam is based on the rule curve.</li>
<li>It is<strong> part of the &ldquo;core safety&rdquo;</strong> mechanism in a dam.</li>
<li>The <strong>rule curve level is fixed to avoid emergency opening of dam shutters</strong> in case of a flood-like situation. It helps in controlling the water level in the dam during peak monsoon.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Kerala has made consistent efforts to obstruct Tamil Nadu from operating the dam.</li>
<li>Tamil Nadu is <strong>not able to access data</strong> which is in Kerala&rsquo;s terrain. There is <strong>no road built,</strong> the<strong> power supply has not been restored</strong> although Tamil Nadu has paid for it.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Kerala&rsquo;s Stand:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Accused Tamil Nadu of adopting an <strong>&ldquo;obsolete&rdquo;</strong> gate operation schedule dating back to 1939.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>SC&rsquo;s Ruling:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Tamil Nadu&rsquo;s Chief Secretary</strong> shall be<strong> &ldquo;personally responsible&rdquo;</strong> and <strong>&ldquo;appropriate action&rdquo;</strong> will be taken on failure to give information on the <strong>rule curve for Mullaperiyar dam</strong> to the SC -appointed <strong>Supervisory Committee.</strong></li>
<li>Directed the Supervisory Committee to<strong> issue directions or take steps to address the three core safety issues</strong> and submit a compliance report in four weeks.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Core Issues:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Monitoring and performance of the <strong>instrumentation</strong> of the dam.</li>
<li>Finalising the<strong> rule curve.</strong></li>
<li>Fixing the gate <strong>operating schedule.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Reason:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The three core issues are <strong>directly concerned with the safety of the dam</strong> and will have a cascading effect on persons residing in the nearby areas.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Mullaperiyar Dam</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Mullaperiyar, a <strong>123-year-old</strong> dam, is<strong> located on the confluence of the Mullayar and Periyar rivers</strong> in <strong>Kerala&rsquo;s Idukki district.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The dam stands at the <strong>height of 53.66 metres</strong> and <strong>365.85 metres in length.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It is <strong>operated and maintained by the Tamil Nadu</strong> for meeting the drinking water and irrigation requirements of five of its southern districts.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>According to a 999-year <strong>lease agreement</strong> made during the British rule the operational rights were handed over to Tamil Nadu.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The <strong>dam intends to divert the waters of the west-flowing river Periyar eastward</strong> to the arid rain shadow regions of the Tamil Nadu.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Periyar River</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>Periyar River is the longest river in the state of Kerala</strong> with a length of 244 km.</li>
<li>It is also known as<strong> &lsquo;Lifeline of Kerala&rsquo;</strong> as it is one of the few perennial rivers in the state.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>A<strong> perennial river is a channel that has continuous flow</strong> in parts of its stream bed all year round.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Periyar River <strong>originates from Sivagiri hills</strong> of <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/ecologically-sensitive-areas-in-western-ghats" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Western Ghats</strong></a> and flows through the <strong>Periyar National Park.</strong></li>
<li>The <strong>main tributaries</strong> of Periyar are Muthirapuzha, Mullayar, Cheruthoni, Perinjankutti.</li>
</ul>
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</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/come-out-with-rule-curve-for-mullaperiyar-sc/article34085574.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
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		'category_id' => (int) 26,
		'title' => 'Dams and Destruction',
		'description' => '<h3>Introduction</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>About:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>A dam is a structure built across a river or stream to hold back water. Over the centuries dams have been built using different materials.</li>
<li>Ancient dam builders used natural materials such as rocks or clay while today most dams are built using concrete.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Dams in India:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>India has 4,407 large dams, the third highest number in the world after China (23,841) and the USA (9,263). <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/dobra-chanti-bridge" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Tehri Dam</strong></a> in Uttarakhand is the <strong>highest dam in India</strong> built on Bhagirathi river.</li>
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/nhrc-issues-notice-in-hirakud-displacement-case" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Hirakud Dam</strong></a> in Odisha built on river Mahanadi is the <strong>longest dam of India.</strong></li>
<li>Kallanai Dam in Tamil Nadu is the <strong>oldest dam of India.</strong> It is built on the Kaveri river and is about 2000 years old.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Significance of Dams:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Source of Clean Energy:</strong> Dams are the sources of clean power. Many countries have embraced dams as a way to reduce reliance on expensive fossil fuels.</li>
<li><strong>Irrigation:</strong> Dams and waterways store and provide water for irrigation so farmers can use the water for growing crops. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>In areas where water and rain are not abundant (like the desert), irrigation canals from rivers and dams are used to carry water.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Prevent Flooding:</strong> Dams, if planned well, help in preventing floods. They catch extra water so that it doesn&rsquo;t run wild downstream.</li>
<li><strong>Source of Drinking Water:</strong> Since the water stored in dams is freshwater, it can also be used as drinking water.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1615887794_Image4.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1615887794_Image4.jpg" width="700" caption="false" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<h3>Dams and Destruction</h3>
<p>While dams can benefit the society in many ways, they are also one of the biggest menaces to river ecology, wildlife, aquatic habitat of fish and ultimately humans.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Affect the Aquatic Life:</strong> Dams prevent fish migration and limit their ability to access spawning habitat, seek out food resources, and escape predation. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Aquatic organisms depend on steady flows to guide them while stagnant reservoir pools disorient migrating fish and can significantly increase the duration of their migration.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Dams block Rivers:</strong> Dams and reservoirs are physical barriers to the flow of water bodies as they fragment them and reservoirs, which impact their seasonal flow. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>They also change the way rivers function and trap sediment, burying rock riverbeds where fish spawn.</li>
<li>Gravel, logs, and other important food and habitat features can also become trapped behind dams. This negatively affects the creation and maintenance of more complex habitat downstream.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>A Hazardous Infrastructure:</strong> Large dams, even if structurally sound, are regarded as &ldquo;high hazard&rdquo; infrastructure because of the potential for a massive loss of human lives, livelihoods and destruction in the event of failure.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In the most recent <strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/uttarakhand-flash-flood#:~:text=Recently%2C%20a%20glacial%20break%20in,out%20settlements%20and%20took%20lives." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Uttarakhand flash floods</a></strong>, experts say the incident was induced by the effect of global warming on melting glaciers but the effect was worsened by construction of infrastructure (Hydroelectric Power Projects, HEPs). <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>HEPs which use large-scale blasting, tree felling and tunneling, most certainly added to the proportion of the impact. They became a force multiplier in the destruction.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The construction was against the recommendation of the Chopra Committee which submitted a detailed report warning that a glacial retreat in the state of Uttarakhand, coupled with structures built for hydroelectricity generation and dams, could lead to large-scale disasters downstream.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Reservoir Induced Seismicity:</strong> There is a strong relation between the earthquakes and loading and unloading of water from the dam. The Koyna and Warna region is possibly the best example of <strong>reservoir-induced-seismicity (RIS).</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Koyna and Warna reservoirs are responsible for the earthquakes in the south Maharashtra region which has experienced many earthquakes in five decades.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>This series of earthquakes have occurred post the construction of dams in the region.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Displacement of People:</strong> The land submergence and large scale displacement of people due to construction of large dams is one prevailing issue which is often overlooked by the authorities. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Construction of dams such as Hirakud, Bhakra Nangal and Tehri had displaced a number of families many of which were not rehabilitated at all. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Even after rehabilitation, lack of livelihood opportunities and poor living conditions are still observed.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/gujarat-madhya-pradesh-tussle-over-the-narmada#:~:text=The%20Sardar%20Sarovar%20Project%20(SSP,increase%20irrigation%20and%20produce%20hydroelectricity." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sardar Sarovar dam</a></strong>, the largest structure on Narmada river, has displaced over 3 lakh families.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Older Dams are Greater Hazard:</strong> <strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/ageing-dams-of-india-un-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Older dams</a></strong> pose greater safety risks, cost higher in terms of maintenance and have declining functionality due to sedimentation, stated <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Globally, over 1,115 large dams will be about 50 years old by 2025.</li>
<li>China, the US and India top the list of countries with a significant number of large dams. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>China alone hosts 40% of the world&rsquo;s large dams (numbering 23,841), their average age being 45 years.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>India has 4,407 large dams of which more than 1,000 would be 50 years or older by 2025, a new study has shown.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>India has 209 dams that are over 100-year-old, built when design practices and safety were far below current norms.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>GreenHouse Gas Emissions:</strong> Particularly in tropical regions, hydropower reservoirs emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The water gathers behind the dam, creates an unnatural, stagnant lake that often kills off a lot of the existing ecosystem. Bacteria in the water decompose these plants and generate carbon dioxide and methane (potent greenhouse gas).</li>
<li>Methane from reservoirs accounts for more than 4% of all human-caused climate change comparable to the climate impact of the aviation sector.</li>
<li>In some cases, hydropower projects are producing higher emissions than coal-fired power generating the same amount of electricity plants.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>The Chopra committee</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The committee was appointed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (now Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change, MoEFCC) in October 2013, following the <strong>Supreme Court&rsquo;s suo motto order</strong> of August 13 2013.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The committee suggested that no hydroelectric power projects (HEPs) should be built in the paraglacial region as it has loose glacial debris which when carried downstream can be disastrous.</li>
<li>It also raised objections to the construction of HEPs in regions 2200-2500 metres above the sea level.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Preferring Viable Alternatives:</strong> Prioritizing <a href="/to-the-points/paper3/solar-energy" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>solar</strong></a> and <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/policy-watch-indias-wind-energy-potential" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>wind</strong></a> projects are viable and sustainable alternatives to hydroelectric power projects.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>However, improving dam operations and finding more suitable locations for such infrastructure should also be part of the solution.</li>
<li>India should instead focus on technologies such as pumped storage, batteries and hydrogen for balancing the grid, Mishra said. As these technologies become economically viable, it will further weaken the case for large dams.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Timely Inspection of Dams:</strong> It is evident that instead of focusing on building new dams, there is a need to look at the underperformance of existing projects.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>India must conduct a cost-benefit analysis of its ageing dams, and conduct timely safety reviews in order to ensure their operational and ecological safety, as well as the safety of those who inhabit the areas downstream.</li>
<li>Fifty years is not a defining age for all dams because the design life also depends on factors such as construction and maintenance.
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>A well constructed and well-maintained dam can go up to 100 years.</li>
<li>However, 50 years is roughly the age when a dam may begin to show signs of ageing.</li>
<li>In some cases, dam components such as gates and motors may need to be replaced after 30 years to 50 years.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Steps Recommended by WCD:</strong> The World Commission on Dams (WCD) lists seven steps as a remedy to issues arising from dams. These include:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Gaining wide public acceptance for construction of any dam.</li>
<li>Exploration of alternatives to dams.</li>
<li>Optimal usage of existing structures.</li>
<li>Protection and restoration of ecosystems at river basin level.</li>
<li>Recognising entitlements of the affected people.</li>
<li>Compliance with applicable regulations.</li>
<li>Regional cooperation on trans-boundary rivers.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>World Commission on Dams (WCD)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The WCD is a global multi-stakeholder body established by the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/world-bank-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>World Bank</strong></a> and <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/iucn-red-list" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>International Union for Conservation of Nature</strong></a> <strong>(IUCN)</strong> in 1998 to investigate the effectiveness and performance of large dams around the world.</li>
<li>The WCD released its landmark report in November 2000 on the enormous financial, environmental and human costs and the dismal performance of large dams.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It found that while the construction of large dams had brought some economic benefits, they had also forcibly displaced an estimated 40-80 million people in the 20th century alone.
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>These people lost their lands and homes to dams and often with no compensation.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>The Case of Mullaperiyar Dam</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>About:</strong> The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/mullaperiyar-dam" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Mullaperiyar dam</strong></a>, a <strong>gravity dam</strong> in Kerala is a <strong>126-year-old</strong> barrage that has dangerously outlived its 50 years of life.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The dam is located in the <strong>Western Ghats</strong>, adjacent to the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/periyar-tiger-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Periyar wildlife sanctuary</strong></a>, built during the British colonial period.
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>A gravity dam is one which is designed to withstand water by its own weight and resistance.</li>
<li>The weight and width of the base prevent the dam from overturning when subjected to the force of impounded water.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The dam is considered hazardous, not only because of its age but also for its location in an acknowledged seismic zone (zone-III).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Decommission of the Dam:</strong> The government of Kerala carried out hydrological review studies between 2006 and 2011 that concluded that the Mullaperiyar Dam is unsafe for passing the estimated probable maximum flood limit.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Both IIT-Roorkee and IIT-Delhi have deemed the dam to be fit to be decommissioned.
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>However, decommissioning Mullaperiyar is strongly opposed by Tamil Nadu state, which inherited a lease agreement between the former princely state of Travancore (now Kerala) and the British government.</li>
<li>The lease allows Tamil Nadu to operate the dam and divert 640 million cubic metres of water annually for irrigation and power generation through a tunnel bored into the Western Ghat mountains that form a wall between the two states.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
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		'article_id' => (int) 7857,
		'category_id' => (int) 22,
		'title' => 'Changing Climate and Deglaciation: A Warning Call',
		'description' => '<div class="border">
<p>This article is based on <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/climate-and-consciousness/article33983396.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;Climate and Consciousness&rdquo;</strong></a> which was published in The Hindu on 04/03/2021. It talks about the impacts of indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources just for the sake of development and how the recent disasters are a warning call for stringent policies regarding environment protection.</p>
</div>
<p>Humans have come quite far in terms of development, but unfortunately have left the concerns for the environment behind.</p>
<p>It is quite common to hear policymakers and the public referring to natural disasters &ldquo;acts of God&rdquo;. But concluding from events such as <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/uttarakhand-flash-flood" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Chamoli Flash Floods</strong></a> and<strong> flood in Kedarnath</strong> in 2013, it wasn&rsquo;t actually the god but human interventions with the natural environment.</p>
<p>Climate actions will continue to falter unless climate change is tagged as a primary culprit, instead of actions of god.</p>
<h3>The Changing Climate</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Floods in the Himalayan Region:</strong> The Himalayan region has about 15,000 glaciers, which are retreating at a rate of 100 to 200 feet per decade. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The melting of the Himalayan glaciers that prompted the floods and landslides in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand have the fingerprints of global warming.</li>
<li>In 2013, glacial flooding in Kedarnath caused over 6,000 deaths during the monsoon months.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Other Events:</strong> In 2003, the European heat wave killed over 70,000 people. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The years 2015-19 have globally been the warmest years on record.</li>
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/amazon-rainforest" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Amazon</strong></a> fire of 2019, the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/australian-bushfire#:~:text=The%20fire%20has%20impacted%20more,of%20wild%20animals%20have%20died.&amp;text=The%20three%20years%20between%202017,(a%20state%20of%20Australia)" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>bush fires of 2019-20 in Australia</strong></a> are some of the most dangerous impacts of changing climate.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Global Emission:</strong> The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/emissions-gap-report-2020-unep" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report 2020</strong></a> showed that the year 2020 set new records in terms of rise in extreme weather events, including wildfires and hurricanes, and in the melting of glaciers and ice at both poles. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>According to the report, despite a brief dip in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions caused by the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/covid-19-now-pandemic-who" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Pandemic</strong></a>, the world is still heading for a temperature rise in excess of 3&deg;C this century; far beyond the 2015 <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/the-big-picture-climate-change-act-now" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Paris Agreement</strong></a> goals.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>The Story of Texas</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Recently, Texas, US has been hit by extremely cold weather leading to<strong> strong wind storms</strong> in the state. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The winter storm has killed 21 people and left around 4.4 million without power.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The brutal cold has engulfed vast swaths of the United States,<strong> shuttering Covid-19 inoculation centers and hindering vaccine supplies.</strong></li>
<li>The <strong>double-digit negative temperatures</strong> (temperatures have fallen as low as -14&deg;C) are connected to <strong>Arctic-peninsula warming.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Usually, there is a collection of winds around the Arctic keeping the cold locked far to the north, known as <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/polar-vortex" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Polar Vortex</strong></a>.</li>
<li>But <strong>global warming has caused gaps in these protective winds,</strong> allowing intensely cold air to move south: the phenomenon is accelerating.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>India and Climate Change</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>One of the Largest Emitters:</strong> For India, <strong>the third-largest carbon emitter after China and the United States,</strong> a decisive switch is needed from highly polluting coal and petroleum to cleaner and <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/the-big-picture-india-s-renewable-energy-plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>renewable power sources.</strong></a> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>China has announced carbon neutrality by 2060, Japan and South Korea by 2050, but <strong>India is yet to announce a target. </strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Global Rankings and Estimates:</strong> The HSBC ranks India at the top among 67 nations in <strong>climate vulnerability</strong> (2018), <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Germanwatch ranks India fifth among 181 nations in terms of <strong>climate risks</strong> (2020).</li>
<li>The <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/world-bank-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>World Bank</strong></a> has warned that climate change could sharply diminish living conditions for up to 800 million people in South Asia.</li>
<li>As per the Emissions Gap Report 2020, over the last decade, China, USA, EU27+UK and India combined, have contributed to <strong>55%</strong> of the total GHG emissions.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Issues Associated</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>No Stringent Policies:</strong> A big worry is that the state and central governments have been diluting, instead of strengthening, climate safeguards for hydroelectric and road projects. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Studies had flagged ice loss across the Himalayas has been rapidly melting thus increasing the dangers to densely populated catchments, but any hard and fast policy response has been lacking.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Lack of Proper Training Programs:</strong> There were no awareness programs or training provided to the people about disaster management by the government in case of the recent Uttarakhand floods.</li>
<li><strong>Ignorance by Government:</strong> A 2012 expert group appointed by the government had recommended against the construction of dams in the <strong>Alaknanda-Bhagirathi basin, including on the Rishiganga</strong> and in &ldquo;the periglacial zone,&rdquo; but the recommendations were ignored.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Similarly, ignorance of the Kerala government in terms of regulation of mining, quarrying and dam construction in ecologically sensitive places, led to <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/central-water-commission-on-kerala-floods" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>massive floods</strong></a> and landslides in 2018 and 2019.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Ineffective Satellite Monitoring:</strong> Physically monitoring of the entire Himalayan region (or any larger disaster-prone region) is not possible. However, satellite monitoring is possible and radars can help minimise loss. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Despite possessing remarkable satellite capabilities, India still hasn&rsquo;t been able to use such imagery effectively for advance warning.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Budgetary Allocation:</strong> A vital step should be explicitly including policies for climate mitigation in the government budget, along with energy, roads, health and education. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Specifically, growth targets should include <strong>timelines for switching to cleaner energy.</strong> There is also a need to launch a major campaign to mobilise climate finance.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Climate Adaptation:</strong> Even if major economies speed up climate mitigation, such catastrophes will become more frequent due to the accumulated carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Climate adaptation is the way forward here. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Disaster management strategies to be synced with the developmental plans such as <strong>infrastructure designing.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Such as in <strong>earthquake prone areas,</strong> building norms and guidelines can be issued or earthquake resistant buildings to be constructed.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>India&rsquo;s Central and State governments must increase allocations for risk reduction, such as agricultural innovations to withstand <strong>droughts.</strong></li>
<li>In case of<strong> fire prone areas,</strong> an area can be divided into pockets so as to prevent any massive spread of fire.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Detailed Studies:</strong> Detailed studies should be conducted to understand which of the glacial lakes in the Himalayan region are prone to flooding. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Such research should feed into <a href="/to-the-points/paper3/environmental-impact-assessment-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Environmental Impact Assessment</strong></a> reports and guide decisions on developmental projects in the region</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Setting up Early Warning Systems:</strong> A relatively low-hanging fruit, but a very effective one, is to set up early warning systems that alert the downstream populations about an impending disaster. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This has to be <strong>coupled with plans to quickly evacuate local communities</strong> to safer regions.</li>
<li>Flooding events do not occur all of a sudden; there are ample indications like changes in water level, discharge in the rivers etc which if monitored earlier can help saving a significant number of lives and other damages.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Sustainable growth depends on timely climate action and for that to happen, policymaking needs to connect the dots between carbon emissions, atmospheric warming, melting glaciers, extreme floods and storms. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Events like Uttarakhand and Texas should be treated as lessons to change people&rsquo;s minds and for the public to demand urgent action.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Disasters can not be stopped but well-preparedness and strong climate change mitigation policies can definitely help prevent a huge amount of loss.</li>
</ul>
<table border="1" style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; border-style: dotted; border-color: #ff0000; background-color: #fffffa;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 637px; background-color: #fefff7;">
<p><span style="color: #000080;"><em><strong>Drishti Mains Question</strong></em></span></p>
<p>Disasters are not meteorological or geological phenomena alone, but are also determined by human interventions. Comment.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/858xS_01atM" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>This editorial is based on <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/blogs/et-editorials/investment-from-china-the-issue-is-control-not-insulating-sector/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;Investment from China: The issue is control, not insulating sector&rdquo;</strong></a> published in the Economic Times on March, 03, 2021.</p>',
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		'article_id' => (int) 7792,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Airline Mapping of Ocean Floor',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/incois-launches-products" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS)</strong></a> is planning to conduct <strong>airline mapping of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep</strong> to get a better picture of the ocean floor.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/agatti-island-of-lakshadweep" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Lakshadweep Islands</strong></a> are located in the Arabian Sea. These are<strong> coral islands</strong> located off the coast of Kerala. The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/andaman-nicobar-islands-rich-faunal-diversity" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Andaman and the Nicobar Islands</strong> </a>lie to the southeast of the Indian mainland in the Bay of Bengal.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>About ICOIS:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>INCOIS is an <strong>autonomous organization</strong> under the <strong>Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).</strong></li>
<li>It is located in<strong> Hyderabad</strong> &amp; was established in 1999.</li>
<li>It is a unit of the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/indian-national-centre-for-ocean-information-services" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Earth System Science Organization (ESSO)</strong></a>, New Delhi.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The ESSO operates as an<strong> executive arm of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)</strong> for its policies and programmes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Mandate of INCOIS:</strong> To provide the best possible ocean information and advisory services to society, industry, government agencies and the scientific community through sustained ocean observations and constant improvement through systematic and focused research.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Recent Initiative:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The INCOIS is planning to take the help of the <strong>National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC)</strong> to conduct <strong>&lsquo;bathymetric&rsquo; study</strong> of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>NRSC:</strong> It is one of the primary centres of<strong><a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/indian-space-research-organisation-isro" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)</a></strong>, Department of Space (DOS).</li>
<li><strong>Bathymetry:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It is the study of the "beds" or "floors" of water bodies, including the ocean, rivers, streams, and lakes.</li>
<li>The term "bathymetry" originally referred to the ocean's depth relative to sea level, although it has come to mean &ldquo;submarine topography,&rdquo; or the depths and shapes of underwater terrain.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>NRSC has already done a similar high resolution topographic <strong>Airborne Laser Terrain Mapping (ALTM)</strong> for entire coastal areas of the country.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>ALTM is an active remote sensing technology that employs <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/lidar-based-research-in-tamar-valley" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR)</strong> </a>to measure topography at high spatial resolution over large areas.</li>
<li>ALTM pulses a laser to measure the range between an airborne platform and the Earth&rsquo;s surface at many thousands of times per second.</li>
<li>Using a rotating mirror or other scanning mechanism inside the laser transmitter, the laser pulses can be made to sweep through an angle, tracing out a line or other patterns on the reflecting surface.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The scientists are in the <strong>process of integrating the data for a 3D multi-hazard mapping of both the east and west coastline</strong> for a more precise picture of the ocean floor.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Significance:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Such a study has become imperative <strong>in view of the recent tsunamis warning.</strong></li>
<li>Recently, at Indonesian coasts, where more than the quake related high waves, <strong>damage was due to landslides that had under the sea beds</strong> causing sudden wave surge leading to much damage without giving sufficient time to alert people.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Other Initiatives:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It had also <strong>identified &lsquo;gaps&rsquo; across the coast of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha</strong> for installing more tide gauges for better monitoring of the sea and more accurate prediction of impending disasters like <a href="/to-the-points/paper1/cyclone-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>cyclones.</strong></a></li>
<li>The INCOIS scientists in association with their counterparts in the <strong>Chennai-based National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT)</strong> and an United States independent scientific agency, <strong>Massachusetts-based Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI),</strong> have been mining the data recorded by a unique <strong>&lsquo;Flux Buoy&rsquo;</strong> retrieved from the Bay of Bengal off the Kolkota coast.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The buoy was dropped off into the sea to monitor the temperatures, pressures, salinity, radiation and geo-chemical changes at various depths in a high resolution scale, compared to other buoys in the seas.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Similar Global Initiative:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/ocean-mapping-seabed-2030-project" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Seabed 2030</strong></a> is a collaborative project between the Nippon Foundation of Japan and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO).</li>
<li>The project <strong>aims to bring together all available bathymetric data to produce the definitive map of the world ocean floor by 2030</strong> and make it available to all.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/incois-to-go-for-airline-mapping-of-ocean-floor/article33936029.ece/amp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
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		'article_id' => (int) 7671,
		'category_id' => (int) 22,
		'title' => 'Chamoli Flash Floods',
		'description' => '<div class="border">
<p>This article is based on <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/rethinking-run-of-the-river-hydro-projects-101612965305568.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;Rethinking run-of-the-river hydro projects&rdquo;</strong></a> which was published in The Hindustan Times on 11/02/2021. It talks about the increasing frequency of flash floods in the Himalayan region.</p>
</div>
<p>Recently, the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/uttarakhand-flash-flood" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>glacial burst in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand</strong></a> is an eye-opener to the ongoing disruption of the ecological balance. A similar flash flood caused by a glacial lake burst ravaged the Kedarnath Shrine at the peak of the pilgrimage season in 2013.</p>
<p>It is very rare that, anywhere in the world, two such big disasters in a region take place in a short duration of less than a decade. There is enough data to suggest that climate change is responsible for the increasing number of severe flash floods due to glacial melt.</p>
<p>However, apart from climate change, the sudden spurt of environmentally-unfriendly development activities is responsible for the frequent occurrence of the disaster due to flash floods.</p>
<h3>Climate Crisis Aggravating Flash Floods</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A new report by the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) held that 36% of the volume of glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region will be gone by the end of 2100 even if the world manages to keep the temperature rise within 1.5 degree Celsius target of the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/five-years-of-paris-climate-accord" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Paris Climate Agreement.</strong></a></li>
<li>Similarly, the data from the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/indian-space-research-organisation-isro" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Indian Space Research Organisation</strong></a> reveal that the melting of the glaciers has increased in the first 20 years of this century.</li>
<li>The faster melting of Ganga glaciers will impact the livelihood of close to 600 million people living in the Ganga river basin, extending from Uttarakhand in the north to Bangladesh in the south.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Flash Floods: A Man-Made Disaster</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Himalayas, a Volatile Mountain System:</strong> The Himalayas are a young and therefore volatile mountain system. Even a minor change in the orientation of its rocks can trigger landslides. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Despite this, high-intensity stone quarrying, frequent blasting of mountains, and digging of tunnels through the base of the fragile mountain system for the back-to-back under-construction dams are going in the Himalayan region.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Overlooking Environmental Norms:</strong> Moreover, little attention has been paid to the damage caused to local ecology and loss of forest cover in the upper reaches of the central Himalayas by building hydel dams and construction of wider roads overlooking environmental norms.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The upper reaches of Uttarakhand, the source for several small riverine systems feeding the Ganga, already have 16 dams and another 13 under construction.</li>
<li>The state government has proposed another 54 dams to harness the hydel energy potential of these rivers.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Hydropower, not Entirely Green Projects:</strong> Hydropower is a low-emission energy source, but by design, these projects are not environmentally suitable.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This is because the river water is diverted for power generation, and this destroys the riverine ecology.</li>
<li>The blasting and tunneling that happens while building a dam dry up mountain springs, which provide water for drinking and agriculture.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Note:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Run of the River (ROR) projects are seen as a &ldquo;green&rdquo; alternative to high-dam hydropower projects such as the Tehri Hydropower Project.</li>
<li>This is because an ROR dam diverts the river flow in a controlled environment to generate electricity and sends the water back to the river, whereas a high-dam project stores river water in a reservoir.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Broad Framework For Vulnerable Zones:</strong> With the increasing frequency of flash floods in the Himalayan region, a broad framework for robust early warning systems, infrastructure development, construction, and excavation in vulnerable zones must be evolved.</li>
<li><strong>Reexamining HydroPower Option:</strong> IPCC report has assessed that the climate crisis has altered the frequency and magnitude of the natural hazards in high mountain regions of the world. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Thus, there is a need for adherence to the Chopra Committee recommendations, which studied the impact of receding glaciers on hydroelectric power projects (HEPs) and objected to the construction of HEPs in paraglacial regions (between 2,200 to 2,500 meters above the sea level).</li>
<li>Therefore, the hydropower projects must be weighed against their benefits and challenges.</li>
<li>Apart from this, other alternatives like solar energy, wind energy should be pursued as the green growth model of development.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Adhering to NDMA Guidelines:</strong> The NDMA guidelines say that the construction of any habitation should be prohibited in the high hazard zone.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Restricting constructions and development in glacial lake outburst flood-prone areas is a very efficient means to reduce risks at no cost.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Research on Glacial Lakes:</strong> Detailed Project Analysis should be conducted to understand which of the 12,000-odd glacial lakes in Uttarakhand are prone to flooding. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Such research should feed into environmental impact assessment reports and guide decisions on developmental projects in the region.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p>The exact cause of the recent Chamoli glacial lake outburst disaster will unfold in the coming times, but there is no doubt that the impact would have been far less with more prudent development of projects in the region. Policymakers should realize that damaging today and repairing tomorrow is not an option in the Himalayan region.</p>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%; border-style: dotted; border-color: #ff0000; background-color: #f6fff2;">
<p><span style="color: #000080;"><em><strong>Drishti Mains Question</strong></em></span></p>
<p>In the context of increasing flash floods in the Himalayan region, there is a need for reexamining the ways in which mountains and high-altitude regions have been positioned in the country&rsquo;s development discourse. Discuss.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mrEJUPwF1pI" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>This editorial is based on <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/cutting-trans-fat-the-hindu-editorial-on-healthier-food/article33795606.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;Cutting trans fat: On healthier food&rdquo;</strong> </a>published in The Hindu on February 10<sup>th</sup>, 2020. Now watch this on our Youtube channel.</p>',
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		'article_id' => (int) 7657,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'NDMA Guidelines to Tackle Glacial Bursts',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>A <strong>Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF)</strong> is suspected to have <strong>caused the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/uttarakhand-flash-flood" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flash floods</a>&nbsp;</strong>in <strong>Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In October 2020, the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/national-disaster-management-authority-ndma-" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)</strong></a> had issued detailed guidelines on how to reduce and deal with disasters caused by GLOFs/Glacial Bursts.</li>
<li>The NDMA guidelines suggest that risk reduction can be done by<strong> identifying and mapping potentially dangerous lakes, taking structural measures to prevent their sudden breach,</strong> and establishing mechanisms to save lives and property in times of a breach.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF): </strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Meaning:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>A GLOF refers to the flooding that occurs <strong>when the water dammed by a glacier or a moraine</strong> (accumulations of dirt and rocks fallen onto the glacier surface) <strong>is released suddenly.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>When glaciers melt, the water in glacial lakes accumulates behind loose, natural &ldquo;glacial/moraine dams&rdquo; made of ice, sand, pebbles and ice residue.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Unlike earthen dams, the weak structure of the moraine dam<strong> leads to the abrupt breach of the dam on top of the glacial lake</strong> which could cause flash floods in the downstream areas.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Causes:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>According to NDMA, <strong>glacial retreat due to climate change</strong> occurring in most parts of the <strong>Hindu Kush Himalaya</strong> has given rise to the <strong>formation of numerous new glacial lakes,</strong> which are the <strong>major cause of GLOFs.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Glacial Lakes:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>About:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Glacial lakes are <strong>typically formed at the foot of a glacier.</strong></li>
<li>As glaciers move and flow, they erode the soil and sediment around them, leaving depressions and grooves on the land. Meltwater from the glacier fills up the hole, making a lake.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Types:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Lakes form when meltwater ponds, and this can happen on the ice surface <strong>(supraglacial lakes),</strong> in front of the ice<strong> (proglacial lakes),</strong> or even underneath the ice <strong>(subglacial lakes).</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Impact:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Glacier lakes can <strong>affect ice flow</strong> by reducing friction at the ice-bed interface, encouraging basal sliding.</li>
<li>They can <strong>change the albedo of the ice surface,</strong> encouraging more surface melt.</li>
<li>Proglacial lakes <strong>cause <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/iceberg-a68a#:~:text=Calving%20of%20Glaciers&amp;text=Calving%20is%20the%20glaciological%20term,is%20known%20as%20dry%20calving." target="_blank" rel="noopener">calving</a>,</strong> which affects mass balance and can decouple mountain glaciers from climate.</li>
<li>Glacier lakes can be hazardous; moraine and ice dams can fail, <strong>causing catastrophic glacier lake outburst floods</strong> or jokulhlaups.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Increase in Number of Glacial Lakes:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>According to recent studies, <strong>there has been a rapid increase in the number of glacial lakes due to a retreat in the glaciers</strong> caused by warming temperatures (due to global warming), and their potential to cause large scale flooding and destruction. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The<strong> Kedarnath tragedy in 2013,</strong> for example, had involved a breach in a large glacial lake.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>According to a study sponsored by the <a href="/daily-news-analysis/central-water-commission-on-kerala-floods#:~:text=of%20a%20reservoir.-,Central%20Water%20Commission%20(CWC),the%20Ministry%20of%20Water%20Resources." target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Central Water Commission (CWC)</strong></a>, conducted during 2011-15, there are 352, 283 and 1,393 glacial lakes and water bodies in the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra basins respectively.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Guidelines on Risk Reduction: </strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Identifying Potentially Dangerous Lakes:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Potentially dangerous lakes <strong>can be identified</strong> based on field observations, records of past events, geomorphologic and geotechnical characteristics of the lake/dam and surroundings, and other physical conditions.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Use of Technology:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Promoting use of <strong>Synthetic-Aperture Radar imagery</strong> (a form of radar that is used to create two-dimensional images) <strong>to automatically detect changes in water bodies,</strong> including new lake formations, during the monsoon months.</li>
<li>Methods and protocols could also be developed to<strong> allow remote monitoring of lake bodies from space.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Channeling Potential Floods:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>To manage lakes structurally, the NDMA recommends <strong>reducing the volume of water with methods such as controlled breaching,</strong> pumping or siphoning out water, and making a tunnel through the moraine barrier or under an ice dam.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Uniform Codes for Construction Activity:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Developing a broad framework for <strong>infrastructure development, construction and excavation</strong> in vulnerable zones.</li>
<li>There is a need to accept<strong> procedures for land use planning</strong> in the GLOF prone areas.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Enhancing Early Warning Systems (EWS):</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The number of implemented and operational GLOF EWS is very small, even at the global scale.</li>
<li>In the Himalayan region, there are at<strong> three reported instances</strong> (two in Nepal and one in China) of implementation of sensor- and monitoring-based technical systems for GLOF early warning.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Training Local Manpower:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Apart from pressing specialised forces such as National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/59th-raising-day-of-the-itbp" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>ITBP</strong> </a>and the Army, NDMA has emphasised the need for <strong>trained local manpower.</strong></li>
<li>It has been observed that over <strong>80% of search and rescue is carried out by the local community</strong> before the intervention of the state machinery and specialised search and rescue teams.</li>
<li><strong>The local teams could also assist in planning</strong> and setting up emergency shelters, distributing relief packages, identifying missing people, and addressing the needs for food, healthcare, water supply etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Comprehensive Alarm Systems:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Besides classical alarming infrastructure consisting of acoustic alarms by sirens, modern communication technology using cell and smartphones can complement or even replace traditional alarming infrastructure.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/uttarakhand-glacier-flash-flood-rishiganga-death-toll-7180258/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source:IE</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 6 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 7641,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Uttarakhand Flash Flood',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, a<strong> glacial break</strong> in the <strong>Tapovan-Reni area of Chamoli District of Uttarakhand</strong> led to massive <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/south-asian-flash-flood-guidance-system" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Flash Flood</strong></a> in <strong>Dhauli Ganga</strong> and <strong>Alaknanda Rivers,</strong> damaging houses and the nearby <strong>Rishiganga power project.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In <strong>June 2013,</strong> flash floods in Uttarakhand wiped out settlements and took lives.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Cause of Flash Flood in Uttarakhand:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It occurred in river Rishi Ganga due to the falling of a portion of <strong>Nanda Devi glacier</strong> in the river which<strong> exponentially increased the volume of water.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Rishiganga meets Dhauli Ganga near Raini. So Dhauli Ganga also got flooded.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Major Power Projects Affected:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Rishi Ganga Power Project:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It is a privately owned 130MW project.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Tapovan Vishnugad Hydropower Project on the Dhauliganga:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It was a 520 MW run-of-rive<strong>r hydroelectric project</strong> being constructed on <strong>Dhauliganga River.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Several<strong> other projects on the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi river basins</strong> in northwestern Uttarakhand have also been impacted by the flood.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Flash Floods:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>About:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>These are<strong> sudden surges in water levels</strong> generally during or following an <strong>intense spell of rain.</strong></li>
<li>These are<strong> highly localised</strong> events of<strong> short duration</strong> with a very high peak and usually have less than six hours between the occurrence of the rainfall and peak flood.</li>
<li>The flood situation <strong>worsens in the presence of choked drainage lines or encroachments</strong> obstructing the natural flow of water.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Causes:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe <strong>thunderstorm, hurricane, tropical storm, or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields.</strong></li>
<li>Flash Floods can also occur due to <strong>Dam or Levee Breaks, and/or Mudslides (Debris Flow).</strong></li>
<li>In areas on or near <a href="/to-the-points/paper1/pacific-ring-of-fire" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>volcanoes</strong></a>, flash floods have also occurred after eruptions, when glaciers have been melted by the intense heat.</li>
<li>The intensity of the rainfall, the location and distribution of the rainfall, the land use and topography, vegetation types and growth/density, soil type, and soil water- content all determine just how quickly the Flash Flooding may occur, and influence where it may occur.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Glaciers</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>About:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Glaciers are a bulk of ice moving under its weight. It forms in areas where the amassing of snow goes beyond its ablation over many years.</li>
<li>They are generally seen in the snow-fields.</li>
<li>This largest freshwater basin covers around 10% of the land surface of the Earth.</li>
<li>According to the topography and the location of the glacier, it can be categorized as <strong>Mountain Glacier (Alpine Glaciers) or Continental Glacier (Ice Sheets).</strong></li>
<li>The Continental Glacier moves outward in all directions whereas the Mountain Glacier moves from a higher to a lower altitude.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Glaciers and Floods:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Glacial Lakes:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Retreating glaciers, like several in the <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/in-depth-melting-himalayas" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Himalayas</strong></a>, usually result in the formation of lakes at their tips, called <strong>proglacial lakes,</strong> often bound only by sediments and boulders.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Flood:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>If the<strong> boundaries of these lakes are breached, it can lead to large amounts of water rushing down to nearby streams</strong> and rivers, gathering momentum on the way by picking up sediments, rocks and other material, and <strong>resulting in flooding downstream.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Impact of Climate Change:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Climate change has driven erratic weather patterns like increased snowfall and rainfall, warmer winters has led to the melting of a lot of snow.</li>
<li>According to the latest assessment reports of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, glacier retreat and permafrost thaw are projected to decrease the stability of mountain slopes and increase the number and area of glacier lakes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Dhauliganga</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Origination:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It originates from <strong>Vasudhara Tal,</strong> perhaps the <strong>largest glacial lake</strong> in Uttarakhand.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>About:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Dhauliganga is one of the <strong>important tributaries of Alaknanda,</strong> the other being the <strong>Nandakini, Pindar, Mandakini and Bhagirathi.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Dhauliganga is joined by the <strong>Rishiganga river at Raini.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>It merges with the Alaknanda at Vishnuprayag.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>There it loses its identity and the <strong>Alaknanda flows southwest through Chamoli, Maithana, Nandaprayag, Karnaprayag</strong> until it meets the Mandakini river, coming from the north at Rudraprayag.</li>
<li>After subsuming Mandakini, the Alaknanda carries on past Srinagar, before <strong>joining the Ganga at Devprayag.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Alaknanda then disappears and the mighty <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/ganga-rejuvenation-monitoring" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ganga</a></strong> carries on its journey, first flowing south then west through important pilgrimage centres such as Rishikesh and finally descending into the Indo-Gangetic plains at Haridwar.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1612781299_image2.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1612781299_image2.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="550" caption="false" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Nanda Devi National Park</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Location:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is situated around the peak of Nanda Devi (7816 m) in the state of Uttarakhand in northern India.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>About:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The park encompasses the <strong>Nanda Devi Sanctuary, a glacial basin</strong> surrounded by a ring of peaks, and drained by the <strong>Rishi Ganga through the Rishi Ganga Gorge.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Established:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Park was established as Sanjay Gandhi National Park by Notification in 1982 but was later renamed Nanda Devi National Park.</li>
<li>It was inscribed a <a href="/to-the-points/paper1/world-heritage-sites-in-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>World Heritage Site</strong></a> <strong>by the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/unesco-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)</a> in 1988.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Flora:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Some 312 floral species that include 17 rare species have been found here. Fir, birch, rhododendron, and juniper are the main flora.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Fauna:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Himalayan black bear, Snow leopard , Himalayan Musk Deer etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/uttarakhand-glacier-break-flash-flood-rishiganga-7178446/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source:IE</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 7 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 7592,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Ageing Dams of India: UN Report',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>According to a <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/united-nations-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>United Nations</strong></a> (UN) report <strong>"Ageing water infrastructure: An emerging global risk"</strong>, over 1,000 large <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/the-big-picture-floods-and-dam-management" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>dams in India</strong></a> will be roughly 50 years old in 2025 and such ageing embankments across the world pose a growing threat.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The report, compiled by <strong>Canada-based Institute for Water, Environment and Health,</strong> says the world is unlikely to witness another large dam-building revolution as in the mid-20<sup>th</sup> century, but dams constructed then will inevitably be showing their age.</li>
<li>The analysis includes dam decommissioning or ageing case studies from the <strong>USA, France, Canada, India, Japan, and Zambia and Zimbabwe</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Global Scenario:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Most of the <strong>58,700 large dams</strong> worldwide were <strong>constructed between 1930 and 1970</strong> with a design life of 50 to 100 years.</li>
<li><strong>By 2050,</strong> most people on Earth will <strong>live downstream of tens of thousands of large dams built in the 20<sup>th</sup> century,</strong> many of them already operating at or beyond their design life.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>At 50 years, a large concrete dam &ldquo;would most probably begin to express signs of ageing.&rdquo;</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Ageing signs include</strong> increasing cases of dam failures, progressively increasing costs of dam repair and maintenance, increasing reservoir sedimentation, and loss of a dam&rsquo;s functionality and effectiveness - &ldquo;strongly interconnected&rdquo; manifestations.</li>
<li>32,716 large dams<strong> (55% of the world's total)</strong> are <strong>found in just four Asian countries</strong>: China, India, Japan, and South Korea - a majority of which will reach the 50-year threshold relatively soon.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The same is true of many large dams in Africa, South America, and Eastern Europe.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Indian Scenario:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>India is ranked third</strong> in the world in terms of building large dams.</li>
<li>Of the over 5,200 large dams built so far, about <strong>1,100 large dams have already reached 50 years of age</strong> and some are older than 120 years. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The <strong>number of such dams will increase to 4,400 by 2050</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>This means that <strong>80% of the nation&rsquo;s large dams face the prospect of becoming obsolete</strong> as they will be 50 years to over 150 years old.</li>
<li>The <strong>situation with hundreds of thousands of medium and minor dams is even more dangerous</strong> as their shelf life is even lower than that of large dams.</li>
<li><strong>Examples: Krishna Raja Sagar dam was built in 1931</strong> and is now 90 years old. Similarly, <strong>Mettur dam was constructed in 1934</strong> and is now 87 years old. Both these reservoirs are located in the water scarce <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/godavari-and-cauvery-river-interlinking-project" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Cauvery river basin</strong></a>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Problems:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Decreasing Storage Capacity:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>As dams age, <strong>soil replaces the water in the reservoirs</strong>. Therefore, the storage capacity cannot be claimed to be the same as it was in the 1900s and 1950s.</li>
<li>The storage space in Indian reservoirs is receding at a rate faster than anticipated.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Flawed Design:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Studies show that the<strong> design of many of India&rsquo;s reservoirs is flawed</strong>.</li>
<li>Indian reservoirs are <strong>designed with a poor understanding of sedimentation science</strong>.</li>
<li>The designs <strong>underestimate the rate of siltation and overestimate live storage capacity</strong> created.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>High Siltation Rates:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the increased accumulation (temporary or permanent) of fine sediments on bottoms where they are undesirable.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Consequences:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Less Water:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>When soil replaces the water in reservoirs, supply gets choked. The <strong>cropped area begins receiving less and less water</strong> as time progresses.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Impact on Groundwater:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The net sown water area either shrinks in size or <strong>depends on rains or groundwater, which is overexploited</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Affecting Farmers&rsquo; Income:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The farmer&rsquo;s income may get reduced as <strong>water is one of the crucial factors for crop yield along with credit, crop insurance and investment</strong>.</li>
<li>It is important to note that <strong>no plan on climate change adaptation will succeed with sediment packed dams</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Frequent Flood:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The designed<strong> flood cushions within several reservoirs across many river basins may have already depleted</strong> substantially due to which <strong>floods have become more frequent downstream of dams</strong>.</li>
<li>The <strong>flooding of Bharuch in 2020, Kerala in 2018 and Chennai in 2015</strong> are a few examples attributed to downstream releases from reservoirs.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Step Taken:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Recently, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/drip-phase-ii-and-phase-iii" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP)</strong></a> Phase II and Phase III.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It envisages <strong>comprehensive rehabilitation of 736 existing dams</strong> located across the country and complements the <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/the-big-picture-dam-safety-bill-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Dam Safety Bill, 2019</strong></a>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The nation will eventually be<strong> unable to find sufficient water in the 21<sup>st</sup> century</strong> to feed the rising population by 2050, grow abundant crops, create sustainable cities, or ensure growth. Therefore, <strong>it is imperative for all stakeholders to come together to address this situation urgently</strong>.</li>
<li>A <strong>preventive mechanism to avoid dam failures</strong> is necessary because if a dam fails, no amount of punishment can compensate for the loss of lives.</li>
<li><strong>Dam decommissioning should be seen as equally important as dam building</strong> in the overall planning process on water storage infrastructure developments.</li>
<li><strong>With the changing climate,</strong> it has become absolutely essential to really think about the issue of water carefully and proactively.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-problem-of-ageing-dams/article33711348.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 8 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 7351,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Report on Lightning Strikes',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>According to a report published by the<strong> Climate Resilient Observing Systems Promotion Council (CROPC),</strong> the number of <strong>deaths due to lightning strikes reduced by nearly 37%</strong> in 2019-20.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>CROPC is a <strong>non-profit organisation</strong> that works with the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/statement-on-climate-of-india-during-2019-imd" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>India Meteorological Department (IMD).</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Data Analysis:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Lightning-linked fatalities formed<strong> 33% of total deaths in natural disasters</strong> in<strong> 2019-20.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Factors Responsible:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The rapid <strong>degradation of environment</strong> like <a href="/printpdf/global-warming-of-1-5-c-ipcc-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>global warming</strong></a>, <strong>deforestation, depletion of water bodies, concretisations, rising pollution and <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/aerosol-levels-hit-20-year-low" target="_blank" rel="noopener">aerosol</a> levels</strong> have cumulatively pushed the environment to extremes. And lightning is direct promulgation of these climatic extremities.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Suggestions:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>States should participate in<strong> Lightning Resilient India Campaign</strong> and undertake lightning risk management more comprehensively.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>IMD has launched a joint campaign named Lightning Resilient India Campaign along with CROPC and duly supported by Indian Meteorological Society (IMS), NGOs, IIT Delhi and other concerned institutions.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Early lightning warning</strong> to farmers, cattle grazers, children and people in open areas. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Lightning strikes around a fixed period and almost similar geographical locations in similar patterns.</li>
<li><strong>Kalbaishakhi - Norwesters,</strong> which are violent thunderstorms with lightning - claims life in<strong> eastern India</strong> and <strong>pre-monsoon lightning deaths</strong> occur mostly in <strong>Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and UP.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Implement a local lightning safety action plan</strong> like installing Lightning Protection Devices.</li>
<li><strong>Lightning fatalities</strong> should be notified<strong> as a disaster to prevent losses.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It needs to be noted that the <strong>Centre has not notified lightning as a disaster.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Although the <a href="/pdf/national-disaster-management-authority-ndma-.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)</strong> </a>has issued comprehensive guidelines for action plans to states, a large number of losses show that the implementation needs a more<strong> &ldquo;scientific and focused community-centric approach&rdquo;,</strong> besides convergence of various departments.</li>
<li><strong>Mapping of lightning</strong> is a major breakthrough in identifying the precise risk in terms of lightning frequency, current intensity, energy content, high temperature and other adverse impacts. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>With continuous mapping for at least three years, <strong>a climatology can be established.</strong> This would yield a <strong>Lightning Risk Atlas map</strong> for India which will form the basis for a lightning risk management programme.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Lightning</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Meaning:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is a very <strong>rapid and massive discharge of electricity in the atmosphere.</strong> It is the<strong> process</strong> of occurrence of <strong>a natural &lsquo;electrical discharge of very short duration and high voltage between a cloud and the ground or within a cloud&rsquo;,</strong> accompanied by a bright flash and sound, and sometimes thunderstorms.</li>
<li><strong>Inter cloud or intra cloud (IC) lightning</strong> are visible and<strong> harmless.</strong></li>
<li>It is <strong>cloud to ground (CG) lightning,</strong> which is <strong>harmful</strong> as the &lsquo;high electric voltage and electric current&rsquo; leads to<strong> electrocution.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Process:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is a <strong>result of the difference in electrical charge between the top and bottom of a cloud.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The lightning-generating clouds are typically about 10-12 km in height, with their base about 1-2 km from the Earth&rsquo;s surface. The temperatures at the top range from -35&deg;C to -45&deg;C.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>As <strong>water vapour moves upwards</strong> in the cloud, it <strong>condenses into water</strong> due to decreasing temperatures. A huge amount of heat is generated in the process, pushing the water molecules further up.</li>
<li>As they <strong>move to temperatures below zero,</strong> droplets <strong>change into small ice crystals.</strong> As they continue upwards, they gather mass, until they become so heavy that they start descending.</li>
<li>It <strong>leads to a system</strong> where smaller ice crystals move upwards while larger ones come down. The <strong>resulting collisions trigger release of electrons,</strong> in a process very similar to the generation of electric sparks. The moving free electrons cause more collisions and more electrons leading to a chain reaction.</li>
<li>The process<strong> results in a situation in which the top layer of the cloud gets positively charged while the middle layer is negatively charged.</strong></li>
<li>In little time,<strong> a huge current,</strong> of the order of lakhs to millions of amperes, starts to <strong>flow between the layers.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It produces heat, leading to the heating of the air column between the two layers of cloud.</li>
<li>It is because of this heat that the<strong> air column looks red during lightning.</strong></li>
<li>The heated air column expands and produces shock waves that result in<strong> thunder sounds.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Strikes Earth&rsquo;s Surface:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The<strong> Earth is a good conductor of electricity.</strong> While electrically neutral, it is <strong>relatively positively charged compared to the middle layer of the cloud.</strong> As a result, an estimated<strong> 20-25% of the current flow is directed towards the Earth.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It is this current flow that results in <strong>damage to life and property.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Lightning <strong>has a greater probability of striking raised objects</strong> on the ground, such as trees or buildings.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Lightning Conductor</strong> is a device used to protect buildings from the effect of lightning. A metallic rod, taller than the building, is installed in the walls of the building during its construction.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The<strong> most lightning activity</strong> on Earth is seen on the shore of<strong> Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>At the place where the Catatumbo river falls into Lake Maracaibo, an average 260 storm days occur every year, and October sees 28 lightning flashes every minute - a phenomenon referred to as the<strong> Beacon of Maracaibo or the Everlasting Storm.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Concretisation</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Concretisation or the<strong> increase in paved surfaces</strong> has a<strong> suffocating impact on trees</strong> and turns a city into an <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/cities-are-turning-into-lightening-magnets" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>urban heat island</strong></a> with <strong>extremely low ground water</strong> and<strong> threats of floods</strong> looming large in monsoons due to surface run-off.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The concrete surface, be it buildings or roads or footpaths<strong> radiate heat waves in the evening,</strong> making nights as hot as days and decreasing the difference between the maximum and the minimum temperatures, resulting in urban heat island effect.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>During concretisation, the <strong>carbon stored in the soil escapes into the atmosphere,</strong> which then gets oxidised to form <strong>carbon dioxide,</strong> a major <strong>greenhouse gas</strong> leading to temperature escalation.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/deaths-due-to-lightning-strikes-dip-by-37-report-7131603/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 9 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 7339,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Mission Sagar-III',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, the <strong>Indian Naval Ship (INS) <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/samudra-laksamana" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kiltan</a></strong> has arrived at <strong>Sihanoukville Port, Cambodia</strong> as part of ongoing <strong>Mission Sagar-III.</strong></p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The ship will deliver 15 tons of <strong>Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief</strong> (HADR) stores for the flood-affected people of Cambodia, which will be handed over to Cambodia&rsquo;s <strong>National Disaster Management Committee</strong> (NDMC).<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Earlier, the ship delivered 15 Tons of HADR Stores for the flood-affected people of Central <strong>Vietnam.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Mission Sagar-III is part of <strong>India&rsquo;s HADR assistance to friendly foreign countries</strong> during the ongoing<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/covid-19-now-pandemic-who" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> Covid-19 pandemic.</strong></a><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In <strong>November 2020,</strong> as part of <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/mission-sagar-ii" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Mission Sagar-II</strong></a>, <strong>INS Airavat</strong> delivered food aid to Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea.</li>
<li>Launched in May 2020, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/mission-sagar" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>'Mission Sagar&rsquo;</strong></a> was India&rsquo;s initiative to deliver Covid-19 related assistance to the countries in the Indian Ocean Littoral states. The countries included were Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>This Mission is being undertaken in accordance with the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/sagar-vision" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Security And Growth for All in the Region</strong> </a>(SAGAR) vision and reiterates India&rsquo;s position as a dependable partner, and the <strong>Indian Navy as the Preferred Security Partner and First Responder.</strong></li>
<li>The Mission also highlights the <strong>importance accorded to the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/asean" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Association of Southeast Asian Nations</a></strong> (ASEAN) countries and further <strong>strengthens the existing bonds.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Cambodia and Vietnam </strong>are<strong> member nations of the ASEAN.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>INS Kiltan</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is a <strong>Kamorta-class anti-submarine warfare corvette.</strong></li>
<li>It is part of the <strong>Indian Navy's Eastern Naval Command,</strong> based at <strong>Visakhapatnam.</strong></li>
<li>INS Kiltan, along with the <strong>INS Sahyadri,</strong> is the latest, <strong>indigenously designed and built multi-role ships</strong> of the Indian Navy.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The two ships are equipped with a versatile array of weapons and sensors and can carry multi-role helicopters representing the &lsquo;coming of age&rsquo; of India&rsquo;s warship building capabilities.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Security and Growth for All in the Region</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Launched in <strong>2015,</strong> it is India&rsquo;s strategic vision for the <strong>Indian Ocean Region</strong> (IOR).</li>
<li>Through SAGAR, India seeks to <strong>deepen economic and security cooperation</strong> with its maritime neighbours and assist in building its maritime security capabilities.</li>
<li>Further, India seeks to safeguard its national interests and ensure the IOR to become inclusive, collaborative and respect international law.</li>
<li>The key relevance of SAGAR emerges when seen in conjunction with India&rsquo;s other policies impacting the maritime domain like <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/the-big-picture-india-s-act-east-policy" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Act East Policy</strong></a>, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-09th-october-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Project Sagarmala</strong></a>, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-7th-august-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Project Mausam</strong></a>, focus on <a href="/to-the-points/paper3/blue-economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Blue Economy</strong></a> etc.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1684365" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: PIB</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 10 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 7188,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Extreme Climate Events: CEEW',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>According to a recent study on the report <strong>&ldquo;Preparing India for Extreme Climate Events&rdquo;</strong> released by the <strong>Council on Energy, Environment and Water</strong> (CEEW),<strong> over 75% of districts in India are hotspots of extreme climate events</strong> such as <a href="/to-the-points/paper1/cyclone-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>cyclones</strong></a>, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/flood-management-in-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>floods</strong></a>, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/unccd-drought-tool-box#:~:text=Drought%20is%20generally%20considered%20as,definition%20of%20drought%20in%20India." target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>droughts</strong></a>, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/heat-waves" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>heat waves</strong></a> and <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/cold-wave-1#:~:text=Cold%20Wave%20Conditions%3A,degree%20Celsius%20is%20rarely%20reached." target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>cold waves.</strong></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This is the<strong> first time</strong> that extreme weather event hotspots in the country have been mapped. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>CEEW</strong> is an independent, non-partisan, one of Asia&rsquo;s leading not-for-profit policy research institutions, devoted to research on all matters affecting the use, reuse, and misuse of resources.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The report comes just after the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/global-environment-outlook" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>United Nations Environment Programme</strong></a> (UNEP) <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/emissions-gap-report-2020-unep" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Emissions Gap Report 2020</strong></a> which warned that the world is heading for a temperature <strong>rise of over 3 degrees Celsius</strong> this century.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Major Findings:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>frequency, intensity,</strong> and<strong> unpredictability</strong> of extreme events have risen in recent decades.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>While India witnessed 250 extreme climate events in 35 years between 1970 and 2005, it recorded 310 such weather events in only 15 years since then.</li>
<li>With an unusual spike in extreme events since 2005, these districts are bearing the <strong>effects of changing microclimate </strong>with<strong> loss of property, livelihoods and lives.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The <strong>pattern reflects the global changes:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Extreme weather events resulting from climate change led to <strong>4,95,000 human deaths across the world in 1999-2018.</strong></li>
<li>More than 12,000 extreme weather events led to <strong>losses worth USD 3.54 trillion</strong> (measured in terms of <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/new-purchasing-power-parities-icp-2017" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>purchasing power parity</strong></a> or PPP) during this period.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The<strong> current trend</strong> of catastrophic climate events <strong>results from a mere 0.6 degrees Celsius temperature rise in the last 100 years.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>India is <strong>already the 5<sup>th</sup> most vulnerable country globally</strong> in terms of extreme climate events, and it is all set to become the world&rsquo;s flood capital.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Cyclones:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>After 2005,</strong> the yearly average number of<strong> districts affected by cyclones tripled</strong> and the <strong>cyclone frequency-doubled.</strong></li>
<li>In the past decade, 258 districts were affected by cyclones with hotspot districts<strong> all along the eastern coastline.</strong></li>
<li>The east coast&rsquo;s warming regional microclimate, <strong>land-use change,</strong> and<strong> degrading forests</strong> are triggering the region&rsquo;s cyclonic activity.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Flood Events:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The decade <strong>2000-2009 showed a spike in extreme flood events and in associated flood events,</strong> which affected almost 473 districts.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Events associated with floods such as<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/landslide-in-kodagu" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> landslides</strong></a>, <strong>heavy rainfall, hailstorms, thunderstorms, and cloudbursts</strong> increased by over 20 times.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The compounding effects of<strong> land subsidence,</strong> the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/cities-are-turning-into-lightening-magnets" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>urban heat island phenomenon</strong></a>, and<strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/large-population-and-assets-to-be-affected-by-sea-level-rise" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> sea-level rise</a> due to glacial melts</strong> are leading to the <strong>intensification of cyclonic disturbances,</strong> thus increasing the number of flood events experienced during the decade and making it an outlier.</li>
<li>While the <strong>number of rainy days during monsoon has decreased, single-day extreme rainfall events are increasing,</strong> leading to flooding.</li>
<li><strong>Six of India&rsquo;s eight most flood-prone districts</strong> in the last decade, Barpeta, Darrang, Dhemaji, Goalpara, Golaghat and Sivasagar, are <strong>located in Assam.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Droughts:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>yearly average of drought-affected districts increased 13 times after 2005.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Until 2005, the number of districts affected by drought was six, but<strong> after 2005 this figure rose to 79.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>While the<strong> intensity of damage in terms of loss of life has reduced significantly, </strong>droughts <strong>increase uncertainties related to agriculture and rural livelihoods.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Drought-affected district hotspots of India in the last decade</strong> were Ahmednagar, Aurangabad (both Maharashtra), Anantapur, Chittoor (both Andhra Pradesh), Bagalkot, Bijapur, Chikkaballapur, Gulbarga, and Hassan (all Karnataka).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Weakening of Monsoon:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The empirical evidence generated from the analysis coincides with the <strong>weakening of <a href="/to-the-points/paper1/monsoon-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">monsoons</a> due to rising micro-temperatures.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>This further can be validated by the fact that states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh saw severe <strong>water scarcity during 2015 due to record-breaking temperatures during summer and weakening monsoons.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Swapping of Nature of Extreme Events:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The study also found a<strong> shift in the pattern of extreme climate events,</strong> such as <strong>flood-prone areas becoming drought-prone and vice-versa,</strong> in over 40% of Indian districts.</li>
<li>This swapping has<strong> happened in two ways.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>In some cases, districts which were <strong>flood-prone have now become drought-prone and vice versa.</strong></li>
<li>While <strong>many districts are facing floods and droughts simultaneously.</strong> This trend is both <strong>unusual and alarming, </strong>and <strong>requires further investigation.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Coastal southern Indian states</strong> are increasingly <strong>witnessing more droughts.</strong></li>
<li>Further,<strong> floods and droughts coincide during the same season</strong> in several districts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Suggestions:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Develop a Climate Risk Atlas</strong> to map critical vulnerabilities such as coasts, urban heat stress, water stress, and biodiversity collapse.</li>
<li><strong>Develop an Integrated Emergency Surveillance System</strong> to facilitate a systematic and sustained response to emergencies.</li>
<li><strong>Mainstream risk assessment at all levels,</strong> including localised, regional, sectoral, cross-sectoral, macro and micro-climatic level.</li>
<li><strong>Enhance adaptive and resilience capacity</strong> to climate-proof lives, livelihoods and investments.</li>
<li><strong>Increase the participatory engagement of all stakeholders</strong> in the risk assessment process.</li>
<li><strong>Integrate risk assessment</strong> into local, sub-national, and national level plans.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Microclimatic zones shifting</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Microclimatic zones, or<strong> areas where the weather is different from surrounding areas, </strong>are<strong> shifting across</strong> various districts of India.</li>
<li>A shift in microclimate zones may<strong> lead to severe disruptions across sectors.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Every 2 degrees Celsius rise in annual mean temperature will reduce agricultural productivity by 15-20%.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Some reasons<strong> identified behind this shift </strong>in microclimatic zones is<strong> change in land-use patterns, deforestation, encroachments upon mangroves, disappearing wetlands</strong> and <strong>natural ecosystems by encroachment, </strong>and<strong> urban heat islands that trap heat locally.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/over-75-districts-hotspots-of-extreme-weather-events-finds-study-2-7100341/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 11 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 7074,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Cyclone Nivar',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, the<a href="/to-the-points/paper1/cyclone-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> tropical cyclone</strong> </a><strong>Nivar</strong> has made landfall along the <strong>Tamil Nadu-Puducherry</strong> coast.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Landfall refers to the phenomenon of a cyclone&rsquo;s outer wall moving over the coastline and beyond.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Tropical Cyclone:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>A tropical cyclone is an intense circular storm that <strong>originates over warm tropical oceans</strong> and is<strong> characterized by</strong> low atmospheric pressure, high winds, and heavy rain.</li>
<li>A characteristic feature of tropical cyclones is the <strong>eye,</strong> a central region of clear skies, warm temperatures, and low atmospheric pressure.</li>
<li>Storms of this type are called<strong> hurricanes in the North Atlantic</strong> and eastern Pacific and <strong>typhoons in SouthEast Asia</strong> and China. They are called <strong>tropical cyclones</strong> in the <strong>southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean region</strong> and <strong>Willy-willies in north-western Australia.</strong></li>
<li>Storms<strong> rotate anticlockwise</strong> in the<strong> northern hemisphere</strong> and clockwise in the southern hemisphere.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Cyclone Nivar:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is the <strong>fourth cyclone</strong> that has taken shape in the North Indian Ocean region this year. The first three cyclones were <strong>Cyclone Gati</strong> (made landfall in Somalia in November), <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/cyclone-amphan" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Cyclone Amphan</strong></a> (eastern India witnessed it in May), and <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/cyclone-nisarga" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Cyclone Nisarga</strong></a> (in Maharashtra).</li>
<li>Nivar will be the <strong>second cyclone to hit Tamil Nadu in two years</strong> after <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/cyclone-gaja" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Cyclone Gaja</strong></a> in 2018.</li>
<li>The storm has been <strong>named Cyclone Nivar,</strong> based on the <strong>guidelines of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).</strong> Nivara has been <strong>selected from the list of names given by Iran.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>According to WMO guidelines, countries in every region are supposed to give names for cyclones.</li>
<li>The North Indian Ocean Region covers tropical cyclones formed over Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea.</li>
<li>The <strong>13 members,</strong> which come under the region, are Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen.</li>
<li>A <strong>total of 169 cyclones were named</strong> by these countries for this year, with <strong>13 names from each country.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It has weakened from a very severe cyclonic storm to a severe cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 100-110 km per hour.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1606382334_image3.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1606382334_image3.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="700" height="407" /></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Government Steps:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>Tamil Nadu government</strong> has announced a <strong>public holiday</strong> under the <strong>Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881,</strong> in 16 districts, including Chennai, considering the impact of Cyclone Nivar.</li>
<li><strong>Fishing activities</strong> have been <strong>restricted and residents evacuated</strong> in coastal areas hit by the cyclone. The <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/national-disaster-management-authority-ndma-" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)</strong></a> has deployed its teams in the affected regions.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/tamil-nadu-puducherry-brace-for-cyclone-nivar-7064447/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source:IE</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 12 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 6917,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Evaluation of National Monsoon Mission',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, the <strong>National Council of Applied Economic Research</strong> (NCAER) has <strong>evaluated the economic benefits</strong> of the <a href="/to-the-points/paper1/monsoon-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Monsoon Mission</strong> </a>(NMM).</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Established in <strong>1956,</strong> NCAER is India&rsquo;s <strong>oldest and largest independent, non-profit, economic policy research institute,</strong> based in <strong>New Delhi.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The study spanned<strong> across 173 rain-fed districts </strong>in <strong>16 states</strong> which appropriately represented agro-climatic zones, rain-fed areas, coverage of major crops, and incidence of extreme weather events in the country. It was conducted on behalf of the<strong> Ministry of Earth Sciences</strong> (MoES).</li>
<li>The study refers to <strong>economic benefits as direct monetary gains to crop farmers, livestock rearers, and fishermen</strong> in the country.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>India&rsquo;s investment of nearly <strong>Rs. 1,000 crore</strong> in the NMM and <strong>High-Performance Computing</strong> (HPC)<strong> facilities</strong> would provide benefits worth Rs. 50,000 crore to nearly 1.07 crore <a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/poverty-9#:~:text=Poverty%20Estimation%20in%20India&amp;text=A%20poor%20household%20is%20defined,below%20a%20specific%20poverty%20line.&amp;text=As%20per%20the%20Rangarajan%20committee,972%20in%20rural%20areas." target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Below Poverty Line</strong> </a>(BPL) agricultural households and 53 lakh BPL fisherfolk households in the country.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The<strong> total annual economic benefits</strong> to agricultural households, farmers and livestock owners taken together, has been calculated at<strong> Rs. 13,331 crore</strong> and the<strong> incremental benefits over the next five years</strong> are estimated to be about<strong> Rs. 48,056 crore.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The benefits are from accurate weather forecasting by the<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/india-warming-trends" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> India Meteorological Department</strong> </a>(IMD) and other agencies working under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Agro-meteorological services</strong> for farmers is one of the most prominent weather services of IMD.</li>
<li>Every day Ocean <strong>State Forecast</strong> (OSF) and <strong>warnings</strong> to fishermen going out to the sea by the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/indian-national-centre-for-ocean-information-services" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services</strong> </a>(INCOIS) helped in<strong> elimination of less or not so productive trips</strong> to the ocean.</li>
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/isro-s-assistance-in-fishing" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ) advisories</strong> </a>resulted in successful trips generating additional catches.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Data Analysis of the Benefits:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Based on weather advisories, <strong>98% farmers made modifications</strong> such as changing variety/breed of the crop, arranging storage of harvest, early/delayed harvesting, changed crop, early/delayed sowing, changed the schedule of ploughing/land preparation, changed pesticide application schedule, changed fertiliser application schedule and changed scheduled irrigation.</li>
<li><strong>94% of farmers</strong> were able to<strong> avoid losses and increase income</strong> because of services provided through NMM.</li>
<li><strong>82% of fishermen</strong> surveyed, reported <strong>using OSF advisories</strong> before they venture into the sea every time.</li>
<li>A total of approximately Rs 1.92 crore additional income was generated from<strong> 1,079 successful fishing expeditions made using PFZ advisories.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>National Monsoon Mission</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It was launched by the <strong>Ministry of Earth Sciences in 2012.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Aim:</strong> To improve the forecasting skills by setting up a state-of-the-art dynamic prediction system for monsoon rainfall different time scales.</li>
<li>NMM builds a<strong> working partnership between the academic and research and development</strong> (R&amp;D) <strong>organisations,</strong> both<strong> national and international.</strong></li>
<li>Its <strong>augmentation with the HPC facilities</strong> has helped the country in achieving a paradigm shift in weather and climate modelling for operational weather forecasts.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/accurate-forecast-helps-farmers-fishermen-save-crores-survey-6932971/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 13 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 6911,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Mission Sagar - II',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in news</h3>
<p>As part of &lsquo;Mission Sagar-II&rsquo;, the Government of India is providing assistance to Friendly Foreign Countries to overcome natural calamities and <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/coronaviruses" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Covid-19 pandemic.</strong></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Towards the same <strong>INS Airavat</strong> is delivering food aid for the people of <strong>Sudan.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Mission Sagar-II, follows the first<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/mission-sagar" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> &lsquo;Mission Sagar&rsquo;</strong> </a>undertaken in 2020.</li>
<li>As part of Mission Sagar-II, Indian Naval Ship Airavat will deliver food aid to <strong>Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1604400241_image2.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1604400241_image2.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="500" caption="false" /></strong></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles</strong> along with <strong>La R&eacute;union</strong> are part of <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/india-as-an-observer-at-ioc" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Indian Ocean Commission</strong></a>. <strong>India has recently become an observer</strong> to the Commission.</li>
<li>The assistance is in line with India&rsquo;s role as the first responder in the <strong>Indian Ocean region.</strong></li>
<li>The deployment is also in consonance with the Prime Minister's vision of <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/sagar-vision" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR)</strong></a></li>
<li>Earlier, India had sent <strong>Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kesari,</strong> carrying food items and medical assistance teams, to countries in the southern Indian Ocean to deal with <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/coronaviruses" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Covid-19 pandemic</strong> </a>as part of a<strong> "Mission Sagar"</strong> initiative.</li>
<li><strong>Strategic Significance of the Island Countries:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The strategic importance of these island nations is highlighted by their location along key <strong>Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs).</strong></li>
<li>These islands are vital and can facilitate a navy&rsquo;s continuous presence along key international shipping routes, allowing a navy to patrol and secure SLOCs during peace times and an option to interdict and cut off an adversary&rsquo;s communications during times of conflict.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Other Related Initiatives:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>India on the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/65th-anniversary-of-bandung-conference-nam" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>65<sup>th</sup> anniversary</strong> </a>of the landmark <strong>Bandung Conference</strong> emphasized that members of the <strong>Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)</strong> must work to reduce the socio-economic impact of the pandemic on the most vulnerable sections of society and promote <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/the-big-picture-india-africa-partnership" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>South-South cooperation.</strong></a></li>
<li>In the wake of the global pandemic<strong>, the</strong> International Solar Alliance (ISA) responded by setting up ISA CARES <strong>(like <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/pm-cares-fund" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PM-CARES</a> in India),</strong> an initiative dedicated to the deployment of solar energy in the healthcare sector.</li>
<li>With<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/comprehensive-action-plan-for-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> Covid-19</strong></a> <strong>and <a href="/to-the-points/paper3/trade-war-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trade tensions between China and the United States</a></strong> are threatening supply chains, Japan has mooted the <strong>Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI)</strong> as a trilateral approach to trade, with India and Australia as the key-partners.</li>
<li>The Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness for Innovation (CEPI), a global initiative, has named <strong>Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad</strong> as one of the six laboratories for assessing<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/coronavirus-disease-named-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> Covid-19</strong></a> vaccine candidates that are under development</li>
<li>India has contributed 10 million USD to <strong>SAARC Covid-19 Emergency Fund</strong> and manufactured essential drugs, Covid protection and testing kits, for countries in the SAARC region (<strong>Eg. <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/operation-sanjeevani" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Operation Sanjeevani</a></strong> for Maldives).</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>SAGAR</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) was launched in 2015. It is India&rsquo;s strategic vision for the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).</li>
<li>Through SAGAR, India seeks to deepen economic and security cooperation with its maritime neighbours and assist in building their maritime security capabilities.</li>
<li>Further, India seeks to safeguard its national interests and ensure Indian Ocean region to become inclusive, collaborative and respect international law.</li>
<li>The key relevance of SAGAR emerges when seen in conjunction with India&rsquo;s other policies impacting the maritime domain like <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/the-big-picture-india-s-act-east-policy" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Act East Policy</strong></a>, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-09th-october-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Project Sagarmala</strong></a>, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-7th-august-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Project Mausam</strong></a>, India as &lsquo;net security provider&rsquo;, focus on<a href="/to-the-points/paper3/blue-economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> Blue Economy</strong> </a>etc.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Other Important Groupings Associated with Indian Ocean Region</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Indian Ocean Rim Association:</strong> The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/19th-iora-council-of-ministers-meeting" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)</strong></a> was established in 1997. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and sustainable development within the Indian Ocean region.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Indian Ocean Naval Symposium:</strong> The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-27th-september-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&lsquo;Indian Ocean Naval Symposium&rsquo; (IONS)</strong></a> is a voluntary initiative that seeks to increase maritime cooperation among navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region by providing an open and inclusive forum for discussion of regionally relevant maritime issues.</li>
<li><strong>Indian Ocean Commission:</strong> Recently, India has been approved as an <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/india-as-an-observer-at-ioc" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>observer of the Indian Ocean Commission</strong></a>, the inter-governmental organization that coordinates maritime governance in the south-western Indian Ocean.</li>
<li><strong>Asia Africa Growth Corridor:</strong> The idea of <a href="/current-affairs-news-analysis-editorials/news-editorials/07-01-2019#:~:text=The%20AAGC%20will%20bring%20out,people%20in%20Asia%20and%20Africa." target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Asia Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC)</strong> </a>emerged in the joint declaration issued by India and Japan in 2016.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The AAGC is raised on four pillars of Development and Cooperation Projects, Quality Infrastructure and Institutional Connectivity, Enhancing Capacities and Skills and People-to-People partnership.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1669599" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source:PIB</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 14 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 6897,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Typhoon Goni',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, Typhoon Goni has made landfall in the <strong>eastern Philippines.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>Philippines is used to powerful storms -</strong> it is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons a year.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1604302309_image1.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1604302309_image1.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="450" caption="false" /></a></p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Goni - known as Rolly in the Philippines -</strong> is the <strong>most powerful storm</strong> to hit the country <strong>since Typhoon Haiyan</strong> killed more than 6,000 people in 2013.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In fact, Typhoon Goni is the <strong>world&rsquo;s strongest Typhoon in 2020.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Last week, the Philippines was hit by<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/typhoon-molave-vietnam" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> Typhoon Molave.</strong></a></li>
<li>Another storm,<strong> Atsani,</strong> is gaining strength in the Pacific Ocean as it approaches the Philippines.</li>
<li>Typhoon is a <strong>regionally specific name</strong> for a strong <strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/hurricane-nana" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"tropical cyclone"</a></strong>.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Tropical cyclones are known as <strong>&lsquo;typhoons&rsquo;</strong> in the <strong>northwest pacific ocean, hurricanes</strong> in the <strong>North Atlantic Ocean, Willy-willies</strong> in <strong>north-western Australia</strong> and <strong>Tropical Cyclones</strong> in the<strong> Indian Ocean Region.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>A tropical cyclone is a <strong>generic term</strong> used by meteorologists to describe<strong> a rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms</strong> that originates over tropical or subtropical waters and has closed, low-level circulation.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Tropical cyclones <strong>rotate counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.</strong></li>
<li>These are measured by the <strong>Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Naming of Typhoons:</strong> The<strong> Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) Tokyo - Typhoon Centre</strong> assigns a tropical cyclone a name from the five lists. The name <strong>&lsquo;Goni&rsquo;</strong> is contributed by <strong>South Korea.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/world/typhoon-goni-philippines-6913281/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 15 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 6895,
		'category_id' => (int) 22,
		'title' => 'Urban Flooding',
		'description' => '<div class="border">
<p>This article is based on <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/time-for-a-sponge-cities-mission-in-india/article32985979.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;Time for a &lsquo;sponge cities&rsquo; mission in India&rdquo;</strong></a> which was published in The Hindu on 31/10/2020. It talks about how urban flooding is man-made disaster and ways to deal with it.</p>
</div>
<p>Recently, torrential rains that took place in Hyderabad have caused massive <strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/flood-management-in-india#:~:text=Urban%20Flooding%3A%20Flooding%20in%20the,maintenance%20of%20the%20drainage%20infrastructure." target="_blank" rel="noopener">urban floods.</a></strong> In many Indian cities, the urban floods have become a frequent phenomenon in recent years.</p>
<p>As the incidence of climate variability and extreme weather events increases, urban flooding becomes more and more common. While the untimely heavy rains can be attributed to climate variability, the urban flooding is largely due to an <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/urbanisation-trends-eiu" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>unplanned urbanisation.</strong></a></p>
<h3>Urban Flood: Man-Made Disaster</h3>
<p>Overburdened drainage, unregulated construction, no regard to the natural topography and hydro-geomorphology all make urban floods a man-made disaster.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Inadequate Drainage Infrastructure:</strong> Cities like Hyderabad, Mumbai rely on a century-old drainage system, covering only a small part of the core city. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In the last 20 years, the Indian cities have grown manifold with its original built-up area.</li>
<li>As the city grew beyond its original limits, not much was done to address the absence of adequate drainage systems.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Terrain Alteration:</strong> Lasting irreversible damage has been done to the city by property builders, property owners, and public agencies by flattening terrain and altering natural drainage routes.</li>
<li><strong>Reducing Seepage:</strong> Indian cities are becoming increasingly impervious to water, not just because of increasing built up but also because of the nature of materials used (hard, non-porous construction material that makes the soil impervious).</li>
<li><strong>Lax Implementation:</strong> Even with provisions of rainwater harvesting, sustainable urban drainage systems, etc, in regulatory mechanisms like the <a href="/to-the-points/paper3/environmental-impact-assessment-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)</strong></a>, adoption at user end as well as enforcement agencies remains weak.</li>
<li><strong>Encroaching Natural Spaces:</strong> The number of wetlands has reduced to 123 in 2018 from 644 in 1956. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Green cover is only 9 per cent, which ideally should have been at least 33 per cent.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Need For Holistic Engagement:</strong> Urban floods of this scale cannot be contained by the municipal authorities alone. Floods cannot be managed without concerted and focused investments of energy and resources. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Metropolitan Development Authorities, <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/national-disaster-management-authority-ndma-" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Disaster Management Authority</strong></a>, State revenue and irrigation departments along with municipal corporations should be involved in such work together.</li>
<li>Such investments can only be done in a mission mode organisation with active participation of civil society organisations at the metropolitan scale.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Developing Sponge Cities:</strong> The idea of a sponge city is to make cities more permeable so as to hold and use the water which falls upon it. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Sponge cities absorb the rain water, which is then naturally filtered by the soil and allowed to reach urban aquifers.</li>
<li>This allows for the extraction of water from the ground through urban or peri-urban wells.</li>
<li>This water can be treated easily and used for city water supply.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Wetland Policy:</strong> There is a need to start paying attention to the management of wetlands by involving local communities.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Without doubt, terrain alteration needs to be strictly regulated and a ban on any further alteration of terrain needs to be introduced.</li>
<li>To improve the city&rsquo;s capacity to absorb water, new porous materials and technologies must be encouraged or mandated across scales.</li>
<li>Examples of these technologies are bioswales and retention systems, permeable material for roads and pavement, drainage systems which allow storm water to trickle into the ground, green roofs and harvesting systems in buildings.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Note:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Bioswales are made along roadsides so that rainwater from the road flows towards them and percolates into the ground.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Drainage Planning:</strong> Watershed management and emergency drainage plan should be clearly enunciated in policy and law. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Urban watersheds are micro ecological drainage systems, shaped by contours of terrain.</li>
<li>Detailed documentation of these must be held by agencies which are not bound by municipal jurisdictions; instead, there is a need to consider natural boundaries such as watersheds instead of governance boundaries like electoral wards for shaping a drainage plan.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Water Sensitive Urban Design:</strong> These methods take into consideration the topography, types of surfaces (permeable or impervious), natural drainage and leave very less impact on the environment. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Vulnerability analyses and risk assessments should form part and parcel of city master plans.</li>
<li>In a changing climate, the drainage infrastructure (especially storm water drainage) has to be built considering the new &lsquo;normals&rsquo;.</li>
<li>Tools such as predictive precipitation modelling can help do that and are also able to link it with the adaptive capacity of urban land use.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Convergent Approach:</strong> These can all be delivered effectively through an urban mission along the lines of the <strong><a href="/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-26th-december-2018#:~:text=Atal%20Mission%20for%20Rejuvenation%20and%20Urban%20Transformation%20(AMRUT)&amp;text=AMRUT%20provides%20for%20basic%20civic,the%20poor%20and%20the%20disadvantaged." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)</a></strong>, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/promotion-of-buddhist-sites" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY)</strong></a> and <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/smart-cities-command-centres#:~:text=Smart%20City%20Mission,create%20smart%20outcomes%20for%20citizens." target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Smart Cities Mission.</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p>Urban Flood management will not just help control recurring floods but also respond to other fault lines, provide for water security, more green spaces, and will make the city resilient and sustainable.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1604145957_image%200.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1604145957_image 0.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="600" caption="false" /></a></p>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 76px;">
<td style="width: 100%; border-style: dotted; border-color: #ff0000; background-color: #f5faff; height: 76px;">
<p><span style="color: #000080;"><em><strong>Drishti Mains Question</strong></em></span></p>
<p>While the untimely heavy rains can be attributed to climate change, the urban flooding is largely due to an unplanned urbanisation. Discuss.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fO09G0P_EWU" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>This editorial is based on <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/blogs/et-editorials/the-politics-of-a-5-trillion-economy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;The Politics of a $5 Trillion Economy&rdquo;</strong></a> which was published in The Economic Times on October 29<sup>th</sup>, 2020. Now watch this on our Youtube channel.</p>',
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	(int) 16 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 6884,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Typhoon Molave: Vietnam',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, <strong>Vietnam</strong> has been hit by one of its biggest storms in two decades - Typhoon Molave.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Vietnam is<strong> prone to natural disasters</strong> in the rainy season between June and November, with central coastal provinces commonly impacted, but the storms have notably worsened in recent years.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1604053177_image3.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1604053177_image3.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="600" caption="false" /></a></p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Typhoon is a <strong>regionally specific name</strong> for a strong <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/hurricane-nana" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>"tropical cyclone".</strong></a><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Tropical cyclones are known as <strong>&lsquo;typhoons&rsquo;</strong> in the <strong>northwest pacific ocean, hurricanes</strong> in the<strong> North Atlantic Ocean, Willy-willies</strong> in <strong>north-western Australia</strong> and <strong>Tropical Cyclones</strong> in the <strong>Indian Ocean Region.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>A tropical cyclone is a <strong>generic term</strong> used by meteorologists to describe <strong>a rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms</strong> that originates over tropical or subtropical waters and has closed, low-level circulation.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Tropical cyclones <strong>rotate counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.</strong></li>
<li>These are measured by the <strong>Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Naming of Typhoons:</strong> The <strong>Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) Tokyo - Typhoon Centre</strong> assigns a tropical cyclone a name from the five lists. The name<strong> &lsquo;Molave&rsquo;</strong> is contributed by the<strong> Philippines.</strong></li>
</ul>',
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	(int) 17 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 6853,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Tsunami Early Warning System in India',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>According to experts from the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/incois-launches-products" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Indian National Centre for Ocean Information System (INCOIS)</strong></a>, India is much safer against tsunami threats than it was in 2004, due to the establishment of a state-of-the-art tsunami early warning system at INCOIS.</p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Indian Tsunami Early Warning System:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Indian Tsunami Early Warning System (ITEWS) was <strong>established in 2007</strong> and is based at &amp; operated by INCOIS, Hyderabad.</li>
<li>It is an <strong>integrated effort</strong> of different organizations including the Department of Space (DOS), Department of Science and Technology (DST), the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Survey of India (SOI) and National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT).</li>
<li>ITEWS comprises a<strong> real-time network of seismic stations,</strong> tide gauges and a <strong>24X7 operational tsunami warning centre</strong> to detect tsunamigenic earthquakes, to monitor tsunamis and to provide timely advisories to vulnerable communities.</li>
<li>Indian scientists can detect large undersea earthquakes in Indian Ocean in real-time and provide a tsunami warning in 10-20 minutes after the earthquake occurs. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>In 2004, India didn&rsquo;t have any tsunami warning capability nor any public knowledge of tsunamis in the Indian Ocean.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>India is among the <strong>first few centres to introduce quantitative tsunami forecasts.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC)</strong> of <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/unesco-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>UNESCO</strong></a> (also known as UNESCO-IOC) accredited<strong> Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre</strong> (ITEWC) as <strong>Tsunami Service Provider</strong> (TSP) for 28 <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/19th-iora-council-of-ministers-meeting" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Indian Ocean Rim</strong></a> <strong>(IOR) countries</strong>, along with Indonesia and Australia in 2011, for issuing regional warnings.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Recent Focus in Tsunami Warning Capability:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The focus in recent times has been on <strong>enhancing community awareness and response</strong> through several <strong>capacity building activities, biennial Indian Ocean wide tsunami drills</strong> and<strong> piloting of the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/tsunami-ready-programme-unesco-ioc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Ready initiative.</a></strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Tsunami Ready is a community performance-based programme</strong> to promote tsunami preparedness through active collaboration of public, community leaders, and national and local emergency management agencies.</li>
<li>The <strong>main objective of this programme is to improve coastal community's preparedness for tsunami emergencies,</strong> to minimize the loss of life and property and to ensure a structural and systematic approach in building community preparedness through fulfilling the best-practice indicators.</li>
<li><strong>Two villages of Odisha-</strong> Venkatraipur in Ganjam district and Noliasahi in Jagatsinghpur district<strong> are now &lsquo;Tsunami Ready&rsquo;.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>INCOIS is <strong>establishing a network of 35 stations to estimate the tectonic plate&rsquo;s movements in real-time</strong> and measure the vertical displacements under the sea directly.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>INCOIS</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>INCOIS was <strong>established in 1999</strong> as an <strong>autonomous body</strong> under the <strong>Ministry of Earth Sciences.</strong></li>
<li><strong>INCOIS</strong> through Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC) is the <strong>nodal agency to provide tsunami advisories to India.</strong></li>
<li>It is coordinating with the Disaster Management Officials (DMOs) for implementation of <strong>Tsunami Ready</strong> programme in India.</li>
<li>It conducts <strong>IOWave Tsunami mock exercises biannually</strong> to strengthen the readiness to handle the emergency situations with stakeholders.</li>
<li>INCOIS also identifies the <strong>Potential Fishing Zones</strong> (PFZ) for the fishermen community.</li>
<li>It has also <strong>made improvement in overcoming the cloud cover</strong> through usage of geostationary satellites and numerical modelling.</li>
<li>INCOIS has also partnered with <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/indian-space-research-organisation-isro" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Indian Space Research Organisation</strong></a> (ISRO) and <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/wings-india-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Airports Authority of India</strong></a> (AAI) to <strong>develop a satellite based message broadcasting services</strong> through the indigenous navigational satellite communication system <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/navic" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>'NAVIC'</strong></a>.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Tsunamis</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>These are a series of waves usually <strong>generated by movement of the sea floor.</strong> These movements are <strong>caused by different types of geophysical phenomena</strong> such as <a href="/to-the-points/paper1/earthquake-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>earthquakes</strong></a>,<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/international-conference-on-landslides-risk-reduction-and-resilience" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> landslides</strong> </a><strong>and volcanic eruptions.</strong></li>
<li>The word tsunami is a <strong>Japanese word,</strong> represented by two characters: tsu, meaning, "harbor", and nami meaning, "wave".</li>
<li>The tsunami waves behave very differently in deep water than in shallow water as their <strong>speed is related to the water depth.</strong></li>
<li>They <strong>frequently occur in the Pacific,</strong> where dense oceanic plates slide under the lighter continental plates. When these plates fracture they provide a vertical movement of the seafloor that allows a quick and efficient transfer of energy from the solid earth to the ocean.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Initiatives like Tsunami Ready has to be replicated in other vulnerable coastal communities as it enhances ability to respond to cyclones and storm surges too.</li>
<li>The best of warning systems could fail, if communities are not prepared, if they do not understand the official and natural warning signs of a tsunami, and if they do not take appropriate and timely response.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/india-much-safer-against-tsunami-threat-incois-director/article32947534.ece#:~:text=India%20is%20much%20safer%20against,Information%20System%20(INCOIS)%20here." target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 18 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 6832,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'South Asian Flash Flood Guidance System',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, the<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/imd-forecasts-surplus-rains" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> India Meteorological Department</strong> </a>(IMD) has launched the <strong>South Asian Flash Flood Guidance System</strong> (FFGS), which is<strong> aimed at helping disaster management teams and governments make timely evacuation plans</strong> ahead of the actual event of flooding.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A <strong>dedicated FFGS centre will be established in New Delhi,</strong> where weather modelling and analysis of rainfall data observations from member countries will be done.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Flash Floods:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>These are <strong>sudden surges in water levels</strong> during or following an intense spell of rain.</li>
<li>These are <strong>highly localised events of short duration</strong> with a very high peak and usually have less than six hours between the occurrence of the rainfall and peak flood.</li>
<li>The flood<strong> situation worsens in the presence of choked drainage lines or encroachments</strong> obstructing the natural flow of water.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Concerns:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Forecasting</strong> flash floods is very difficult as an <strong>event can occur within three to six hours</strong> and the <strong>water run-off quantity is very high.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Frequency of extreme rainfall events has increased</strong> due to<strong> climate change</strong> and <strong>south Asia is highly prone</strong> to flash floods.</li>
<li>Data suggest that across the world, <strong>about 5,000 people die annually</strong> due to flash floods.</li>
<li>Despite such<strong> high mortality,</strong> there was<strong> no robust forecasting or warning system</strong> for flash floods.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>South Asian Flash Flood Guidance System:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It has been developed by<strong> US-based Hydrologic Research Centre</strong> after the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/state-of-the-global-climate-wmo" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>World Meteorological Organisation</strong> </a>(WMO) and few South Asian countries put forth their views and the urgent need for such a warning system.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Warning Mechanism:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Based on the<strong> rainfall and potential flooding scenario,</strong> flash flood <strong>warnings will be issued</strong> to respective nations.</li>
<li><strong>Flash flood threat warning</strong> will be issued <strong>six hours</strong> in advance, whereas<strong> flood risk warning</strong> will be issued<strong> 24 hours</strong> in advance. <strong>Warnings about watershed</strong> level will be issued <strong>12 hours</strong> in advance.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>India&rsquo;s Role:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>India is leading the delegation</strong> of nations, including <strong>Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh</strong> and <strong>Nepal,</strong> in <strong>sharing hydrological and meteorological data</strong> towards preparing flash flood forecasts.</li>
<li>India&rsquo;s <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/national-disaster-management-authority-ndma-" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Disaster Management Authority</strong></a> (NDMA) and the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/e-flows-in-river-ganga" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Central Water Commission</strong> </a>(CWC) partnered in developing the system.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1667043" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: PIB</strong></a></p>',
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		'title' => 'Bioremediation Mechanism for Oil Spills',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The <strong>National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chnnai</strong> has developed an<strong> eco-friendly crude oil bioremediation mechanism technology</strong> using consortia (group of two or more species) of marine microbes<strong> wheat bran (WB)</strong> immobilized <strong>(microbes controlled degradation)</strong> on agro-residue bacterial cells.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Wheat bran</strong> is the hard outer layer of the <strong>wheat</strong> kernel. It's stripped away during the milling process.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Eco-friendly Crude Oil Bioremediation Mechanism Technology</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Bioremediation:</strong> It can be defined as any process that uses microorganisms or their enzymes to remove and or<strong> neutralize contaminants within the environment to their original condition.</strong></li>
<li>In the marine ecosystem, deep sea<strong> hydrocarbonoclastic</strong> (ability to degrade hydrocarbon) microbial consortium plays an important role in breaking down <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/oil-spill-in-siberia" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>oil in the event of a spill.</strong></a><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The microbial community serves as <strong>energetic primary degraders</strong> of a complex mixture of petroleum hydrocarbons into various aldehydes, ketones and acidic metabolites.</li>
<li>These hydrocarbon degrading bacteria don&rsquo;t depend on hydrocarbons for survival, but have a metabolic mechanism where they use petroleum products as<strong> carbon and energy source</strong> and thus, help cleaning up oil spills.</li>
<li>The <strong>complete breakdown and degradation</strong> of crude oil is achievable using <strong>wheat bran marine bacterial consortia</strong> (which are <strong>low-cost non-toxic</strong> agro-residues) in an environmentally sustainable manner.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Advantages of Immobilized State:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>They are more <strong>effective in their immobilised state</strong> than the free bacteria cells in degrading the oil spills. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>They could remove 84% of the oils within 10 days. The free bacterial cells degraded a maximum of 60% of the crude oil at optimised conditions.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>They are more<strong> versatile and resistant</strong> to adverse conditions.</li>
<li>They have<strong> efficacy in treating accidental bulk discharge of oil</strong> in marine environments through non-toxic clean-up technology.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Oil Spill</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is an<strong> accidental/uncontrolled release</strong> of crude oil, gasoline, fuels, or other oil by-products into the environment. Oil spills can pollute land, air, or water, though it is mostly used for oceanic oil spills.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The recent <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/oil-spill-in-mauritius" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>MV Wakashio spill off Mauritius</strong></a> &mdash; about 1,000 tonnes of oil spilled into a sanctuary for rare wildlife after the Japanese ship struck a coral reef in 2020.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Cause:</strong> They have become a major environmental problem, chiefly as a result of <strong>intensified petroleum exploration and production</strong> on continental shelves and the transport of large amounts of oils in vessels.</li>
<li><strong>Measure: Cleaning</strong> up of the oil spillage from the oceans <strong>without damaging the marine ecosystem</strong> is becoming an increasingly challenging task.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Containment Booms:</strong> Floating barriers, called booms are used to restrict the spread of oil and to allow for its recovery, removal, or dispersal.</li>
<li><strong>Skimmers:</strong> They are devices used for physically separating spilled oil from the water&rsquo;s surface.</li>
<li><strong>Sorbents:</strong> Various sorbents (e.g., straw, volcanic ash, and shavings of polyester-derived plastic) that absorb the oil from the water are used.</li>
<li><strong>Dispersing agents:</strong> These are chemicals that contain surfactants, or compounds that act to break liquid substances such as oil into small droplets. They accelerate its natural dispersion into the sea.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/natural-disasters/microbes-to-fight-oil-spillage-in-oceans-indian-scientists-devise-new-technology-73828" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: DTE</strong></a></p>',
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