clataffairs

An enormous iceberg 'A-76' has calved from the western side of the Ronne Ice Shelf, lying in the Weddell Sea, in Antarctica. It measures around 4320 sq. km in size – currently making it the largest berg in the world.  The newly calved berg 'A-76' was spotted in recent satellite images captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission. Sentinel-1 is one of the missions of the European Space Agency (ESA) under Copernicus initiative (an earth observation programme). It has surpassed the now second-place A-23A, about 3,380 sq km in size and also floating in the Weddell Sea. ICERBERGS An iceberg is ice that broke off from glaciers or shelf ice and is floating in open water. Icebergs travel with ocean currents and either get caught up in shallow waters or ground themselves. The US National Ice Center (USNIC) is the only organisation that names and tracks Antarctic Icebergs. Icebergs are named according to the Antarctic quadrant in which they are spotted. CALVING Calving is the gl...

Cyclone Tauktae (pronounced Tau-Te), classified as a very severe cyclonic storm (VSCS) and developed in the Arabian Sea, has wreaked havoc across India.  Cyclone Tauktae made landfall in Gujarat. It has left a trail of destruction as it swept through the coastal states of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra. The cyclone is a tropical cyclone, named by Myanmar.  It means 'gecko', a highly vocal lizard, in the Burmese language. TROPICAL CYCLONES A tropical cyclone is an intense circular storm that originates over warm tropical oceans and is characterized by low atmospheric pressure, high winds, and heavy rain. A characteristic feature of tropical cyclones is the eye, a central region of clear skies, warm temperatures, and low atmospheric pressure. Storms of this type are called hurricanes in the North Atlantic and eastern Pacific and typhoons in South-East Asia and China. They are called tropical cyclones in the southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean region and Willy-willies in n...

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released its annual State of the Global Climate for 2020. The pandemic-related economic slowdown failed to put a brake on climate change drivers and accelerating impacts. GLOBAL STATS 2020 was one of the three warmest years on record, despite a cooling La Niña event. The global average temperature was about 1.2° Celsius above the pre-industrial (1850-1900) level. The other two warmest years are 2016 and 2019. The six years since 2015 have been the warmest on record. 2011-2020 was the warmest decade on record. Emission of major greenhouse gases increased in 2019 and 2020 and will be higher in 2021. In 2020, the Arctic sea-ice extent came down to second lowest on record. The 2020 minimum extent was 3.74 million square kilometre, marking only the second time (after 2012) on record that it shrank to less than 4 million sq km. INDIA India experienced one of its wettest monsoons since 1994, with a seasonal surplus of 9% that led to severe floods an...

The report titled, is prepared by Swiss organisation, IQAir, in the form of the 'World Air Quality Report, 2020', The report is based on PM2.5 data from 106 countries and uses ground-based monitoring stations, operated by governmental agencies, local residents, non-profit organisations and companies. THE FINDINGS South Asia remained the most polluted region of the world with Bangladesh, India and Pakistan sharing 42 of the 50 most polluted cities worldwide. India is the third most polluted country in 2020 behind Bangladesh and Pakistan.  In 2019, India was ranked fifth.  In 2020, twenty-two of the world's 30 most polluted cities are in India.  Delhi has been ranked as the most polluted capital city globally.   India, on the whole, however, had improved its average annual PM 2.5 levels higher in 2020 than in 2019. Air quality improved in India last year as compared to the previous years owing to the coronavirus induced lockdown.  Average pollution lev...

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) plans to launch the World Solar Bank (WSB) at the COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November 2021.  This will help India’s attempt to lead global climate action and the development of a green economy.  The ISA is the first treaty-based international government organization headquartered in India.  ISA It is an alliance of 121 countries.  It was formed in 2015 at Paris, France. It aims to work for efficient consumption of solar energy and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.  Headquarters: Gurugram, India.  Credit Partners – European Investment Bank (EIB) and Asian Development Bank (ADB). OSOWOG ISA is the nodal agency for implementing India’s global electricity grid plan – One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG).  It seeks to transfer solar power generated in one region to feed the electricity demands of others. COP26 PLANS Green Grid Initiative – a joint effort of ISA and Climate Parliament t...

An agreement for establishing India’s first-ever geothermal field in Ladakh has been signed.  Ladakh's Lieutenant Governor R K Mathur termed it a step towards achieving the goal of carbon-neutral Ladakh. The MoU was signed between: Union Territory Administration Ladakh, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC)-Leh, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Energy Centre. WHAT IS GEOTHERMAL ENERGY? Geothermal energy is the thermal energy generated and stored in the rock and fluids beneath Earth’s crust.  Thermal energy is the energy that determines the temperature of matter.  The largest geothermal development in the world is The Geysers north of San Francisco in California. In 2015, India launched the draft National Policy on Geo-Thermal Energy. THE LADAKH PROJECT In phase 1, 1 megawatt (MW) power generation capacity is to be installed. ONGC Energy Centre is the implementing agency for this pilot project. Phase-2 will focus on deeper and lateral exploration of geot...

The Government of South Korea has rolled out a plan to build the world's largest offshore wind power plant by 2030.  It is estimated to cost $43.2 billion (₹3.15 lakh crores).  It is a part of South Korea’s efforts to achieve an environmentally-friendly economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.  The South Korean plant will have a maximum capacity of 8.2 gigawatts. At present, the world's largest offshore wind farm is Hornsea 1 in Britain. GREEN NEW DEAL The project is a major component of President Moon Jae-in's Green New Deal.  The Green New Deal was initiated last year to curb reliance on fossil fuels in South Korea.  The Green New Deal plans to make it carbon neutral by 2050.

Biden has written to the UN requesting that the US rejoin the Paris climate agreement.  Biden named John Kerry, who served as Secretary of State under former President Barack Obama and is one of the leading architects of the Paris Climate Agreement, as his special presidential envoy for climate change.  KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE PROJECT  Biden also cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline project on his first day in office.  The pipeline project was the proposed fourth phase of the Keystone Pipeline network between Canada and the US. It aims to cut short the distance between Alberta’s oil sands and the Texas Gulf Coast, where most of North America’s refineries are situated. Different groups had opposed this project including environmentalists.  They argued the pipeline would increase North America’s reliance on fossil fuels.