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El Nino and La Nina

El Nino and La Nina are complex weather patterns resulting from variations in ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific Region. They are...

18 Jan 2021 Physical Geography
Iceberg A68a

Why in News Iceberg A68a, which calved from Antarctica in 2017, has been floating off the coast of South Georgia island. This has prompted fears...

28 Dec 2020 Physical Geography
Satkosia Tiger Reserve

Why in News Recently, the National Tiger Conservation Authority has asked Odisha to submit a status report on the adverse impact of tourism on...

26 Dec 2020 Physical Geography
Kilauea Volcano: Hawaii

Why in News Recently, Kilauea volcano in Hawaii’s Big Island erupted which was followed by an earthquake of magnitude 4.4. Key...

23 Dec 2020 Physical Geography
Winter Solstice

Why in News 21st December or the Winter Solstice marks the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The same day marks the Summer...

22 Dec 2020 Physical Geography
Chillai Kalan

Why in News The 40-day intense winter period “chillai kalan” started in Kashmir valley on 21st December with sub-zero night temperatures...

22 Dec 2020 Physical Geography
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 Physical Geography
New Height for Mount Everest

Why in News Nepal and China have announced the revised height of Mount Everest as 8,848.86 metres. The new height is 86 cm more than the previous...

09 Dec 2020 Physical Geography
Provisional Report on the State of the Global Climate 2020: WMO

Why in News According to the latest State of the Global Climate provisional report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the year 2020 is...

04 Dec 2020 Physical Geography
Hurricane Eta

Why in News Recently, Hurricane Eta has hit northeastern Nicaragua with life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds and flash flooding...

05 Nov 2020 Physical Geography
Ganga Utsav 2020

Why in News Recently, the Ganga Utsav 2020 has begun which celebrates the glory of the National river Ganga. Ganga was declared as the National...

03 Nov 2020 Physical Geography
Tectonically Active Zone of Himalayas

Why in News Recently, a group of scientists from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), Dehradun have found that the Indus-Tsangpo Suture...

28 Oct 2020 Physical Geography
Mount Kilimanjaro

Why in News Recently, a fire that has broken out on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa. The cause of the fire is not...

13 Oct 2020 Physical Geography
World Risk Index 2020

Why in News According to the World Risk Index (WRI) 2020, India is ‘poorly prepared’ to deal with ‘climate reality’, due to...

24 Sep 2020 Physical Geography
Autumnal Equinox in Northern Hemisphere

Why in News On 22nd September 2020, the day and night was almost equal in most locations marking the start of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere...

23 Sep 2020 Physical Geography
Increase in Frequency of Medicanes

Why in News Scientists have warned that extra-tropical storms in the Mediterranean Sea, known as ‘Medicanes’ or ‘Mediterranean...

22 Sep 2020 Physical Geography
Morphological Phenotypic Plasticity in Kalinga Frog

Why in News Recently, Indian scientists from the Zoological Survey of India, Pune have reported a first-of-its-kind discovery of morphological...

17 Sep 2020 Physical Geography
Re-measuring Mount Everest

Why in News China and Nepal are soon expected to announce Mount Everest’s latest official height. In 2019, both countries agreed to...

16 Sep 2020 Physical Geography
Temperature Inversion

Meaning Under normal conditions, temperature usually decreases with increase in altitude in the troposphere at a rate of 1 degree for every 165...

29 Aug 2020 Physical Geography
High Temperature at Death Valley

Why in News Recently, Death Valley (USA) registered a temperature of 54.4°C which, once verified, could be the highest temperature in more than...

18 Aug 2020 Physical Geography

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		'title' => 'El Nino and La Nina',
		'description' => '<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>El Nino and La Nina</strong> are complex weather patterns resulting from variations in ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific Region. They are opposite phases of what is known as the<strong> El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)</strong> cycle. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The ENSO cycle describes the fluctuations in temperature between the ocean and atmosphere in the east-central Equatorial Pacific.</li>
<li>El Nino and La Nina episodes typically last nine to 12 months, but some prolonged events may last for years.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>El Nino</strong> is a climate pattern that describes the<strong> unusual warming of surface waters</strong> in the <strong>eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is the &ldquo;warm phase&rdquo; of a larger phenomenon called the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).</li>
<li>It occurs more frequently than La Nina.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>La Nina, the &ldquo;cool phase&rdquo;</strong> of ENSO, is a pattern that describes the <strong>unusual cooling</strong> of the tropical eastern Pacific. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>La Nina events may last between <strong>one and three years, unlike El Nino,</strong> which usually lasts no more than a year.</li>
<li><strong>Both phenomena tend to peak during the Northern Hemisphere winter.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>El Nino</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>El Nino was<strong> first recognized by Peruvian fishermen</strong> off the coast of Peru as the appearance of unusually warm water. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Spanish immigrants called it <strong>El Nino, meaning &ldquo;the little boy&rdquo;</strong> in Spanish.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>El Nino soon came to describe irregular and intense climate changes rather than just the warming of coastal surface waters.</li>
<li>The El Nino event is<strong> not a regular cycle,</strong> they are not predictable and occur irregularly at two- to seven-year intervals. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The climatologists determined that El Nino occurs simultaneously with the Southern Oscillation. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The Southern Oscillation is a change in air pressure over the tropical Pacific Ocean.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>When coastal waters become warmer in the eastern tropical Pacific (El Nino), the atmospheric pressure above the ocean decreases.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Climatologists define these linked phenomena as <strong>El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Monitoring El Nino and La Nina</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Scientists, governments, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) collect data about El Nino using a number of technologies such as<strong> scientific buoys.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>A buoy is a type of an <strong>object that floats in water</strong> and is used in the middle of the <strong>seas as locators or as warning points for the ships.</strong> They are generally bright (fluorescent) in colour.</li>
<li>These buoys measure ocean and air temperatures, currents, winds, and humidity.</li>
<li>The buoys transmit data daily to researchers and forecasters around the world enabling the scientists to more accurately predict El Nino and visualize its development and impact around the globe.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The <strong>Oceanic Nino Index (ONI)</strong> is used to measure deviations from normal sea surface temperatures.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The intensity of El Nino events varies from weak temperature increases (about 4-5&deg; F) with only moderate local effects on weather and climate to very strong increases (14-18&deg; F) associated with worldwide climatic changes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Oceanic Nino Index (ONI)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>Oceanic Ni&ntilde;o Index (ONI),</strong> is a measure of the departure from normal sea surface temperature in the east-central Pacific Ocean, is the standard means by which each El Nino episode is determined, gauged, and forecast.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><strong>Impact of El Nino</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In order to understand the concept of El Nino, it&rsquo;s important to be familiar with non-El Nino conditions in the Pacific Ocean. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Normally,<strong> strong trade winds blow westward</strong> across the tropical Pacific, the region of the Pacific Ocean located between the <strong>Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. </strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Impact on Ocean:</strong> El Nino also impacts ocean temperatures, the speed and strength of ocean currents, the health of coastal fisheries, and local weather from Australia to South America and beyond.</li>
<li><strong>Increased Rainfall:</strong> Convection above warmer surface waters brings increased precipitation. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Rainfall increases drastically in South America, contributing to coastal flooding and erosion.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Diseases caused by Floods and Droughts:</strong> Diseases thrive in communities devastated by natural hazards such as flood or drought. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>El Nino-related flooding is associated with increases in cholera, dengue, and malaria in some parts of the world, while drought can lead to wildfires that create respiratory problems.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Positive impact:</strong> It can sometimes have a positive impact too, for example, El Nino reduces the instances of hurricanes in the Atlantic.</li>
<li><strong>In South America:</strong> As El Nino brings rain to South America, it brings droughts to Indonesia and Australia. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>These droughts threaten the region&rsquo;s water supplies, as reservoirs dry and rivers carry less water. Agriculture, which depends on water for irrigation, is also threatened.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>In Western Pacific:</strong> These winds<strong> push warm surface water</strong> towards the western Pacific, where it borders <strong>Asia and Australia.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Due to the warm trade winds, the sea surface is normally about <strong>0.5 meter higher </strong>and<strong> 4-5&deg; F warmer in Indonesia than Ecuador.</strong></li>
<li>The westward movement of warmer waters causes<strong> cooler waters to rise up</strong> towards the surface on the coasts of<strong> Ecuador, Peru, and Chile.</strong> This process is known as <strong>upwelling.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Upwelling elevates cold, nutrient-rich water to the euphotic zone, the upper layer of the ocean.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Previous El Nino Events:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>El Nino events of <strong>1982-83 and 1997-98</strong> were the <strong>most intense</strong> of the 20<sup>th</sup> century.</li>
<li>During the<strong> 1982-83</strong> event, sea surface temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific were 9-18&deg; F above normal.</li>
<li>The El Nino event of <strong>1997-98</strong> was the first El Nino event to be<strong> scientifically monitored from beginning to end.</strong></li>
<li>The 1997-98 event produced drought conditions in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Peru and California experienced very heavy rains and severe flooding.</li>
<li>The Midwest experienced record-breaking warm temperatures during a period known as <strong>&ldquo;the year without a winter.&rdquo;</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>La Nina</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>La Nina means The Little Girl in Spanish. It is also sometimes called El Viejo, anti-El Nino, or simply "a cold event."</li>
<li>La Nina events represent periods of <strong>below-average sea surface temperatures</strong> across the <strong>east-central Equatorial Pacific.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is indicated by sea-surface temperature decreased by more than 0.9℉ for at least five successive three-month seasons.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>La Nina event is observed when the<strong> water temperature in the Eastern Pacific gets comparatively colder than normal,</strong> as a consequence of which, there is a <strong>strong high pressure over the eastern equatorial Pacific. </strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>The Conditions of La Nina.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>La Nina is caused by a build-up of<strong> cooler-than-normal waters in the tropical Pacific,</strong> the area of the Pacific Ocean between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.</li>
<li>La Nina is characterized by<strong> lower-than-normal air pressure over the western Pacific.</strong> These low-pressure zones contribute to increased rainfall.</li>
<li>La Nina events are also associated with<strong> rainier-than-normal conditions</strong> over <strong>southeastern Africa and northern Brazil.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>However, strong La Nina events are associated with catastrophic floods in northern Australia.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>La Nina is also characterized by <strong>higher-than-normal pressure</strong> over the <strong>central and eastern Pacific.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This results in decreased cloud production and rainfall in that region.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Drier-than-normal conditions</strong> are observed along the <strong>west coast of tropical South America, </strong>the <strong>Gulf Coast of the United States,</strong> and the <strong>pampas region of southern South America.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Impact of La Nina</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Europe:</strong> In Europe, El Nino reduces the number of autumnal hurricanes. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>La Nina tends to lead to <strong>milder winters in Northern Europe</strong> (especially UK) and colder <strong>winters in southern/western Europe</strong> leading to snow in the Mediterranean region.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>North America:</strong> It is continental North America where most of these conditions are felt. The wider effects include:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Stronger winds along the equatorial region,</strong> especially in the Pacific.</li>
<li><strong>Favourable conditions for hurricanes</strong> in the Caribbean and central Atlantic area.</li>
<li><strong>Greater instances of tornados</strong> in various states of the US.</li>
<li><strong>South America:</strong> La Nina causes<strong> drought in the</strong> South American countries of <strong>Peru and Ecuador.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It usually has a <strong>positive impact on the fishing industry</strong> of western South America.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Western Pacific:</strong> In the western Pacific, La Nina increases the<strong> potential for landfall</strong> in those areas most vulnerable to their effects, and especially into <strong>continental Asia and China.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It also leads to<strong> heavy floods in Australia.</strong></li>
<li>There are<strong> increased temperatures</strong> in Western Pacific, Indian Ocean and off the Somalian coast.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>La Nina in 2010</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The 2010 La Nina event correlates with one of the worst floods in the history of Queensland, Australia.</li>
<li>More than 10,000 people were forced to evacuate, and damage from the disaster was estimated at more than $2 billion.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>ENSO and India</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>El Nino:</strong> Strong El Nino events contribute to weaker monsoons and even droughts in India Southeast Asia.</li>
<li><strong>La Nina:</strong> The cold air occupies a larger part of India than the El Nino cold air.</li>
<li>In the &lsquo;La Nina year&rsquo;, <strong>rainfall associated with the summer monsoon</strong> in Southeast Asia tends to be <strong>greater than normal,</strong> especially in<strong> northwest India and Bangladesh.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This generally <strong>benefits the Indian economy,</strong> which depends on the monsoon for agriculture and industry.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It usually brings in <strong>colder than normal winters</strong> in India.</li>
<li>La Nina influences the Indian subcontinent by piping in<strong> cold air from Siberia and South China,</strong> which interacts with the tropical heating to produce a north-south low-pressure system.</li>
<li>The <strong>cold air of La Nina</strong> associated with this north-south trough <strong>tends to extend much further south into India.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This is remarkably different from the more northwest-southeast blast of cold air associated with El Nino.</li>
<li>The pressure pattern going north-south means lesser impact of western disturbances.</li>
<li>The <strong>cold temperature can go down as far as Tamil Nadu, </strong>but <strong>may not affect the North East that much.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
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		'title' => 'Iceberg A68a',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Iceberg <strong>A68a,</strong> which <strong>calved from <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/mutated-novel-coronavirus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Antarctica</a> in 2017,</strong> has been<strong> floating off the coast of South Georgia island.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This has prompted <strong>fears about the impact the iceberg could have on the island&rsquo;s abundant wildlife.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Iceberg:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>An iceberg is <strong>ice that broke off from glaciers or shelf ice</strong> and is floating in open water.</li>
<li>Icebergs <strong>travel with ocean currents</strong> and either get caught up in shallow waters or ground themselves.</li>
<li>The<strong> US National Ice Center (USNIC)</strong> is the <strong>only organisation</strong> that <strong>names and tracks Antarctic Icebergs.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Icebergs are <strong>named according to the Antarctic quadrant</strong> in which they are spotted.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>A68a:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Shaped like a closed hand with a pointing finger, the iceberg known as A68a<strong> split off in 2017 from Larsen Ice Shelf on the West Antarctic Peninsula,</strong> which has warmed faster than any other part of Earth's southernmost continent.</li>
<li>On its journey, <strong>smaller icebergs have calved from the iceberg</strong> and the <strong>biggest section of the iceberg is called A68a</strong> and spans an area of roughly 2,600 sq. km. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Recently, the <strong>two icebergs that calved from A68a -</strong> have been named by the USNIC. They are called<strong> A68e and A68f.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>All the berg fragments are entrained in a fast-moving stream of water known as the <strong>Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The <strong>Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC)</strong> is the most important current in the Southern Ocean, and the <strong>only current that flows completely around the globe.</strong></li>
<li>The ACC, as it encircles the Antarctic continent, flows eastward through the southern portions of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It has been <strong>drifting towards the remote island of South Georgia,</strong> which is a <strong>British Overseas Territory (BOT).</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The fear is that if the iceberg grounds itself near the island, it could <strong>cause disruption to the local wildlife</strong> that forages in the ocean. Penguins and seals will have to travel farther in search of food.</li>
<li>On the other hand, there are some positives of an iceberg being stuck in the open ocean, since<strong> icebergs carry dust which fertilises ocean plankton,</strong> which draws up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The <strong>British Antarctic Survey (BAS)</strong> will launch <strong>a research mission</strong> to study <strong>A68a&rsquo;s impact on the ecosystem.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>BAS is a component of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). NERC is part of UK Research and Innovation.</li>
<li>It delivers and enables world-leading interdisciplinary research in the Polar Regions.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Calving of Glaciers</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Meaning:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Calving is the <strong>glaciological term for the mechanical loss</strong> (or simply, breaking off) <strong>of ice from a glacier margin.</strong></li>
<li>Calving is most common when a glacier flows into water (i.e. lakes or the ocean) but can also occur on dry land, where it is known as <strong>dry calving.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Process:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Before calving occurs,<strong> smaller cracks</strong> and fractures in glacier ice<strong> grow into larger crevasses.</strong></li>
<li>The growth of crevasses effectively<strong> divides the ice into blocks</strong> that subsequently <strong>fall from the snout into an adjacent lake</strong> (where they are known as icebergs).<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Glacier Snout:</strong> It is the <strong>lowest end of a glacier,</strong> also called <strong>glacier terminus or toe.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Impact on Glacier Mass Balance:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In lake-terminating (or freshwater) glaciers, calving is often a very<strong> efficient process of ablation</strong> and is therefore an important control on <strong>glacier mass balance.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Ablation:</strong> It implies combined processes (such as sublimation, fusion or melting, evaporation) which remove snow or ice from the surface of a glacier or from a snow-field.</li>
<li><strong>Glacier mass balance:</strong> It is simply the gain and loss of ice from the glacier system.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Global warming </strong>has <strong>increased the frequency of this process.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Recent Cases of Calving:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Up to the end of the <strong>20<sup>th</sup> century,</strong> the<strong> Larsen Ice Shelf had been stable</strong> for more than 10,000 years.</li>
<li>In<strong> 1995,</strong> however, <strong>a huge chunk</strong> broke off, <strong>followed by another in 2002.</strong> This was<strong> followed by</strong> the breakup of the nearby<strong> Wilkins Ice Shelf in 2008 and 2009,</strong> and<strong> A68a in 2017.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Hydrofracturing -</strong> when water seeps into cracks at the surface, splitting the ice farther down - was <strong>almost certainly the main culprit in each case.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Hydrofracturing is a <strong>water well development process</strong> that involves injecting high pressure water via the well into the bedrock formation immediately surrounding it.</li>
<li>It was<strong> originally developed for the oil and gas industry</strong> to increase oil and gas well production.</li>
<li>On a global scale, <strong>drilling or hydrofracturing</strong> result in <strong>significant greenhouse gas emissions,</strong> leading to global warming.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1609143154_image1.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1609143154_image1.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="478" height="244" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-where-is-the-giant-antarctic-iceberg-a68a-heading-and-why-is-it-a-cause-for-concern-7121945/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
		'posturl' => 'iceberg-a68a',
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	(int) 2 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 7311,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Satkosia Tiger Reserve',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/national-tiger-conservation-authority" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Tiger Conservation Authority</strong></a> has asked Odisha to submit a status report on the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/ecosystems-under-threat" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>adverse impact of tourism</strong></a> on Satkosia Tiger Reserve.</p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Satkosia Tiger Reserve, Bhubaneswar</strong> comprises <strong>two adjoining sanctuaries of central Odisha</strong> named as <strong>Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary </strong>and<strong> Baisipalli Sanctuary.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>These two sanctuaries together covering an area of 963.87 sq km were<strong> notified as <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/nagarjunasagar-srisailam-tiger-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tiger Reserve</a> in December 2007.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Lying in a <strong>transitional zone</strong> extending between the <strong>Chhota Nagpur Plateau</strong> and the <strong>Deccan Plateau,</strong> the tiger reserve <strong>exhibits endemic life forms of both biotic provinces.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Flora and Fauna:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The area supports<strong> moist deciduous forest, dry deciduous forest </strong>and <strong>moist peninsular Sal forest.</strong></li>
<li>This area is the home for <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/tiger-census-2018-guinness-book-of-world-records" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Tiger</strong></a>, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/first-snow-leopard-survey" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Leopard</strong></a>, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/electrocution-of-elephants" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Elephant</strong></a>, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/indian-bison-gaur" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Gaur</strong></a>, Chousingha, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/nandankanan-zoological-park-odisha" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Sloth bear</strong></a>, Wild dog, varieties of resident and migratory birds, reptilian species, etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Crocodile Conservation:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In March 1974, the <strong>Forest Department of the Government of Orissa</strong> with technical support from the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/united-nations-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>United Nations Development Programme</strong></a> (UNDP) and the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-22nd-march-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Food and Agriculture Organization</strong></a> (FAO) started a breeding programme of crocodiles.</li>
<li>In <strong>March 1975,</strong> the <strong>Gharial Research and Conservation Unit</strong> (GRACU) was started, which has done pioneering work in <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/world-crocodile-day" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>crocodile conservation</strong> </a>in India.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The activities include conservation breeding, releasing of reared crocodiles into the wild and its rehabilitation.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It owes its name to the <strong>narrow stretch of River Mahanadi</strong> i.e. <strong><em>&ldquo;Sat-Kosh''</em></strong> or seven miles long near <strong>Tikarpada,</strong> 60 km south of Angul.</li>
<li>The area was <strong>made a sanctuary in 1976</strong> and spreads out in four districts of Odisha namely Angul, Budh, Cuttack and Nayagarh.</li>
<li>The Satkosia Gorge is a <strong>unique feature in geomorphology of India</strong> because here <strong>Mahanadi cuts right across the Eastern Ghats</strong> and has formed a magnificent <strong>gorge.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Fauna:</strong> It is known for Gharials, Mugger crocodile and rare freshwater turtles like Chitra indica and Indian softshell turtle.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Baisipalli Sanctuary:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It gets its name from the <strong>22 settlements existing within its span.</strong></li>
<li>It was given the status of <strong>sanctuary in May 1981.</strong></li>
<li>It is located where the <strong>Mahanadi River passes through a gorge in the Eastern Ghats</strong> mountains in <strong>Nayagarh</strong> District.</li>
<li>The whole area is a part of the <strong>Deccan Peninsula</strong> Biogeographic Zone, <strong>Eastern Plateau province</strong> and <strong>Eastern Ghat sub-division.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Flora and Fauna:</strong> It is a<strong> sal dominated forest</strong> with a significant number of tigers, leopards, elephants, herbivores like Chousingha and water birds, reptilians, etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Major Protected Areas in Odisha</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>National Parks:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/olive-ridley-turtles" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Bhitarkanika National Park</strong></a></li>
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-22nd-october-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Simlipal National Park</strong></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Wildlife Sanctuaries:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Badrama WLS</li>
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/irrawaddy-dolphins-in-the-chilika-lake" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Chilika</strong></a> (Nalaban) WLS</li>
<li>Hadgarh WLS</li>
<li>Kotagarh WLS</li>
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/nandankanan-zoological-park" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Nandankanan WLS</strong></a></li>
<li>Lakhari Valley WLS</li>
<li>Gahirmatha (Marine) WLS</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>',
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		'article_id' => (int) 7285,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Kilauea Volcano: Hawaii',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Recently,<strong> Kilauea <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/eruption-on-mount-etna" target="_blank" rel="noopener">volcano</a></strong> in<strong> Hawaii&rsquo;s Big Island</strong> erupted which was followed by an <strong><a href="/printpdf/earthquake-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earthquake</a> of magnitude 4.4.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1608712148_image1.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1608712148_image1.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="600" caption="false" /></strong></a></p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Kilauea Volcano:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Kilauea, also called Mount Kilauea</strong> (&ldquo;Much Spreading&rdquo; in Hawaiian), is located in <strong>Hawaii Volcanoes National Park</strong> on the southeastern part of the island of Hawaii, U.S.A.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Kilauea&rsquo;s <strong>slopes merge</strong> with those of the nearby volcano <strong>Mauna Loa</strong> on the west and north.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It ranks among the<strong> world's most active volcanoes</strong>. It is an <strong>elongated dome built of lava eruptions</strong> from a central crater and from lines of craters extending along east and southwest rifts, or fissures.</li>
<li>The volcano&rsquo;s 4,090-foot (1,250-metre) summit has collapsed to form a<strong> caldera,</strong> a broad shallow depression nearly 3 miles (5 km) long and 2 miles (3.2 km) wide with an area of more than 4 square miles (10 square km).<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>A <strong>caldera</strong> is a <strong>depression</strong> created after a volcano partially collapses after releasing the majority of its magma chamber in an <strong>explosive eruption.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Eruptive History:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The caldera was the site of nearly <strong>continuous activity</strong> during the <strong>19<sup>th</sup> century</strong> and the early part of the <strong>20<sup>th</sup> century.</strong></li>
<li>Since 1952, Kīlauea has <strong>erupted 34 times.</strong></li>
<li>From<strong> 1983 to 2018 eruptive activity</strong> was<strong> nearly continuous</strong> along the volcano's East Rift Zone.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Volcanoes in India:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Barren Island,</strong> Andaman Islands <strong>(India's only active volcano)</strong></li>
<li><strong>Narcondam,</strong> Andaman Islands</li>
<li><strong>Baratang,</strong> Andaman Islands</li>
<li><strong>Deccan Traps,</strong> Maharashtra</li>
<li><strong>Dhinodhar Hills,</strong> Gujarat</li>
<li><strong>Dhosi Hill,</strong> Haryana</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Volcano</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1608712128_image3.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1608712128_image3.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="500" caption="false" /></strong></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A volcano is an <strong>opening on the surface</strong> that allows material warmer than its surroundings to escape from its interior.</li>
<li>When this material escapes, it causes an <strong>eruption.</strong> An <strong>eruption can be explosive, sending material high into the sky. Or it can be calmer, with gentle flows of material.</strong></li>
<li>On Earth, the erupted material can be<strong> liquid rock</strong> ("lava" when it's on the surface, "magma" when it's underground), <strong>ash, cinders, and/or gas.</strong></li>
<li>There are <strong>three reasons</strong> why magma might rise and cause eruptions onto Earth&rsquo;s surface:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Magma can rise when pieces of Earth's crust called <strong>tectonic plates slowly move away from each other.</strong> The magma rises up to fill in the space. When this happens underwater volcanoes can form.</li>
<li>Magma also rises when these<strong> tectonic plates move toward each other.</strong> When this happens, part of Earth's crust can be forced deep into its interior. The high heat and pressure cause the crust to melt and rise as magma.</li>
<li>A final way that magma rises is over <strong>hot spots. </strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Hot spots are the hot areas inside of Earth.</strong> These areas heat up magma. The magma becomes less dense. When it is less dense it rises. Each of the reasons for rising magma are a bit different, but each can form volcanoes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/trending/trending-globally/kilauea-volcano-eruption-hawaii-big-island-7115417/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source:IE</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 4 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 7274,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Winter Solstice',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p><strong>21<sup>st</sup> December</strong> or the <strong>Winter Solstice</strong> marks the<strong> shortest day of the year</strong> in the<strong> Northern Hemisphere.</strong> The same day marks the <strong>Summer Solstice,</strong> the year's <strong>longest day,</strong> in the <strong>Southern Hemisphere.</strong></p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Solstice:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is a <strong>Latin word</strong> that means<strong> &lsquo;stalled sun&rsquo;.</strong> It is a natural phenomenon that occurs<strong> twice every year,</strong> once in the summer and again during winter, in each hemisphere of the earth.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Winter Solstice:<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1608637600_image3.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1608637600_image3.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="650" caption="false" /></a></strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is the<strong> shortest day and longest night</strong> of the year in the<strong> Northern Hemisphere</strong> and is also known as the <strong>&lsquo;first day of winter&rsquo;</strong> in the Northern Hemisphere as well as <strong>&lsquo;Hiemal solstice or Hibernal solstice&rsquo;.</strong></li>
<li>During this, <strong>countries in the Northern Hemisphere are farthest from the Sun</strong> and the Sun shines overhead on the <strong>Tropic of Capricorn</strong> (23.5&deg; south).<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>At latitudes of 23.5&deg; are the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, north and south of the Equator.</li>
<li>At 66.5&deg; are the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, to the north and south.</li>
<li>Latitudes are a measure of a location&rsquo;s distance from the Equator.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>This situation will be reversed on<strong> 21<sup>st</sup> June,</strong> when the <strong>Northern Hemisphere</strong> will see the <strong>Summer Solstice,</strong> the year&rsquo;s <strong>longest day</strong> and the<strong> Southern Hemisphere</strong> will see the year&rsquo;s <strong>shortest day.</strong></li>
<li>In <strong>Vedic tradition,</strong> the northern movement of the Earth on the celestial sphere is implicitly acknowledged in the<em><strong> Surya Siddhanta</strong></em>, which outlines the <em><strong>Uttarayana</strong></em> (the period between <em>Makar Sankranti</em> and<em> Karka Sankranti</em>). Hence, Winter Solstice is the<strong> first day of<em> Uttarayana.</em></strong></li>
<li><strong>Special Winter Solstice 2020:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>In <strong>2020,</strong> the day is special as it coincides with a<strong> celestial event,</strong> the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/jupiter-saturn-great-conjunction" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&lsquo;Great Conjunction&rsquo;</strong></a> of <strong>Jupiter and Saturn,</strong> happening after nearly 400 years.</li>
<li>The two planets <strong>come in conjunction when they have the same right ascension or celestial longitude</strong> and that is known as &lsquo;Great Conjunction&rsquo;.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Geography Behind:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The reason behind the changing lengths of the days is the <strong>Earth&rsquo;s tilt.</strong></li>
<li>The<strong> Earth&rsquo;s axis of rotation is tilted at an angle of 23.5&deg; to its orbital plane.</strong> This tilt, combined with factors such as Earth&rsquo;s spin and orbit, <strong>leads to variations in the duration of sunlight,</strong> due to which any location on the planet receives different lengths of days.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The Northern Hemisphere spends half the year tilted in the direction of the Sun, getting direct sunlight during long summer days. During the other half of the year, it tilts away from the Sun, and the days are shorter.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The<strong> tilt is also responsible for the different seasons on Earth.</strong> This phenomenon <strong>causes the movement of the Sun from the northern to the southern hemisphere</strong> and vice versa<strong> bringing in seasonal changes</strong> in the year.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-what-is-the-winter-solstice-which-made-dec-21-the-shortest-day-of-the-year-7113787/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 5 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 7267,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Chillai Kalan',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The<strong> 40-day intense winter period &ldquo;chillai kalan&rdquo;</strong> started in Kashmir valley on 21<sup>st</sup> December with sub-zero night temperatures across the region.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It will continue till January 31.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Chillai Kalan is followed by <strong>Chillai-Khurd</strong> and <strong>Chillai-Bachha.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Chillai Khurd (small cold)</strong> is a 20-day long period which starts from January 31 to February 19.</li>
<li><strong>Chillai-Bachha (baby cold),</strong> a 10-day long period which occurs between February 20 and March 2.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Considered to be the core of winter, Chillai Kalan usually brings snowfall, sub-zero temperatures causing freezing of water bodies including the Dal lake, closure of highways, etc.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/intense-winter-begins-in-jammu-kashmir-with-sub-zero-temperatures/story-rm8hE0s1coZKQuIYp8mtEP.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: HT</strong></a></p>',
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		'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) 7 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 7173,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'New Height for Mount Everest',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p><strong>Nepal and China</strong> have announced the<strong> revised height of <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/re-measuring-mount-everest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mount Everest</a> as 8,848.86 metres.</strong> The new height is <strong>86 cm more</strong> than the previous measurement.</p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The new height of <strong>8,848.86 meters</strong> replaced the long-associated <strong>8,848 metre-height,</strong> which was, as per a measurement carried out by the <strong>Survey of India in 1954.</strong></li>
<li>The common declaration meant that the<strong> two countries have shed their long-standing difference</strong> in opinion about the mountain&rsquo;s height &mdash; 8,844 m claimed by China and 8,847 m by Nepal.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Resolving the<strong> three-metre difference,</strong> attributed to China calculating the<strong> &ldquo;rock height&rdquo; underneath the snow</strong> and<strong> Nepal using the &ldquo;snow height&rdquo; which included the snowcap,</strong> was the aim of a joint project.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Everest is also known as <strong>Sagarmatha</strong> in <strong>Nepal</strong> and <strong>Mount Qomolangma</strong> in <strong>China.</strong></li>
<li>The mountain lies on the border between <strong>Nepal and Tibet</strong> and the summit can be accessed from both sides.</li>
<li><strong>Related Information:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It gets its English name from <strong>Sir George Everest,</strong> a colonial-era geographer who served as the <strong>Surveyor General of India</strong> in the mid-19<sup>th</sup> century.</li>
<li>It <strong>was first scaled in 1953</strong> by the Indian-Nepalese <strong>Tenzing Norgay</strong> and New Zealander <strong>Edmund Hillary.</strong></li>
<li><strong>First Survey of Everest:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The first effort was carried out in <strong>1847</strong> by a team led by <strong>Andrew Waugh, Surveyor General of India.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The survey was based on trigonometric calculations and is known as the <strong>Great Trigonometric Survey of India.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The team discovered that <strong>&lsquo;Peak 15&rsquo;</strong> (as Mount Everest was referred to then) was the highest mountain, contrary to the then-prevailing belief that <strong>Mount Kanchenjunga</strong> (8,582 m and the 3<sup>rd</sup> highest peak in the world now) was the highest peak in the world.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Mount K2,</strong> at<strong> 8,611 metres</strong> above sea level, is the<strong> second highest mountain</strong> in the world.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/nepal-china-announce-revised-height-of-mount-everest-as-884886-metres/article33278185.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source:TH</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 8 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 7129,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Provisional Report on the State of the Global Climate 2020: WMO',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>According to the latest <strong>State of the Global Climate provisional report by the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/state-of-the-global-climate-wmo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Meteorological Organization</a> (WMO),</strong> the year<strong> 2020 is set to be among the three warmest</strong> on record. Also, the <strong>decade 2011-2020 would be the warmest</strong> ever.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The<strong> final report</strong> will be published in <strong>March 2021.</strong> The <strong>State of the Global Climate report</strong> is published <strong>annually</strong> to keep a track of global warming.</li>
<li><strong>WMO</strong> is one of the specialized agencies of the<a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/united-nations-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> United Nations (UN).</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Rise in Global Temperature:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The global mean surface temperature for January-October 2020 was<strong> 1.2 degree Celsius higher</strong> than the pre-industrial baseline (1850-1900).<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>There is at least a one in five chance of it <strong>temporarily exceeding 1.5 &deg;C</strong> by 2024.</li>
<li>The <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/the-big-picture-climate-change-act-now" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Paris Agreement</strong></a> central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>2020 will be one of the three hottest,</strong> just behind<strong> 2016 and 2019.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The record heat in 2020 has been <strong>despite near-<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/el-nino-forecast-for-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener">La Ni&ntilde;a</a></strong> conditions prevailing in the equatorial Pacific Ocean since August and <strong>moderate La Ni&ntilde;a</strong> conditions prevailing since October.</li>
<li>The<strong> La Ni&ntilde;a phase of the <a href="/printpdf/el-nino-forecast-for-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener">El Ni&ntilde;o Southern Oscillation (ENSO)</a></strong> phenomenon generally has a cooling effect on many parts of the world.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>High Temperature over Ocean Surfaces:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>80%</strong> of ocean areas have experienced at least one <strong>marine heat wave (MHW)</strong> so far in 2020.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/heat-waves" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Heat wave</strong></a> is a period of prolonged abnormally high surface temperatures relative to those normally expected.</li>
<li>At the time of<strong> MHW,</strong> the average temperature of the ocean surface (up to a depth of 300 feet or more) rises by <strong>5-7&deg;C</strong> above normal.</li>
<li>MHWs can be<strong> caused by</strong> locally formed heat fluxes between the atmosphere and the ocean or due to large-scale drivers of the Earth&rsquo;s climate like the <strong>ENSO.</strong></li>
<li>There were also much more strong MHWs<strong> (43%)</strong> over the oceans in 2020 than moderate ones <strong>(28%).</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Global sea-level rise</strong> was also similar to 2019 value.This was mainly <strong>due to the increased melting of the ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Reasons:</strong> Scientific evidence indicates<strong> increasing temperatures</strong> are a direct result of <strong>human-led <a href="/printpdf/global-warming-of-1-5-c-ipcc-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">global warming</a></strong> which is an impact of the <strong>emission of <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/greenhouse-gas-levels-reach-record-highs-un-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">greenhouse gases (GHG).</a></strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>After <strong>record GHG levels of 2019,</strong> there has been a slight<strong> dip this year</strong> due to measures taken by many countries to fight the ongoing <strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/coronaviruses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">novel coronavirus</a> disease <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/covid-19-and-indian-federalism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(Covid-19 pandemic).</a></strong></li>
<li>However, data from specific locations, including Mauna Loa (Hawaii) and Cape Grim (Tasmania) indicate that levels of <strong>Carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>), Methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) and Nitrogen dioxide (N<sub>2</sub>O) continued to increase</strong> in 2020.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Consequences of Global Warming in 2020:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Extreme weather events</strong> such as <strong>tropical cyclones, floods, heavy rainfall and droughts</strong> impacted many parts of the world and <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/climate-change-and-forest-fire-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>cases of wildfire</strong></a> have also increased this year.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Atlantic Hurricane Season:</strong> The<strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/hurricane-laura#:~:text=The%20Atlantic%20hurricane%20season%20runs,as%20a%20Category%201%20storm." target="_blank" rel="noopener"> season</a></strong> witnessed <strong>30 named storms</strong> from June to November which is the <strong>highest number ever</strong> recorded.</li>
<li><strong>Heavy Rains:</strong> There was heavy rainfall and flooding in many parts of <strong>Asia and Africa.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Droughts:</strong> South America experienced<strong> severe droughts</strong> with northern Argentina, Paraguay and western areas of Brazil being some of the worst affected.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Sea-level rise:</strong> Melting of ice resulted in sea level rise which is an existential concern for the small island nations.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>A significant sea-level rise by the end of the century will mean that these countries will drown in the oceans and their respective populations will be homeless.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Loss to Humanity:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Population Movements:&nbsp;</strong>The climate and weather events have triggered significant population movements and have severely affected vulnerable people on the move, including in the Pacific region and Central America.</li>
<li><strong>Agricultural Losses:</strong> Brazil alone recorded agricultural losses of 3 billion American dollars.</li>
<li><strong>Loss of Human lives, Property and Livelihoods:</strong> The most affected were the Sahel and Greater Horn regions of Africa and China, India, Korea and Japan regions of Asia.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Environmental ethics should take precedence over other issues like national and strategic interest or economic interest.</li>
<li><strong>Oil, gas and coal production must fall six percent a year</strong> in order to limit catastrophic global warming, as per the <strong>UN's annual Production Gap assessment,</strong> which measures the difference between the Paris goals and countries' fossil fuel production plans.</li>
<li>There needs an enhanced commitment from nations more than their pledged INDCs (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions) under the <strong>Paris Agreement.</strong> However, it must not be used to pressurize developing countries to ramp up their global warming mitigation targets.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/weather/2020-set-to-be-one-of-warmest-years-on-record-7076661/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source:IE</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 9 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 6927,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Hurricane Eta',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p><strong>Recently, Hurricane Eta</strong> has hit northeastern <strong>Nicaragua</strong> with life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds and flash flooding occurring over <strong>portions of Central America.</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1604567853_image7.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1604567853_image7.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="550" caption="false" /></strong></a></p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Description:</strong> It is categorised as a <strong>Category 4 hurricane.</strong> A Category 4 storm has wind speeds between <strong>130-156 mph</strong> and can uproot trees and bring down power lines.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Hurricanes are categorized on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which rates them on a scale of 1 to 5 based on wind speed.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Hurricanes that reach category three or higher are classified as major hurricanes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1604567793_image4.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1604567793_image4.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="550" caption="false" /></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Origin:</strong> Tropical cyclones or hurricanes use warm, moist air as fuel, and therefore form over warm Equatorial water.</li>
<li><strong>Mechanism:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Low-Pressure Creation:</strong> When the warm, moist air rises upward from the surface of the ocean, it creates an area of low air pressure below.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>When this happens, the air from the surrounding areas rushes to fill this place, eventually rising when it becomes warm and moist too.</li>
<li>An <strong>eye forms</strong> in the centre. It is the calmest part of the cyclone. Before the wind reaches the centre it gets warmed up and rises upwards.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>When the warm air rises and cools off, the moisture forms clouds. This system of clouds and winds continues to grow and spin.</li>
<li>This disturbance is fuelled by the ocean&rsquo;s heat and the water that evaporates from its surface.</li>
<li>Such storm systems rotate faster and faster. Storms that form towards the north of the equator <strong>rotate counterclockwise, w</strong>hile those that form to the<strong> south spin clockwise</strong> because of the rotation of the Earth.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1604567892_image3.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1604567892_image3.jpg" width="550" caption="false" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/world/hurricane-eta-slams-into-nicaragua-grinds-inland-6936772/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source:IE</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 10 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 6910,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Ganga Utsav 2020',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, the <strong>Ganga Utsav 2020</strong> has begun which celebrates the glory of the <strong>National river Ganga.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Ganga was declared as the National River of India on <strong>4<sup>th</sup> November 2008.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Ganga Utsav:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/national-mission-for-clean-ganga#:~:text=National%20River%20Ganga%20Basin%20Authority,'National%20River'%20of%20India." target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Mission for Clean Ganga</strong></a> (NMCG) celebrates the festival every year.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>NMCG is the <strong>implementation wing of <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/first-meeting-of-national-ganga-council" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Ganga Council</a></strong>, set up in 2016, which replaced the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NRGBA).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The<strong> three-day festival</strong> aims to <strong>promote stakeholder engagement and ensure public participation.</strong></li>
<li>It celebrates mystical and cultural river Ganga through storytelling, folklores, dialogues with eminent personalities, quizzes, displaying traditional art forms, dance and music performance by renowned artists, photo galleries and exhibitions and much more.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Programmes Held During the Festival:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Ganga Task Force</strong> (GTF) conducted an <a href="/daily-news-analysis/ganga-vriksharopan-abhiyan" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>afforestation drive</strong></a> with <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/expansion-of-the-ncc" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Cadet Corps</strong></a> (NCC) cadets and educational tour for youth.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>GTF is a<strong> unit of battalion of ex-servicemen deployed in the services of the Ganga</strong> with the approval of the Ministry of Defence for the period of four years till December 2020.</li>
<li>It was approved by the Cabinet under the <strong>Public Participation component of the Namami Gange Programme</strong> and the <strong>first battalion was raised in March 2016.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Mini <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/ganga-quest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ganga Quest</a></strong>, designed to make youth and students aware of environmental issues and explain their role in conservation.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Ganga Quest is <strong>a pan India bilingual quiz</strong> to increase public participation in Namami Gange program and encourage the youth.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Suggestion on the innovative ways in which <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/15-point-directive-to-clean-ganga" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Namami Gange</a></strong> can engage in activities throughout the year.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>In <strong>2014,</strong> Namami Gange Programme was launched to accomplish the<strong> twin objectives</strong> of <strong>effective abatement of pollution and conservation,</strong> and <strong>rejuvenation</strong> of Ganga.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Government Initiatives on River Ganga:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Ganga Action Plan:</strong> It was the <strong>first river action plan</strong> which was taken up by the <strong>Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in 1985,</strong> to improve the water quality by the interception, diversion and treatment of domestic sewage.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The<strong> National River Conservation Plan</strong> is an extension to this plan, which aims at<strong> cleaning the Ganga river under Ganga Action Plan phase-2.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>National River Ganga Basin Authority:</strong> It was formed by the Government of India in the year <strong>2009</strong> under<strong> Section-3 of the <a href="/to-the-points/paper3/environmental-impact-assessment-1#:~:text=On%2027%20January%201994%2C%20the,Schedule%201%20of%20the%20notification." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Environment Protection Act 1986.</a></strong></li>
<li><strong>Clean Ganga Fund: </strong>In<strong> 2014,</strong> it was formed for cleaning up of the Ganga, setting up of waste treatment plants and conservation of biotic diversity of the river.</li>
<li><strong>Bhuvan-Ganga Web App:</strong> It ensures the involvement of the public in the monitoring of pollution entering into the river Ganga.</li>
<li><strong>Ban on Waste Disposal:</strong> In <strong>2017,</strong> the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/national-green-tribunal-ngt" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Green Tribunal</strong></a> (NGT) banned the disposal of any waste in the Ganga.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>River Ganga</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is the<strong> longest river of India</strong> flowing over 2,510 km of mountains, valleys and plains and is<strong> revered by Hindus</strong> as the most sacred river on earth.</li>
<li>It <strong>originates in the snowfields of the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/concentration-of-black-carbon-on-gangotri-glacier" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gangotri Glacier</a></strong> <strong>in the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/re-measuring-mount-everest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Himalayas</a></strong> as the Bhagirathi River and is joined by other rivers such as the Alaknanda, Yamuna, Son, Gumti, Kosi and Ghagra.</li>
<li>The Ganga river <strong>basin is one of the most fertile and densely populated areas</strong> of the world and covers an area of 1,000,000 sq. km.</li>
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/gangetic-dolphins-found-in-mahananda-river" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Ganges River Dolphin</strong> </a>is an <strong>endangered</strong> animal that specifically habitats this river.</li>
<li>The Ganga widens out into the <strong>Ganges Delta in the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/sunderbans-damaged-in-cyclone-amphan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sundarbans</a> swamp of Bangladesh,</strong> before it ends its journey by emptying into the Bay of Bengal.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1604398820_image0.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1604398820_image0.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="650" caption="false" /></a></p>
</div>
<p><a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1669540#:~:text=Amidst%20COVID%2019%20precautions%2C%20Ganga,with%20much%20fun%20and%20festivities&amp;text=The%20much%2Dawaited%20Ganga%20Utsav,childhood%20in%20conversation%20with%20Mahiya." target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: PIB</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 11 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 6866,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Tectonically Active Zone of Himalayas',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, a group of scientists from the <strong>Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology</strong> (WIHG), Dehradun have found that the<strong> Indus-Tsangpo Suture Zone (ITSZ) of <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/re-measuring-mount-everest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Himalaya</a></strong>is<strong> tectonically active.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The suture zone of Himalaya was conventionally thought to be locked.</li>
<li>WIHG is an <strong>autonomous institute</strong> under the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/50th-foundation-day-of-dst" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Department of Science and Technology</strong> </a>(DST), Government of India.</li>
<li><strong>Tectonics</strong> is the <strong>scientific study of the deformation of the rocks</strong> that make up the Earth&rsquo;s crust and the forces that produce such deformation.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It deals with the <strong>folding and faulting</strong> associated with mountain building, the large-scale, <strong>gradual upward and downward movements</strong> of the crust and <strong>sudden horizontal displacements</strong> along faults.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Geological Features that Support the Finding:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Sedimentary beds are tilted and thrust broken.</li>
<li>Rivers are associated with uplifted terraces.</li>
<li>Bedrock shows brittle deformation at much shallower depths.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>These deformed geological features were <strong>dated using the technique of Optically Stimulated Luminescence</strong> (OSL) and data of <strong>seismicity</strong> and <strong>denudation rate</strong> was also reviewed.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Optically-Stimulated Luminescence:</strong> It is a late <strong>quaternary</strong> (geological time period that encompasses the most recent 2.6 million years) dating technique used to date the last time quartz sediment was exposed to light. As sediment is transported by wind, water or ice, it is exposed to sunlight and zeroed of any previous luminescence signal.</li>
<li><strong>Seismicity:</strong> It is the worldwide or local distribution of<a href="/to-the-points/paper1/earthquake-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> earthquakes</strong></a> in space, time, and magnitude. More specifically, it refers to the measure of the frequency of earthquakes in a region.</li>
<li><strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/50th-foundation-day-of-dst">Denudation:</a></strong> It is a long term process in which the wearing and tearing of the surface of the Earth take place. It includes all those processes that lower relief and acts both chemically <strong>(chemical weathering)</strong> and physically <strong>(mechanical weathering).</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>The region of the ITSZ has been neo-tectonically active since the last 78000-58000 years.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The ITSZ is a suture zone in the <strong>Ladakh region</strong> and marks the limit of the <strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/seismicity-study-of-arunachal-himalaya" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indian plate</a></strong> <strong>where it collides with the Eurasian plate</strong> and is subducted below the latter.</li>
<li>The ITSZ can be traced for<strong> more than 200 km</strong> and a wide variety of rock association along the ITSZ indicates that the collision at the plate boundary was of very <strong>complex nature.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The ITSZ was conventionally believed to be a locked zone till now.</li>
<li>This will have <strong>major implications</strong> in terms of earthquake study, prediction, understanding the seismic structure of the mountain chains well as its evolution.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Suture Zones</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A suture zone is a<strong> linear belt of intense deformation,</strong> where distinct terranes, or tectonic units with different plate tectonic, metamorphic, and paleogeographic histories join together.</li>
<li>These zones also <strong>provide the only record of deep oceanic crust and of ancient seafloor processes</strong> for roughly the first 90% of Earth&rsquo;s history.</li>
<li>Their study provides a means to understand the end-product of<strong> plate tectonic processes</strong> in time and space. In plate tectonics, sutures are seen as the remains of subduction zones together with the terranes possibly representing fragments of different tectonic plates.</li>
<li>The suture zone is often <strong>represented on the surface by a mountain range comprising intensely deformed rocks.</strong></li>
<li>The <strong>Iapetus Suture from Great Britain,</strong> which is now concealed beneath younger rocks, and <strong>Indo-Tsangpo Suture</strong> well exposed in the Himalayas are some of the best examples of suture zones.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1667585" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: PIB</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 12 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 6722,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Mount Kilimanjaro',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, a fire that has broken out on the slopes of<strong> Mount Kilimanjaro,</strong> the<strong> highest peak in Africa.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The cause of the fire is not clear but<strong> strong winds and dry weather</strong> have caused it to <strong>spread fast.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1602581896_image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1602581896_image1.jpg" width="400" caption="false" style="float: right;" /></a></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Located in <strong>Tanzania,</strong> Mount Kilimanjaro is<strong> Africa&rsquo;s tallest mountain at about 5,895 meters.</strong></li>
<li>It is also the <strong>largest free-standing mountain rise in the world,</strong> meaning it is <strong>not part of a mountain range.</strong></li>
<li>Kilimanjaro is a<strong> stratovolcano</strong> or <strong>composite volcano</strong> (a term for a very large volcano made of <strong>layers of ash, lava, and rock</strong>) and is <strong>made up of three cones:</strong> Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Kibo is the summit</strong> of the mountain and the<strong> tallest</strong> of the three volcanic formations. While <strong>Mawenzi and Shira are extinct, Kibo is dormant</strong> and could possibly erupt again.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Scientists estimate that the <strong>last time it erupted was 3,60,000 years ago.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The mountain is also<strong> known for its snow-capped peak</strong> which might disappear within the next 20 years or so as per the warnings by the scientists.</li>
<li>In <strong>1973,</strong> the mountain and its six surrounding forest corridors were named <strong>Kilimanjaro National Park</strong> in order to protect its unique environment.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The park was named a<strong><a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/unesco-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization</a> (UNESCO) <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/kailash-mansarovar-in-tentative-list-of-world-heritage-sites" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Heritage site</a> in 1987.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It is a <strong>popular tourist destination</strong> and tens of thousands of people climb it every year.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Volcano</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A volcano is an <strong>opening on the surface of a planet which allows material warmer than its surroundings to escape from its interior.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>When this material escapes, it causes an <strong>eruption.</strong> An eruption can be <strong>explosive, sending material high</strong> into the sky. Or it can be <strong>calmer, with gentle flows</strong> of material.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>On<strong> Earth,</strong> the erupted material can be<strong> liquid rock ("lava"</strong> when it's on the surface and <strong>"magma"</strong> when it's underground), <strong>ash, cinders, and/or gas.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1602581886_image6.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1602581886_image6.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="755" caption="false" /></strong></a><strong></strong></p>
</div>',
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	(int) 13 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 6572,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'World Risk Index 2020',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>According to the <strong>World Risk Index (WRI) 2020,</strong> India is &lsquo;poorly prepared&rsquo; to deal with<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/challenges-in-climate-change-negotiations" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> &lsquo;climate reality&rsquo;,</strong> </a>due to which it is vulnerable to extreme natural disasters.</p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>World Risk Index:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is calculated on a<strong> country-by-country basis,</strong> through the multiplication of exposure and vulnerability and <strong>describes the disaster risk</strong> for various countries and regions.</li>
<li><strong>Released annually since 2011,</strong> it indicates which countries are in the greatest need to strengthen measures for coping with and adapting to extreme natural events.</li>
<li>It is <strong>part of the World Risk Report 2020</strong> released by the <strong>United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security</strong> (UNU-EHS), Bundnis Entwicklung Hilft and the University of Stuttgart in Germany.</li>
<li><strong>Among continents, Oceania is at the highest risk,</strong> followed by Africa and the Americas.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Oceania:<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1600940450_image7.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1600940450_image7.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="650" caption="false" /></a></strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Small island states, <strong>especially in the South Pacific and the Caribbean,</strong> are disproportionately represented among high-risk countries.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Vanuatu</strong> (South Pacific Ocean) is the country with the <strong>highest disaster risk worldwide.</strong> It is followed by Tonga (South Pacific Ocean) and Dominica (Caribbean Sea).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>They are at a<strong> high exposure to extreme natural events</strong> which include the<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/large-population-and-assets-to-be-affected-by-sea-level-rise" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> rise in sea level</strong></a> as a result of <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/global-warming-of-1-5-c-ipcc-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>global warming.</strong></a></li>
<li>The small island states have <strong>limited financial resources and have made small contributions to climate change,</strong> but are<strong> affected the most</strong> by its consequences.</li>
<li>They are <strong>needed to be compensated for the climate damage and losses</strong> already incurred and merely providing financial resources for adaptation to climate change is not sufficient.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Africa:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It has been identified as a hotspot of vulnerability<strong>. More than two-thirds of the most vulnerable countries in the world are located on the continent.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The <strong>size of semiarid regions in Africa is expected to increase,</strong> with over half of Africa&rsquo;s land area <strong>vulnerable to <a href="/to-the-points/paper3/desertification-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">desertification.</a></strong></li>
<li>Large areas of Africa are<strong> marginalized </strong>and<strong> already under significant financial stress.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The <strong>Central African Republic is the most vulnerable</strong> country, followed by Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger and Guinea-Bissau.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>South Asia and India:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>India has ranked 89<sup>th</sup> among 181 countries</strong> on the WRI 2020 and is<strong> fourth-most-at-risk in South Asia,</strong> after Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan.</li>
<li><strong>Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives have fared better than India</strong> in their <strong>abilities to cope with extreme disasters. India also lags behind </strong>these three neighbours in terms of<strong> lack of adaptive capacities or the preparedness to deal </strong>with extreme events.</li>
<li>A comparison with the WRI 2019, shows tha<strong>t all south Asian countries have slipped</strong> on their <strong>ability to adapt</strong> to the reality of climate emergency.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Countries with a<strong> score above 52.73, are &lsquo;very poor&rsquo;</strong> in their <strong>adaptive capacities</strong> for extreme natural disasters.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>India has also slipped on strengthening adaptive capacities </strong>which is <strong>concerning as it highlights the inability of systems, institutions, and other organisms to adjust</strong> to potential damage, to take advantage of opportunities, or to respond to consequences.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It becomes more important given that <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/assessment-of-climate-change-over-the-indian-region-moes#:~:text=Recently%2C%20the%20first%20Assessment%20of,subcontinent%20in%20the%20coming%20century." target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>India's first ever comprehensive climate change assessment report</strong></a> highlighted the impacts of the climate crisis.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/climate-change/how-ready-is-india-for-climate-change-not-much-says-this-report-73502" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: DTE</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 14 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 6560,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Autumnal Equinox in Northern Hemisphere',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>On <strong>22<sup>nd</sup> September 2020,</strong> the day and night was almost equal in most locations marking the<strong> start of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere</strong> which lasts until the <strong>winter solstice (December 21 or 22).</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Similarly, the <strong>Vernal equinox</strong> falls around <strong>March 21,</strong> marking the start of spring in the <strong>Northern Hemisphere.</strong></li>
<li>In the <strong>Southern Hemisphere</strong> the seasons are <strong>reversed (Christmas</strong> is celebrated in <strong>Australia and New Zealand</strong> in the summer season).</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1600852757_Image3.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1600852757_Image3.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="529" height="327" /></a></p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>About:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The word equinox is derived from two<strong> Latin words - aequus (equal) and nox (night).</strong></li>
<li>There are only two times of the year when the Earth's axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, resulting in a <strong>nearly equal amount of daylight and darkness</strong> at all latitudes. These events are referred to as Equinoxes.</li>
<li>The equinoxes happen in <strong>March (about March 21)</strong> and<strong> September (about September 23).</strong> These are the days when the Sun is exactly above the Equator, which makes day and night of equal length.</li>
<li>It can be noted that the most places on Earth receive more than 12 hours of daylight on equinoxes. This is because of the <strong>atmospheric refraction of sunlight </strong>and<strong> how the length of the day is defined.</strong></li>
<li>The equinoxes are prime time for Northern Lights &ndash; geomagnetic activities are twice more likely to take place in the spring and fall time, than in the summer or winter.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Varying Dates:</strong> While the September equinox usually occurs on September 22 or 23, it can very rarely fall on September 21 or September 24. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This is because of the difference between how the Gregorian calendar defines a year (365 days) and the time it actually takes for <strong>Earth to complete its orbit around the Sun (about 365 and 1/4 days).</strong></li>
<li>This means that each equinox occurs about 6 hours later than the previous year's Equinox. This eventually moves the date by a day.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Signals Changing of Seasons:</strong> The equinoxes along with solstices signals the changing of the seasons.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The seasons on Earth change because the planet is slightly tilted on its axis as it travels around the Sun. Earth&rsquo;s rotational axis makes an angle of <strong>23.5&deg; with the normal</strong> and angle of <strong>66.5&deg; with the orbital plane.</strong></li>
<li>If Earth were not tilted, the Sun would always appear to be directly above the Equator, the amount of light a given location receives would be fixed, and there would be no seasons. There also would be no need to mark equinoxes or solstices.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Solstices:</strong> The<strong> two solstices happen in June (20 or 21) and December (21 or 22).</strong> These are the days when the Sun&rsquo;s path in the sky is the <strong>farthest north or south from the Equator.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In the <strong>Northern Hemisphere,</strong> the <strong>June solstice</strong> marks the start of summer, this is when the North Pole is tilted closest to the Sun, and the Sun&rsquo;s rays are directly overhead at the <strong>Tropic of Cancer.</strong></li>
<li>In the <strong>Northern Hemisphere,</strong> the <strong>December solstice</strong> marks the start of winter, this is when the South Pole is tilted closest to the Sun, and the Sun&rsquo;s rays are directly overhead at the <strong>Tropic of Capricorn.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/enlih8M5DN0" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>',
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	(int) 15 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 6549,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Increase in Frequency of Medicanes',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Scientists have warned that <strong>extra-tropical storms</strong> in the <strong>Mediterranean Sea,</strong> known as &lsquo;Medicanes&rsquo; or &lsquo;Mediterranean Hurricanes&rsquo;, could become more frequent due to <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/in-depth-melting-himalayas" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>human-induced climate change.</strong></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1600763103_image7.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1600763103_image7.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="700" caption="false" /></a></p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Medicanes:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Medicanes are <strong>tropical-like <a href="/to-the-points/paper1/cyclone-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cyclones</a></strong> formed over the Mediterranean Sea.</li>
<li>With the surrounding dry climate and the relatively shallow waters of the sea, the occurrence of tropical-like cyclones is<strong> infrequent.</strong></li>
<li>They typically<strong> form in the fall or winter months and occur once or twice a year.</strong></li>
<li>On September 18, 2020, a medicane named <strong>Lanos</strong> made landfall along the coast of <strong>Greece</strong> and caused heavy rainfall and flooding in Greece and surrounding islands.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Comparison with Tropical Cyclones:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>These <strong>occur more in relatively colder waters</strong> than tropical cyclones, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/hurricane-laura" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>hurricanes</strong> </a>and <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/typhoon-maysak-and-typhoon-haishen" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>typhoons</strong></a>. Hence, the cores of these storms are also cold, as compared to the warm cores of tropical cyclones (but warmer as compared to extra-tropical cyclones).</li>
<li>These are typically <strong>smaller in diameter and have lower wind speeds than true tropical cyclones.</strong></li>
<li>Sometimes, <strong>warm-cored tropical cyclones transform into cold-cored extratropical cyclones</strong> and in rare cases, the opposite can also happen.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Such an event of extra tropical cyclone becoming a tropical cyclone occurred in November 2011 and caused severe flooding in parts of Spain, Italy and France, killing 11 people.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Increase in Occurrence</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Medicanes have<strong> increased in number in the past half-century.</strong></li>
<li>Two of these storms, one in 2005 and another in 2012, even formed over the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/chora-museum-and-new-gas-field-turkey" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Black Sea</strong></a>, which is a much smaller water body than the Mediterranean Sea.</li>
<li>Due to global warming, warmer sea surface temperatures in the Mediterranean can allow the storms to <strong>take on more tropical appearances and characteristics,</strong> increasing the wind speeds and making the storms more intense and cause heavier rainfall.</li>
<li>This year is a <strong>mild La Ni&ntilde;a,</strong> according to the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/state-of-the-global-climate-wmo#:~:text=The%20World%20Meteorological%20Organization%20(WMO,1873%20Vienna%20International%20Meteorological%20Congress." target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>World Meteorological Organization</strong></a>. La Ni&ntilde;a tends to reduce the land falling hurricanes but even if the<strong> La Ni&ntilde;a this year is mild, the hurricane season is very active.</strong> This implies that the impacts of <strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/india-to-receive-normal-monsoon-imd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">El Ni&ntilde;o Southern Oscillation (ENSO)</a> are being modulated by global warming</strong> in all oceans, including the Mediterranean.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>La Ni&ntilde;a is the cooling phase of the ENSO cycle in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, as opposed to the warming El Ni&ntilde;o phase. It is characterised by the <strong>unusual cooling of the central and east-central equatorial Pacific Ocean.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/special-report-on-climate-change-ipcc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate</a></strong> released Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2019 warns of increased temperatures <strong>and more frequent extreme El Ni&ntilde;o and La Ni&ntilde;a events.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Threats:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Increase in frequency of medicanes will be a threat for already vulnerable populations living in North Africa, possibly triggering <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/aboriginals-and-climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>human migration</strong></a>.</li>
<li>They could also be a menace for European countries like Italy and Greece.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/climate-change/human-induced-climate-change-could-increase-medicanes-say-experts-73478" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: DTE</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 16 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 6503,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Morphological Phenotypic Plasticity in Kalinga Frog',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, Indian scientists from the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/two-new-species-of-eels#:~:text=The%20Zoological%20Survey%20of%20India%20(ZSI)%2C%20a%20subordinate%20organization,faunal%20diversity%20of%20the%20country." target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Zoological Survey of India</strong></a>, <strong>Pune</strong> have reported a first-of-its-kind discovery of <strong>morphological phenotypic plasticity</strong> (MPP) in the <strong>Kalinga cricket frog.</strong></p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<h3><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1600329474_image4.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1600329474_image4.jpg" style="float: right;" width="300" caption="false" /></a></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Kalinga Cricket Frog:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Scientific Name:</strong> Fejervarya kalinga.</li>
<li>It is a recently identified species which was documented in 2018.</li>
<li>It was <strong>thought to be endemic only to the higher-elevation hill ranges of the Eastern Ghats</strong> in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.</li>
<li>Cricket frogs are <strong>indicators of a healthy ecosystem</strong> and live in <strong>wide habitat ranges</strong> in agricultural fields, streams, swamps and wetlands.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Latest Findings:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It has been <strong>reported from the central Western Ghats,</strong> with the evidence of considerable MPP.</li>
<li>Its physical characteristics are<strong> entirely different from the other known <em>Fejervaraya/Minervarya</em> species from the Western Ghats.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Fejervarya is a genera of frogs in the family Dicroglossidae found in Asia.</li>
<li>Minervarya is a genus of frogs in the family Dicroglossidae.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It was the <strong>only genetic analysis that helped prove that physically different-looking frogs from eastern and western ghats were the same.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Morphological character utility (identification of structural features) is not enough to identify a species and its taxonomic (related to classification of organisms) uncertainties. Utility of genetic data and DNA barcoding tools help in resolving these.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Morphological Phenotypic Plasticity:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Phenotypic plasticity</strong> is the ability of an organism to change in response to stimuli or inputs from the environment.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The term <strong>"phenotype"</strong> refers to the <strong>observable physical properties</strong> of an organism, which include the organism's appearance, development, and behavior.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The response may or may not be adaptive, and it may involve a change in morphology (MPP), physiological state, or behavior, or some combination of these, at any level of organisation, the phenotype being all of the characteristics of an organism other than its genes.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>MPP</strong> is the ability of an organism to show <strong>drastic morphological</strong> (physical features) <strong>variations in response to natural environmental variations or stimuli.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It is also known as <strong>phenotypic responsiveness, flexibility, </strong>and <strong>condition sensitivity.</strong></li>
<li>Frogs are known to exhibit varied reproductive behaviours by adopting different modes and strategies for successful survival.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Differences in Morphological Features:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>There are contrasting morphometric <strong>differences in terms of head shape and size, fingers and toe sizes</strong> between the Kalinga frogs from eastern and western ghats.</li>
<li>The Kalinga frog is a <strong>semi-aquatic frog that actively breeds in the monsoon.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The Western Ghats are more influenced by the <a href="/to-the-points/paper1/monsoon-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>southwest monsoon</strong></a>, while the Eastern Ghats are influenced by the northeast monsoon, impacting the breeding seasons of the frogs.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Significance of the Discovery:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The behavioural studies of many anuran (frog or toad) species will <strong>help in generating information on the selection of breeding sites, courtship patterns and ecological adaptations.</strong></li>
<li>The information will not only help to <strong>trace the distribution of these species along the peninsular region</strong> of India but could also be used to <strong>evaluate the possible links with other species</strong> that were found in the Northeast region.</li>
<li>In this era of &lsquo;mass extinction of smaller vertebrates&rsquo; and &lsquo;rapid climate change&rsquo; scenarios, the report is a <strong>first-of-its-kind in Indian amphibian research history.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>More Research Needed:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The study also emphasises that there is an <strong>urgent need to address or solve problems related to taxonomic uncertainties.</strong></li>
<li>Researchers are <strong>trying to understand the possibilities of this split between two populations due to the Deccan Trap formation</strong> (volcanic/igneous region).<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Usually, such kind of habitat expansion</strong> requires more nuclear gene divergence.</li>
<li>The currently found differences are not due to just a habitat expansion because there is very less genetic divergence.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Another important question is <strong>how this little genetic divergence is leading to such contrasting morphological adaptations</strong> in these two <strong>biogeographic zones,</strong> the Western and Eastern Ghats.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Biogeographic zones are the large distinctive units of similar ecology, biome representation, community and species.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Also, there is a need for more research on the <strong>isolation of these two populations due to climate change.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Western and Eastern Ghats</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats are the two different biogeographic zones, with unique histories.</li>
<li>While the <strong>Western Ghats are considered as a biodiversity hotspot,</strong> that is<strong> not the case with the Eastern Ghats</strong>.</li>
<li>The <strong>Eastern Ghats are older than the Western Ghats</strong> and have a <strong>complex geologic history</strong> related to the assembly and breakup of the ancient supercontinent of Rodinia and the assembly of the Gondwana supercontinent.</li>
<li>Both landscapes have unique ecosystems, with special microclimates and microhabitats that support a great number of diversities including amphibians.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="/to-the-points/paper1/monsoon-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: DTE</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 17 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 6498,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Re-measuring Mount Everest',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>China and Nepal are soon expected to announce <strong>Mount Everest&rsquo;s latest official height.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In 2019, both countries agreed to re-measure the elevation of the world&rsquo;s highest mountain and announce the findings together.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1600249850_image7.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1600249850_image7.jpg" 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><strong>About:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Mount Everest (also called <strong>Sagarmatha in Nepal</strong>) is <strong>Earth&rsquo;s highest mountain</strong> above sea level, located in the <strong>Himalayas between China and Nepal</strong> with their borders running across its summit point.</li>
<li>Its<strong> current official elevation is 8,848m</strong> which places it more than 200m above the <strong>world&rsquo;s second-highest mountain, K2,</strong> which is <strong>8,611m</strong> tall and located in <strong>Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.</strong></li>
<li>Mount Everest gets its English name from <strong>Sir George Everest,</strong> a colonial-era geographer who served as the <strong>Surveyor General of India</strong> in the mid-19<sup>th</sup> century.</li>
<li>It <strong>was first scaled in 1953</strong> by the <strong>Indian-Nepalese Tenzing Norgay</strong> and<strong> New Zealander Edmund Hillary.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>First Survey of Everest:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>first effort was carried out in 1847</strong> by a team led by <strong>Andrew Waugh,</strong> Surveyor General of India.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The survey was based on<strong> trigonometric calculations</strong> and is known as the <strong>Great Trigonometric Survey of India.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The team discovered that<strong> &lsquo;Peak 15&rsquo;</strong> (as Mount Everest was referred to then) was the highest mountain, <strong>contrary to the then-prevailing belief that Mount Kanchenjunga</strong> (8,582m and the <strong>3<sup>rd</sup> highest</strong> peak in the world now) was the highest peak in the world.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Need for Re-measurement:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Everest&rsquo;s current official height has been <strong>widely accepted since 1956</strong> when the figure was measured by the<strong> Survey of India.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>However, the<strong> height of a summit changes due to tectonic activities</strong> like the 2015 Nepal earthquake.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Its measurement over the decades has also <strong>depended on who was surveying.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Previous measurements of the mountain were by<strong> Indian, American or European surveyors.</strong></li>
<li>The<strong> joint effort represents national pride for Nepal</strong> which will come up with its own findings on the height.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Survey of India</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is the <strong>National Survey and Mapping Organisation</strong> of the country under the <strong>Department of Science and Technology.</strong></li>
<li>It was <strong>established in 1767</strong> and is the oldest scientific department of the Government of India.</li>
<li>Headquarters:<strong> Dehradun, Uttarakhand.</strong></li>
<li>It acts as an<strong> adviser to the Government of India on all survey matters,</strong> viz Geodesy, Photogrammetry, Mapping and Map Reproduction.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Geodesy</strong> is the science of accurately measuring and understanding the Earth's geometric shape, orientation in space and gravity field.</li>
<li><strong>Photogrammetry</strong> is the science of making measurements from photographs.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Himalayas</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Origin:</strong> The<strong> northward drift of the Indo-Australian plate</strong> resulted in its collision with the much larger <strong>Eurasian Plate.</strong> Due to which, the sedimentary rocks which were accumulated in the geosyncline known as the <strong>Tethys</strong> were <strong>folded to form the mountain system</strong> of western Asia and Himalaya.</li>
<li><strong>Features:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Himalayas are<strong> geologically young and structurally folded mountains</strong> and represent the<strong> loftiest and one of the most rugged</strong> mountain barriers of the world.</li>
<li>They <strong>form an arc,</strong> which covers a distance of about <strong>2,400 km.</strong> Their <strong>width</strong> varies from<strong> 400 km in Kashmir to 150 km in Arunachal Pradesh.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Orientation:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>general orientation</strong> of these ranges is from <strong>northwest to the southeast</strong> direction in the northwestern part of India.</li>
<li>Himalayas in the<strong> Darjeeling and Sikkim</strong> regions lie in an <strong>east west direction.</strong></li>
<li>In <strong>Arunachal Pradesh</strong> they are from<strong> southwest to the northwest</strong> direction.</li>
<li>In <strong>Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram,</strong> they are in the <strong>north south direction.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The Himalayan mountains consist of <strong>three parallel ranges in longitudinal extent:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Great Himalaya or Himadri:</strong> It is the<strong> northernmost and the most continuous</strong> range consisting of the loftiest peaks with an average height of 6,000 m. World&rsquo;s highest peaks are located in it.</li>
<li><strong>Lesser Himalaya or Himachal:</strong> To the south of Himadri, it is the <strong>most rugged</strong> mountain system and is known as Himachal or lesser Himalaya. The altitude varies between 3,700 and 4,500 m. It is well known for its hill stations like Kashmir, Kangra and Kullu Valleys.</li>
<li><strong>Shiwalik:</strong> It is the southernmost range with an altitude varying between 900 and 1100 m. These ranges are<strong> composed of unconsolidated sediments</strong> brought down by rivers from the main Himalayan ranges located farther north.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>There are <strong>large-scale regional variations</strong> within the Himalayas. On the<strong> basis of relief, alignment of ranges and other geomorphological features,</strong> the Himalayas can be <strong>divided into the following subdivisions:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Kashmir or Northwestern Himalayas.</li>
<li>Himachal and Uttaranchal Himalayas.</li>
<li>Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas.</li>
<li>Arunachal Himalayas.</li>
<li>Eastern Hills and Mountains.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-why-china-and-nepal-are-measuring-mt-everests-height-again-6597257/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Nepali%20Times,up%20with%20their%20own%20figure." target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 18 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 6333,
		'category_id' => (int) 26,
		'title' => 'Temperature Inversion',
		'description' => '<h3>Meaning</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Under normal conditions, temperature usually decreases with increase in altitude in the troposphere at a rate of 1 degree for every 165 metres. This is called <strong>normal lapse rate.&nbsp;</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>But on some occasions, the situations get reversed and temperature starts increasing with height rather than decreasing. This is called <strong>temperature inversion.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Temperature inversion:</strong> It is a reversal of the normal behavior of temperature in the troposphere. Under this meteorological phenomenon a layer of warm air lies over the cold air layer.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is caused in stac atmospheric conditions while some times, it occurs due to <strong>horizontal or vertical movement of air.</strong></li>
<li>Temperature inversion is usually of short duration but quite common nonetheless.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1598694790_image4.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1598694790_image4.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="600" height="326" /></a></p>
<h3>Favourable Conditions for Temperature Inversion</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Long winter nights:</strong> Loss of heat by terrestrial radiation from the ground surface during night may exceed the amount of incoming solar radiation.</li>
<li><strong>Cloudless and clear sky</strong>: Loss of heat through terrestrial radiation proceeds more rapidly without any obstruction.</li>
<li><strong>Dry air near the ground surface:</strong> It limits the absorption of the radiated heat from the Earth&rsquo;s surface.</li>
<li><strong>Slow movement of air:</strong> It results in no transfer or mixing of heat in the lower layers of the atmosphere.</li>
<li><strong>Snow covered ground surface:</strong> It results in maximum loss of heat through reflection of incoming solar radiation.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Types of Temperature Inversion</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Temperature inversion occurs in several conditions ranging from ground surface to great heights. Thus there are several kinds of temperature inversions. </li>
<li>The following are classified on the basis of relative heights from the earth&rsquo;s surface at which it occurs and the type of air circulation:</li>
<li><strong>Non-Advectional</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Radiation Inversion (Surface Temperature Inversion)</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Surface temperature inversion develops when air is cooled by contact with a colder surface until it becomes cooler than the overlying atmosphere; this occurs most often on clear nights, when the ground cools off rapidly by radiation. If the temperature of surface air drops below its dew point, fog may result. </li>
<li>It is very common in the higher latitudes. In lower and middle latitudes, it occurs during cold nights and gets destroyed during day time.<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1598694827_image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1598694827_image1.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="600" height="402" /></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Subsidence Inversion (Upper Surface Temperature Inversion)</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>When a widespread layer of air descends, it is compressed and heated by the resulting increase in atmospheric pressure, and as a result the lapse rate of temperature is reduced.</li>
<li>The air at higher altitudes becomes warmer than at lower altitudes, producing a temperature inversion. This type of temperature inversion is called subsidence inversion.</li>
<li>It is very common over the northern continents in winter (dry atmosphere) and over the subtropical oceans; these regions generally have subsiding air because they are located under large high-pressure centers.</li>
<li>It is also called upper surface temperature inversion because it takes place in the upper parts of the atmosphere.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1598694848_image2.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1598694848_image2.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="450" height="343" /></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Advectional</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Valley inversion in intermontane valley</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>In high mountains or deep valleys, sometimes, the temperature of the lower layers of air increases instead of decreasing with elevation along a sloping surface.</li>
<li>Here, the surface radiates heat back to space rapidly and cools down at a faster rate than the upper layers. As a result the lower cold layers get condensed and become heavy.</li>
<li>The sloping surface underneath makes them move towards the bottom where the cold layer settles down as a zone of low temperature while the upper layers are relatively warmer.</li>
<li>This condition, opposite to normal vertical distribution of temperature, is known as Temperature Inversion.<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1598694867_image5.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1598694867_image5.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="400" height="200" /></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Frontal or Cyclonic inversion</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>When the warm and cold fronts meet, then the warm front rises up and being heavier the cold front sinks down. It results in formation of Frontal Inversion.</li>
<li>It has considerable slope, whereas other inversions are nearly horizontal. It often takes place in the temperate zone and causes cyclonic conditions which result in the precipitation in different forms.</li>
<li>A frontal inversion is unstable and is destroyed as the weather changes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1598694888_image3.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1598694888_image3.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="600" height="432" /></a></p>
<h3>Effect</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Temperature inversion determines the precipitation, forms of clouds, and also causes frost due to condensation of warm air due to its cooling.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Dust particles hanging in the air:</strong> Due to inversion of temperature, air pollutants such as dust particles and smoke do not disperse on the surface.</li>
<li><strong>Stops the movement of air:</strong> It causes the stability of the atmosphere that stops the downward and upward movement of air.</li>
<li><strong>Less rainfall:</strong> Convection clouds can not move high upwards so there is less rainfall and no showers. So, it causes a problem for agricultural productivity.</li>
<li><strong>Lower visibility:</strong> Fog is formed due to the situation of warm air above and cold air below, and hence visibility is reduced which causes disturbance in transportation.</li>
<li><strong>Thunderstorms and tornadoes:</strong> Intense thunderstorms and tornadoes are also associated with inversion of temperature because of the intense energy that is released after an inversion blocks an area&rsquo;s normal convention patterns.</li>
<li>Diurnal variations in temperature tend to be very <strong>small.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>',
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		'article_id' => (int) 6215,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'High Temperature at Death Valley',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, <strong>Death Valley</strong> (USA) registered a temperature of 54.4&deg;C which, once verified, could be the <strong>highest temperature in more than a century.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The temperature was recorded at the <strong>USA National Weather Service&rsquo;s automated weather station at Furnace Creek</strong> on 16<sup>th</sup> August 2020.</li>
<li>The Death Valley in <strong>southeastern California is the lowest point in the North American continent,</strong> and is a National Park. It is also the <strong>hottest and driest</strong> part of the continent.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1597746150_image6.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1597746150_image6.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="650" caption="false" /></a></p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The temperature has been<strong> termed as preliminary and not final as it awaits verification.</strong></li>
<li>According to the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/state-of-the-global-climate-wmo#:~:text=The%20World%20Meteorological%20Organization%20(WMO,1873%20Vienna%20International%20Meteorological%20Congress." target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>World Meteorological Organization</strong> </a>(WMO), Death Valley&rsquo;s <strong>all-time record high is 56.7&deg;C taken on 10<sup>th</sup> July 1913</strong> at Greenland Ranch.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It still stands as the <strong>hottest ever recorded on the planet&rsquo;s surface.</strong></li>
<li>However, since the temperature-recording mechanisms a century ago were not as advanced, many have doubted if that reading was reliable.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Cause:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The high temperature is a result of a<strong> &lsquo;heat dome&rsquo;</strong> that is smothering the west coast of the USA.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Heat Domes:</strong> High-pressure circulation traps hot ocean air like a lid or a cap trapping heat at the surface and favouring the formation of a <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/heat-waves#:~:text=The%20heat%20wave%20is%20considered,to%20be%20heat%20wave%20condition." target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>heat wave.</strong></a></li>
<li>Higher daily peak temperatures and longer, more intense heat waves are becoming increasingly frequent globally due to <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/in-depth-melting-himalayas" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>climate change.</strong></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Effects of Extreme Heat:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>According to the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/world-health-organization-who" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>World Health Organization</strong></a> (WHO), extreme heat can <strong>exacerbate pre-existing health conditions,</strong> including respiratory diseases, heart conditions and kidney disorders.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The <strong>immediate effects</strong> on the human body are heat cramps, dehydration and even potentially fatal heat strokes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It can also have a <strong>severe impact on agriculture and forests.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It either causes <strong>vegetables to wilt and die </strong>or<strong> encourage the spread of plant diseases.</strong></li>
<li>It causes <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/wildfires-in-uttarakhand" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>wildfires</strong> </a>which lead to<strong> forest cover reduction and death of fauna.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It <strong>affects infrastructure too</strong> by straining power grids and causing blackouts. It can ground planes, melt roads and cause the inside of vehicles to overheat to dangerous levels.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/at-54-4-c-death-valley-in-us-sees-hottest-temp-since-1913/story-5gmrGAlR6D83bYngRadMQK.html#:~:text=Death%20Valley's%20all%2Dtime%20record,surface%2C%20according%20to%20the%20WMO." target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: HT</strong></a></p>',
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