Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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 ‘Two-thirds of Himalayan ice cap may melt’

News

• Two-thirds of Himalayan glaciers, the world’s “Third Pole”, could melt by 2100 if global emissions are not reduced, scientists warned in a major new study issued.

Findings

• And even if the “most ambitious” Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warmingto 1.5° C is achieved, one-third of the glaciers would go, according to the Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment.
• Glaciers in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya (HKH) region are a critical water source for some 250 million people in the mountains as well as to 1.65 billion others in the river valleys below.
• The glaciers feed 10 of the world’s most important river systems, including the Ganges, Indus, Yellow, Mekong and Irrawaddy, and directly or indirectly supply billions of people with food, energy, clean air and income.
• Impacts on people from their melting will range from worsened air pollution to more extreme weather, while lower pre-monsoon river flows will throw urban water systems and food and energy production off-kilter.

Emission levels rising faster in Indian cities than in China

News

• Urbanisation is accelerating greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles in India at a faster than in 

Findings

• On an average, an Indian emitted about 20 kg per capita while commuting for work, with the highest (140 kg CO2) in Gurugram district (Haryana) and the lowest (1.8 kg CO2) in Shrawasti district (Uttar Pradesh).
• The experience in most developed countries was that urbanisation led to a reduction in emissions more urbanisation meant shorter distances between the workplace and home and thereby, a preference for public transport. However this didn’t effectively apply to developing countries, the authors argue.
• In China a 1% increase in urbanisation was linked with a 0.12% increase in CO2 emissions whereas, in India, it translated into 0.24% increase in emissions.
• India’s CO2 emission grew by an estimated 4.6% in 2017 and its per-capita emission was about 1.8 tonnes. In spite of being the 4th largest emitter, India’s per capita emissions are much lower than the world average of 4.2 tonnes. But those emissions have been growing steadily, with an average growth rate over the past decade of 6%, according to data from the Global Carbon Project.
• With a ₹1 increase in diesel price, commuting emissions decreased by 11% in some districts whereas it only fell by about 3% in low-income districts.
• Delhi had the highest commuting emissions per capita a factor that also contributed to its high level of pollution and the national capital region had 2.5 times higher commuting emissions than Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Kartarpur corridor site plans shared with Pakistan

News:

• India has shared with Pakistan coordinates of the ‘zero point’ along the border in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district where the 100-yard corridor, leading to the Kartarpur Sahib shrine, will be built.

Beyond News:

• Sikh groups have been petitioning governments in New Delhi and Islamabad to build a pilgrim corridor over the border from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur to Kartarpur in Pakistani Punjab’s Narowal province.
• The plan is to complete the project by November 23, 2019, the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
• On January 19, Pakistan announced that it had shared the draft of the agreement, to be signed by the two governments, for “facilitation of (Indian) Sikh Yatrees to visit the Gurudwara, Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, Narowal, Pakistan”.
• A high level meeting discussed land acquisition for the highway and for the Integrated Check Post (ICP). It was informed that the preliminary notification for land acquisition for the highway had already been issued.

67% cancer patients in SE Asia die before 70: WHO

News

• In 2018, 18.1 million new cases of cancer developed worldwide; 9.6 million people died from the disease; 70% of the deaths occurred in low and middle-income countries, including those of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Southeast Asia region; and 67% of the region’s cancer patients died before the age of 70. The figures were released by the WHO Southeast Asia.

Findings

• Just 26% of low-income countries meanwhile reported having pathology services generally available in the public sector, leading to late diagnosis and a lower chance of successful treatment.
• According to figures for India released by the National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research (NICPR), one woman dies of cervical cancer every eight minutes in India; for every two women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, one woman dies of it in India; as many as 2,500 persons die every day due to tobacco-related diseases; and tobacco (smoked and smokeless) use accounted for 3,17,928 deaths in men and women in 2018.
• The release issued by the WHO noted that the theme of this year’s World Cancer Day ‘I am and I will’ emphasises that each of us can be a changemaker.

U.K. clears Mallya’s extradition to India

News

• British Home Secretary Sajid Javid has signed the order for the extradition of liquor baron Vijay Mallya to India.
• The businessman whose legal team had previously indicated their intention to appeal the extradition will now have two weeks to lodge an appeal.

Beyond News

• The signing of the order came just a few days shy of the two-month window from the date of judgement December 10 last year within which a decision had to be made.
• Under Britain’s extradition rules, Mr. Javid had two months from the date of the judgement to determine whether to order the extradition.
• In making extradition decisions, the Minister has to consider issues including whether the death penalty would be involved or the person be extradited to a third country (neither of which apply in this case).
• An appeal can only be lodged after the signing of the order by the minister.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Fundraiser to secure 96 elephant corridors

News

• At a time when a recent survey found seven elephant corridors in the country impaired, the Asian Elephant Alliance, an umbrella initiative by five NGOs, has come together to secure 96 out of the 101 existing corridors used by elephants across 12 States in India.

Beyond News

• The joint venture is aiming at raising £20 million (₹187.16 crore) to secure the 96 remaining elephant corridors, old and new, in the next ten years.
• The alliance joined hands to raise the mammoth sum as money was the main constraint in securing the land.
• The process of securing the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka inter-State corridor called the Talamai-Chamarajnagar elephant corridor at Mudahalli is currently underway.
• Out of 101 elephant corridors identified by the WTI in its 2012-15 study, five of them two in Meghalaya and one each in Assam, Kerala and Karnataka have already been secured by the WTI with the help of conservation partners and the support of State governments.
• The new alliance is aiming to secure the 96 remaining elephant corridors in the next ten years by raising the money.
• NGOs Elephant Family, International Fund for Animal Welfare, IUCN Netherlands and World Land Trust have teamed up with WTI in the alliance.
• According to a recent survey, seven elephant corridors in Jharkhand, U.P., Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have already been impaired due to land use changes.

Storage of nuclear waste a ‘global crisis’

News

• Nuclear waste is piling up around the world even as countries struggle to dispose of spent fuel that will remain highly toxic for many thousands of years.

Beyond News

• An analysis of waste storage facilities in seven countries with nuclear power revealed that several were near saturation, the anti-nuclear NGO said.
• All these nations also confronted other problems that have yet to be fully contained: fire risk, venting of radioactive gases, environmental contamination, failure of containers, terrorist attacks and escalating costs.
• In particular, storing waste material from nuclear power reactors deep in the ground – the most researched long-term storage technology has shown major flaws which exclude it for now as a credible option.
• Currently, there is a global stockpile of around 250,000 tonnes of highly radioactive spent fuel distributed across some 14 countries.

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