Environmental Issues

India is the world’s second most polluted country. Fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) in comparison to WHO guidelines shortens an average Indian’s life expectancy by 5.3 years. Records show that in 2019 over 1.6 million deaths were attributed to poor air quality. This ranged from strokes, diabetes, lung cancer and …

Burning fossil fuels Cutting down forests Farming livestock These are increasingly influencing the climate and the earth’s temperature. This adds enormous amounts of greenhouse gases to those naturally occurring in the atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse effect and global warming. Global warming 2011-2020 was the warmest decade recorded, with global average …

Syllabus: Environment conservation Context: Hollongapar sanctuary has become a ‘forest island’, a Wildlife Institute of India report said Primatologists have suggested rerouting a 1.65-km long railway track that has divided Hollongapar sanctuary in eastern Assam sanctuary dedicated to the western hoolock gibbon (Hoolock hoolock). Housing about 125 hoolock gibbons, India’s …

Why in news:  Up to 10,000 emperor penguin chicks across four colonies in Antarctica’s Bellingshausen Sea may have died as the sea ice underneath their breeding grounds melted and broke apart in late 2022, according to a new study. About Emperor Penguins: The emperor penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all …

Environmental conservation Context: Japan began releasing wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean. A big step in decommissioning the still highly dangerous site 12 years after one of the world’s worst nuclear accidents. Japan has repeatedly insisted the wastewater is treated and will be harmless backed by …

Syllabus: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment. Context The occurrence of recent disasters such as landslides, rains, cloudbursts, and the subsidence in Joshimath in the Himalayan States has highlighted the imperative of prioritising environmental preservation over development. The Himalayan mountain ranges extend from the western region of Afghanistan …

TOPICS COVERED: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment. Context: Recently, Prime Minister of India officially launched ‘Urea Gold’ fertiliser. What are fertilisers? Any material of natural or synthetic origin mixed with soil or apply to plant tissues to provide plant nutrients is fertiliser. Some of the fertilisers are urea, Di-ammonium phosphate(DAP) and Muriate of Potash. About Urea …

Syllabus: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment. What does Census Says The Wildlife Institute of India and the National Tiger Conservation Authority, who are responsible for the quadrennial ‘tiger census’ reports, recently updated their estimates for the animal’s numbers. Madhya Pradesh, for the second time in eight years, …

Syllabus: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment. The nasal cavity of warm-blooded animals houses a complex scroll-like structure made of thin bony plates called the nasal, or respiratory, turbinate. Nasal turbinates are found only in warm-blooded creatures. They are responsible for regulating heat and moisture exchange during respiration. …

Context: A recent publication by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) points out that about 5% of birds found in the country are endemic and are not reported in other parts of the world. The publication, titled 75 Endemic Birds of India, was recently released on the 108th foundation day of the ZSI. Birds in …