Current series...
♦
Mock drill for Tsunami:
The
Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC) along with 23 countries participates
in the two-day Indian Ocean-wide mock drill which will simulate tsunamis
generated by two large undersea earthquakes. ITEWC will participate in the
drill as National Tsunami Warning Centre (NTWC) and also Regional Tsunami
Advisory Service Provider (RTSP) for the Indian Ocean region, and would issue
bulletins to all the 23 participating countries. The mock drill, organised
under the auspices of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, is
aimed at testing the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System
(IOTWS). During the drill, ITEWC will disseminate bulletins to control rooms of
the Ministry of Home Affairs, the National Disaster Management Authority
(NDMA), coastal States, NDRF, the Coast Guard, the Indian Navy and critical
coastal installations such as ports and power plants.
♦ Greenhouse
gases increase in atmosphere:
World
Meteorological Organisation’s Greenhouse Gas Bulletin warned the amount of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a new record high in 2013 due to surge
in levels of carbon dioxide. Consequently, the gas-absorbing oceans were hit by
unprecedented acidification. Between 1990 and 2013 there was 34 per cent
increase in radiative forcing - the warming effect on our climate - because of
long-lived greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous
oxide. In 2013, concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere was 142 per cent of the
pre-industrial era (1750), and of methane and nitrous oxide 253 per cent and
121 per cent respectively. Level of CO2 increased more between 2012 and 2013
than during any other year since 1984.
♦ Feroza Begum died
Firoza
Begum, Bangladeshi Nazrul Sangeet legend, died at Dhaka. She had mesmerised
Bengalis with her voice for seven decades. Begum was educated in Calcutta in
undivided India and was closely linked with poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.
Nazrul Sangeet or Nazrul Geet refers to
songs written by Kazi Nazrul Islam, the national poet of Bangladesh. Nazrul was
a revolutionary during Indian independence movement.
♦ IndARC to support climate studies:
Data given by IndARC,
the Indian observatory in the Arctic Ocean, is expected to help scientists to understand
the Arctic climate process and its influence on the Indian monsoon system.
Note:
IndARC is India’s first underwater moored observatory in the Kongsfjorden
fjord, half way between Norway and the North Pole. IndARC was designed and
developed by scientists from the Earth System Science Organisation (ESSO),
National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), National Institute of
Ocean Technology (NIOT) and Indian National Centre for Ocean Information
Services (INCOIS) and was deployed on July 23, 2014. The observatory is
anchored at a depth of 192 m and has an array of 10 state-of-the-art
oceanographic sensors strategically positioned at various depths in the water. The
sensors are programmed to collect real-time data on seawater temperature, salinity,
ocean currents and other vital parameters of the fjord. The Kongsfjorden (an
inlet on the west coast of Spitsbergen, an island which is part of the Svalbard
archipelago in the Arctic Ocean) is considered a natural laboratory for
studying the Arctic climate variability. The data collected by IndARC would be
used for climate modelling studies to understand the influence of the Arctic
processes on the Indian monsoon system. The research station is relevant as it
is predicted that melting of the Arctic glaciers will trigger changes in
weather patterns and ocean currents that could affect other parts of the world.
♦ National Mission for Clean Ganga:
Ministry of Water
Resource launched web portal on Ganga rejuvenation programme to connect it with
the public. The bilingual website has a provision to receive feedback from the
public, where suggestions can be given about the Ganga Rejuvenation Plan.
Note:
National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) has started the Mission Clean Ganga to save Ganga
through four different sectors; waste water management, solid waste management,
industrial pollution control, and river front development. NGRBA was set up through
the Gazette notification of the Government of India in 2009. The Ministry of
Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (MoWR, RD & GR)
is the nodal Ministry for the NGRBA. The authority is chaired by the Prime
Minister and has as its members the Union Ministers concerned, the Chief
Ministers of the States through which Ganga flows, viz., Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, among
others. NGRBA functions include development of a Ganga River Basin Management
Plan, regulation of activities aimed at prevention, control and abatement of
pollution, to maintain water quality and to take measures relevant to the river
ecology in the Ganga basin states. It is mandated to ensure the maintenance of
minimum ecological flows in the river Ganga and abate pollution through
planning, financing and execution of programmes. The programme include: a)
Augmentation of Sewerage Infrastructure b) Catchment Area Treatment c)
Protection of Flood Plains and d) Creating Public Awareness. NGRBA has been
mandated as a planning, financing, monitoring and coordinating authority for
strengthening the collective efforts of the Central and State governments for
effective abatement of pollution and conservation of river Ganga so as to
ensure that by the year 2020 no
untreated municipal sewage or industrial effluent will flow into the river
Ganga. The NGRBA is fully operational and is also supported by the state level
State Ganga River Conservation Authorities (SGRCAs) in five Ganga basin States
which are chaired by the Chief Ministers of the respective States. Under NGRBA
programme, projects worth Rs. 4607.82 crore have been sanctioned up to 31st
March 2014. The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), is a registered
society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, is the implementing wing of
NGRBA.
Namami
Gange: It is an Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission,
for which a sum of Rs 100 crore has been allocated for development of ghats and
beautification of river fronts at Kedarnath, Haridwar, Kanpur, Varanasi,
Allahabad, Patna, and Delhi in the current financial year.
Facts about Ganga:
Length : 2,525 sq. km.
Source : Gaumukh (Gangotri Glacier)
Ganga
Basin : More than one
million sq. km
Drainage
area : 861,404 sq. km
Tributeries : 14 (Batwa, Chambal, Damodar,
Gandak, Ganga, Ghagra,
Gomti, Hindon,
Kali, Khan, Kosi, Kshipra, Ramganga and
Yamuna)
Position : East longitudes 7330 &
890, North longitudes 2230 & 3130.
