Enviro One Point

01/07/2021

Flash flood on February 7 in Chamoli district, , claimed at least 72 lives with at least 200 missing. Now, Geological Survey of India (GSI) has submitted its report on the causes of the disaster.

Key findings:
Flash flood was due to a large mass of snow, ice and rock avalanche along with a hanging mass of rock crashing into the Raunthi Garh valley floor.

This impact pulverised the combination of rock, snow and ice causing a rapid flow downstream of Raunthi Garh and into the Rishiganga valley leading to the deluge.

A contributory factor was unusually warm weather in the region.

There was no evidence of a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) having caused the event.

24/06/2021

➡️ The should be added to a list of “in danger” Sites a UN committee recommended, prompting an angry response from which said it had been blindsided by the move and blamed political interference.

● The , Scientific and Cultural Organization committee, which sits under UNESCO, said the world’s biggest system should be added to the list due to the impact of climate change.

In 2015, noted the outlook for the reef was poor but kept the site’s status unchanged. Since then, scientists say it has suffered three major coral bleaching events due to severe marine heatwaves.

Source :- https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/great-barrier-reef-should-be-listed-as-in-danger-un-committee-recommends/article34897826.ece

Australia has for years been battling to keep the Great Barrier Reef off the “in danger” list.

19/06/2021

Two lakh and water security at stake in ’s project

The proposed Bunder diamond block in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh has been in the news for the wrong reasons over the years. The diamond mine project, which is now with Aditya Birla Group’s Essel Mining & Industries Limited (EMIL), is once again facing dark clouds due to protests over...

15/06/2021

A in Sound off ’s lies off the coast of

15/06/2021

recognises ‘ ’ as ’s

The Southern Ocean is home to large of , and . But fishing on species like krill and toothfish had been a concern for decades, the magazine said. It hoped to draw attention to these issues, in addition to the of the Southern Ocean due to global warming by officially changing the name of the waterbody.

The International Hydrographic Organization too had recognised the term in 1937 before repealing it in 1953

25/05/2021

What is , the with the ‘oldest opposable thumbs’?

The new pterosaur fossil was discovered in the Tiaojishan Formation of Liaoning, China, and is believed to be 160 million years old.

24/05/2021

California battle fear, in epic across

While studying female elephant seals during their annual 6,000-mile migration to the...

24/05/2021

Influence on Abundance and Behaviour

Of the many negative effects roads have on wildlife, vehicle-caused mortality is important, killing several hundred million birds on an annual basis worldwide. Mortality is often the result of sitting on the road and failing to avoid an approaching vehicle, or being hit by a car while flying across....

06/05/2021

"Quality Of Flowing Water Can't Be Compromised", HC Directs State To Form Expert Body To Keep Rivers Free From Effluents

Underling that the pollution level in the flowing water has to be reduced to the extent possible, the Madras High Court on Tuesday (20th April) directed the State Government to constitute an...