Environment - Current Affairs for October, 2015

India is shifting to Euro VI emission compliant diesel and petrol by 2020 to lower carbon pollution. BS-III equivalent to Euro-III specifications is already being followed throughout the country and BSIV will be extended to the entire country. Revised auto fuel policy is also on the cards which will lead to introduction of BS-VI fuels by the year 2020. Oil refineries make investments of up to INR 80,000 crore in upgradation of petrol and diesel quality to get access to cleaner fuel specifications by 2020. Fuels meeting Euro IV or Bharat Stage IV specifications will be supplied by the nation by April 2017 and BS-V or Euro-V grade fuel will be supplied by April 1, 2020 as part of the earlier plan. Now, the government is planning to switch directly from BS-IV to BS-VI. While BS-IV fuels have 50 ppm sulphur, BS-V and BS-VI grade fuel will have 10 ppm sulphur. Oil refineries have upgraded technology and made investments of over INR 55,000 crore for production as well as supply of BS-III/IV fuels. Additional INR 80,000 crore investment is needed for further upgradation.

A massive 7.5 earthquake has struck Pakistan and Afghanistan leading to the death of over 200 persons, according to USGS. National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad has pegged the quake intensity at 7.7. Quake’s epicentre was Jurm in NE Afghanistan, 250 km from Kabul at the depth of 213.5 km according to USGS.

For the first time, scientists have designed RoboBee, an insect like robot smaller than paperclip which can fly and swim. Scientists designed the robot using the puffin as a model. This micro robot smaller than a paperclip flies and hovers like an insect, flapping its tiny, nearly invisible wings 120 times per second. RoboBee is so small it cannot penetrate the surface tension of water.

Earthquakes can be the cause of changes in earth’s crust close to 6,000 km away, changing the ability to tolerate stresses for a new weeks, according to researchers. Scientists have found that the earth is interconnected and dynamic whereby one large, massive earthquake can create cascading sequence of events 1000s of km away. While the surface wave from the earthquake passing through another fault region causes frictional properties that ensure surfaces are locked together, elasticity allows crust to withstand strain and stress state can lead to failure. While surface waves pass through, the properties rearrange and change. This discovery was made by examining the 2012 earthquake off the coast of North Sumatra in the Indian Ocean.
The earthquake, which had a magnitude of 8.6, is known to have been followed by two earthquakes in Japan with a magnitude greater than 5.5.

Census was conducted under “My Ganga My Dolphin” project by WWF and forest department under the National Mission for Clean Ganga. Survey found 1263 dolphins in UP as against 671 in 2012 census. Survey also found there were 116 dolphins in a 215 km stretch of river from Allahabad to Varanasi, the confluence of Ganga and Gomti. Ganga River Dolphin Census was conducted following a survey of 700 community members across 80 villages across the river. Stretches of rivers like Gandhak and Rapti recorded an increase while Narora recorded a decrease. No dolphins were found in Ken, Son and Ramganga.

From the 12 species highlighted by National Geographic in current volume, Sunderbans tiger is predicted to face maximum threat. Predicted 11 inch rise above sea levels from 2000 will destroy most tiger habitat within this region according to a WWF led study. Bangladesh Sunderbans is set to decline by 96% as far as tiger habitats are concerned and number of breeding individuals will fall below 20. Other species said to suffer from climate change include woodland caribou, Arctic fox, spectacled eider (a northern duck) and Bengal tiger. Scientists from World Bank and IESWM have also sounded the alarm over shrinking tiger habitat in the Indian Sunderbans. Scientists found 11 islands that will disappear over the next 30 years on account of rising sea level of which 3 islands are tiger habitats.

Researchers at a Kerala University has discovered 4 new species of crab from Kerala coast, indicating crustacean diversity in the state. Discovery of three hermit crabs namely Paguristes luculentus, Diogenes canaliculatus, Pagurus spinossior, and a crab species Afropinnotheres ratnakara has been indicated. The first of the species was collected off coast of Kollam representing the ninth known genus in India. The species name luculentus is concerned with the living colour of the crustacean. The second species is light brown or tan while the third species is a right handed crab tan in colour. A new species of pinnoterid crab was found within a brown mussel. The species is called ratnakara which means Indian Ocean in Sanskrit. Close to 40 species of crabs were documented from the coast of Kerala at the time of this research project.

This hurricane is set to reach the Mexican coast on 23rd October 2015. This hurricane is strengthening and its maximum sustained winds increased on 22nd October to 100mph. Patricia is centred about 240 miles south-southwest of Lazaro Cardenas with movement to west-northwest at 17 mph. Hurricane warning is from Mexican coast from Cabo Corrientes to Punta San Telmo, a stretch of coastline that includes the port city of Manzanillo.

A rare frog species found in hidden caves in forested region between Russia and Georgia are dependant on bats to survive. Caucasian parsley frogs display considerable preference for caves with bat colonies as insects breeding in bat waste provide good source of food. This study shows how important bats are for the ecology. It also demonstrates the importance of protecting bat colonies.

September 2015 was the hottest month ever recorded since records were being kept in January 1880, as announced by US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Of 5 consecutive months commencing from May within this year, the year has broken all previous records for higher temperatures, according to the NOAA monthly State of Climate Global Analysis. High temperature indicates uncontrolled effect of rising GHG in the atmosphere. The report also found that oceans were warmer than the average across rapid expanses and the year had witnessed the one of the strongest El Nino recorded. India has faced a 14 percent deficit in monsoon rains.

Scientists have found lathering up with sunscreen may protect against cancer, but it is killing coral reefs across the globes. A common UV filtering compound oxybenzone has destroyed the corals by inducing damage in DNA at the larval stage coming in the way of their proper development. 80% of the coral reefs in the Caribbean have been lost so far. Oxybenzone also causes coral bleaching which leads to coral mortality all over the world. Cells from as many as 7 species of corals were killed by oxybenzone and three of these species are already endangered as per the US Endangered Species Act. Oxybenzone also threatens resilience of coral reefs to climate change.

Principal bench of the NGT New Delhi has lifted the stay on sand mining in MP. Earlier, the NGT central zonal bench Bhopal has implemented a stay on river bed sand mining in MP till October 31st. NGT has not lifted the stay on 61 mining leases whereby state environment impact assessment authority had proposed prohibition on sand mining as a condition of environment clearance during the months of July to October.

India launched a mass awareness drive on 15th October by flagging off the Science Express Climate Change Special to cover a distance of 18,000 km and stop at 64 locations spread over as many as 20 states. The exhibition aboard SECCS aims to create awareness on numerous issues associated with climate change. SECCS will conclude its journey in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Melting of Antarctic ice shelves will increase to double the current amount by 2050 and around 2100, melting may surpass all previous predictions if GHG emissions persist at current rate. Ice shelves are floating extensions of the massive land based ice sheets of the continent. Melting or breakup of floating ice shelves will not raise sea level, but this will have a “door stop” effect wherein the flow of ice will slow from glaciers and ice sheets into the ocean which will stop rising sea levels. WHOI researchers are indicating how rapidly melting ice in Antarctica can intensify in a warming climate.

Around 25% of the original habitats have remained intact in the eastern Himalayas and several new species in the region face continued threat to their existence according to report--'Hidden Himalayas: Asia's Wonderland', a World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) Living Himalayas initiative. Close to 200 news species have been discovered between 2009 and 2014. The 211 discoveries include 133 plants, 39 invertebrates, 26 fish, 10 amphibians, one reptile, one bird and one mammal. Population growth, deforestation, poaching, mining, pollution, hydropower development and overgrazing pose a threat to the Himalayas.

Nine years ago, the Euphlyctes aloysii was discovered by a research team from St. Aloysius college and Japan. The habitat of this frog is currently under threat due to extensive land filling activities. The frog was named after St. Aloysius College and was found in the marshy land of Ayar and Bajpe. Existence of this frog was discovered in 2006. This is a tiny water frog of dark brown-greenish colour.

Number of Gangetic dolphins has risen to 1263 in the state of UP. Census was conducted by WWF India and other voluntary organisations between October 5 and 8, 2015. The census was conducted in a 3350 km of the river stretch including the Ganga and its tributaries, Yamuna, Chambal, Gerua, Ghaghra, Ken, Rapti, Sharda, Betwa and Son river.Census commenced from the Ganga barrage in Kanpur and boats moved at a speed of 7 to 10 km for every single hour surveying 70 km of the river stretch each day. First census of UP was done in 2012 and found around 671 dolphins across the 2800 km stretch of Ganga and its tributes. In the year 2005, WWF estimated the number of Gangetic dolphins to be 600. The presence of the Gangetic river dolphin is an indication of a healthy river ecosystem. It is a national aquatic mammal which forms the endemic fauna of the Ganga, Meghna and Brahmaputra river and is one of 4 freshwater dolphins across the globe. The growth rate of the species is very low.

Listed as critically endangered under the Schedule 1 which is the highest protection status as per the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, this state bird is close to extinction. WII survey found 44 Great Indian Bustards in Rajasthan but the Rajasthan forest department survey found only 28. Around one week ago, another survey found there were only 13 GIBs. GIB or Ardeotis nigirceps is one of the biggest flying bird species found in the world today and currently, the other two states Maharashtra and Gujarat are having only 6 and 11 GIBs respectively. Steps are being taken to improve conservation and habitat of GIB through the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority/CAMPA. Rajasthan currently has the highest population of GIB and if captive breeding conservation efforts are successful, the number may rise. Total conservation cost has been pegged at INR 13 crore for the Project Great Indian Bustard announced in 2012.

Scientists have demonstrated how water is drained from the Greenland ice sheet lake through a subglacial tunnel. Researchers from University of Exeter studied water flow paths from such subglacial lake draining beneath the ice sheet. They found that impact of climate change is considerable on the plumbing system associated with water flow in subglacial lake under Greenland ice sheet. Configuration of the plumbing system has an impact on the flow speed of the overlying ice. Greenland’s subglacial lake has been fed by surface meltwater flowing down a nearby moulin unlike Antarctic subglacial lakes which are sustained via melting of the base of ice sheet. As global warming continues to increase, more volumes of surface meltwater routed to the ice sheet bed will lead to subglacial lake drainage to become common in the future. Increased drainage frequency could impact the sensitivity of the ice sheet to climate change, influencing the future sea level changes.

Finance Ministers of 20 nations vulnerable to climate change have launched V20 Group on October 8th 2014 during the annual meeting of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in Lima, Peru. V20 has been formed to pool resources in a fight against global warming induced climate change. It is the counterpart of G20, an industrial group. V20 Group Finance Ministers also held their inaugural meeting which was chaired by Cesar Purisima, Finance Minister of the Philippines following the launch of this group.The establishment of the V20 was conceptualised in the 2013 – 2015 Costa Rica Action Plan of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF).

For protecting the endangered Gangetic river dolphins, the Indian state of West Bengal will have the first community reserve for the mammals. This decision was taken by the State Wildlife Board even as a committee was formed to study ways of setting up community reserve in Hooghly river between Sundarbans and Malda. This stretch is around 500 km long and passes through Kolkata’s most populated areas before merging in the Sunderbans with the Bay of Bengal. As per the Wildlife Protection Act, there is provision for creation of such community reserves for protection of fauna and flora. Gangetic dolphins are the national aquatic animal of India. A census will also be carried out to assess their numbers.. Currently, the number of dolphins is less than 2000 in India. The Gangetic Dolphin is known as the Tiger of the Ganges and is an indicator animal for the river ecosystem in much the same way as a tiger in forests. Killing, habitat fragmentation and indiscriminate fishing has led to fall in the numbers of these dolphins.

Environment Ministry expert panel EAC has suggested the use of imported coal with higher ash content to 25% to aid domestic thermal power plants to use higher grade coal and bring down cost of generation. Recommendation is against the recent demand of Association of Power Producers to restrain ash content in imported coal of 12% as this has forced the coastal regions to only use Indonesian coal. Now, power companies can use high grade, low moisture imported coal from Australia, Russia and S. Africa for better efficiencies and lower cost of generation with same actual ash generation.

For providing clean energy projects in the nation, government has taken the decision to waive transmission charges for energy from renewable sources according to Union Minister Shri Piyush Goel. A legal framework will be brought out where all inter state transmission of renewable energy will be at no cost. Therefore, renewable energy will not be charged for transmission across the nation. Government has also sanctioned contracts worth INR 38,000 crore via competitive bidding for green corridors.

For the second time this year, surface ozone pollution in Delhi has breached permissible limits with weak monsoon being blamed for the phenomenon. While ozone layer limit in Mumbai and Pune is within permissible limits, it is also rising in these two cities. Delhi’s surface ozone pollution has crossed the threshold level it normally did in May June again, according to IITM scientists. Permissible limit is 50 ppb (8 hour day average) according to the monitoring carried out under SAFAR (System of Air quality and weather Forecasting and Research) system of Ministry of Earth Sciences.

Scientists announced the discovery in NW New Mexico badlands of fossil remains of Kimbetopsalis simmonsae, planet eating rodent like animal with incisors like beavers and is estimated at 3 feet long and covered in fur. It existed a few hundred thousand years following mass extinction Kimbetopsalis.

World Wildlife Fund in a report on wildlife in Nepal, Bhutan, north of Myanmar, southern Tibet and NE India has indicated more than 200 new species have been discovered in fragile eastern Himalayas, including 133 plants 26 species of fish, 10 new amphibians, one reptile, one bird and one mammal. Most striking discoveries include the following:
- Walking snakehead fish
- Snub nosed monkey which sneezes when it rains
- Bejeweled lance headed pit viper

Researchers have discovered a 250 gram hog nosed rate in high altitude jungles of Sulawesi in Indonesia, which represents a new genus. Researchers from Museum Victoria in Australia, Indonesia's Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense and the Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science, US, has given the rat the scientific name: Hyorhinomys stuempkei. Hyo means hog, rhino means nose and mys means rat. The animal's distinct features include its very small mouth, large white front teeth, big ears and noticeably long pubic hair. Species have long hind limbs akin to bandicoots. It has a unique anatomy of 40-45 cms.

A treasure trove of corals have been located mid-sea off the coast of Konkan by National Institute of Oceanography scientists. Coral site is located in Arabian Sea around 100 km off from coastal Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg of Maharashtra. Known as Angria Bank, this area was named after famous Maharashtrian Admiral Kanhoji Anger who fought here. Expedition which discovered the corals was commissioned at INR 1.5 crore by UNDP. This marks the first expedition where the NIO RV Sindhu Sadhna was used. Close to 200 species of flora and fauna were found during the expedition with 54 species of corals of which 4 are soft. NIO is one of 37 constituent labs of CSIR.

Melting glaciers continue to erode the land causing climate change to impact the shape of the planet. Antarctica is warming up and glaciers are going to move faster and become more erosive, adding to the impact of climate change in the polar regions. Faster moving glaciers are responsible for depositing more sediment in downstream basins and continental shelves, creating an impact on fisheries, dams and access to provide potable freshwater in hilly communities. Researchers also found after comparing the glaciers in Patagonia and Antarctic Peninsula, glaciers in warmer Patagonia melted faster causing a greater degree of erosion. Scientists found that glaciers erode 100 to 1000 times faster in Patagonia than Antarctica.

A wildlife census of the Haryana Aravalis will be carried out to mark the start of World Wildlife Week. This census will help in determining the population of animal species in the Aravalis and play a good role in protecting wildlife extant in the area. Similar census has recently been carried out at Kalesar National Park, Yamunanagar. It was also announced that Gurgaon will get its own forest in Sikanderpur in an area between 250 to 300 acres and the expanse of Bhondsi will be made into an ecotourism destination. Mahatma’s ideals of non violence towards wildlife mark the celebration of the World Wildlife Week commencing on Gandhi Jayanti.

India has submitted the following INDC to UNFCC:
Promotion of a healthy and sustainable way of living based on traditions and values of conservation and moderation.
- Adoption of a climate-friendly and a cleaner path than the one followed hitherto by others at corresponding level of economic development.
- Reduction in the the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 level.
- Achieving 40 per cent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030, with the help of transfer of technology and low cost international finance, including from Green Climate Fund.
- Creation of additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.
- Adaptation of climate change by enhancing investments in development programmes in sectors vulnerable to climate change, particularly agriculture, water resources, Himalayan region, coastal regions, health and disaster management.
- Mobilisation of domestic and new and additional funds from developed countries to implement the above mitigation and adaptation actions in view of the resource required and the resource gap.
- Constructing capacities, create domestic framework and international architecture for quick diffusion of cutting edge climate technology in India and for joint collaborative R&D for such future technologies.

The 22nd typhoon of the year, Typhoon Mujigae will hit China at the speed of 64.8 kph. Typhoon is currently gathering speed in the South China Sea. Around 340,000 people were evacuated with train and flight services suspended as Typhoon Dujuan hit east China’s Fujian province on 28th September 2015.

Researchers have found a new species of rock dwelling lizard at Chattisgarh’s Kanker. Finding was led by scientists of the ZSI Kozhikode and published in international journal Zootaxa. The new gecko species has been called Kanker Rock Gecko/Hemidactylus yajurvedi. This lizard is large sized and has a snout-vent length of up to 98 mm and is the 27th species belonging to this genre found in India. Discovery was made by ZSI in collaboration with other institutions and research organisations such as TIFR, IISc and Centre for Ecological Sciences. With close to 121 species distributed along the tropics and subtropical region, this is one of the most species rich gekkonid genera. A new species was revealed following morphological and molecular examination. The new species has been located at 5 places in Chattisgarh. The species has been named after Hanumanth Narasimhachar Yajurvedi, professor, department of studies and research in Zoology at Manasagangotri, University of Mysore.

NGT issues a notice to the Centre seeking ban on slaughter of indigenous cattle with respect to their falling numbers. NGT’s Justice U. D. Salvi directed the government to respond by October 30,2015. Increasing influx of foreign exotic cows in India are causing indigenous breeds to be led to slaughter houses for meat and leather. Indigenous cattle have more disease resistance and can adapt to weather changes and climatic disturbances in in India. Some of the desi cow breeds include Gir, Red Sindhi and Sahiwal.

NGO Jan Sasharktikaran sought action against illegal sand mining on river Betwa from the NGT. Following this, NGT has directed authorities to stop illegal sand mining in Jalaun and Hamirpur district of UP. Bench headed by U. D. Salvi has issued notice to MoEF, state PCBs and others directing authorities to stop these activities. Sand mining disrupts aquatic life and river ecology.