1) CO2, greenhouse gases level reach record high in 2014: WMO
- Concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a record high in 2014. According to World Meteorological Organization report on 9th November that the relentless fueling of climate change will make the planet more dangerous for future generations.
- Graphs issued by the UN agency showed levels of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, climbing steadily towards the 400 parts per million level, having hit a new record every year since reliable records began in 1984. The UN panel of climate scientists estimates that concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are at their highest in at least 8 lakh years.
2) Climate change could push 100 million into poverty by 2030: World Bank
- World Bank says climate change will result in more than 100 million additional people living in poverty by 2030 if sufficient counter measures are not taken.
- A report released on 8th November, ahead of a UN climate change conference in Paris, says droughts will hit the farming sector hard driving up food prices in Africa by 12 percent.
- World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said the number of people in poverty will surge, mainly in Africa and South Asia, as these areas are exposed to floods, which can bring malaria and other infectious diseases.
3) Talks on Climate Change
- Ministers from about 70 countries have failed to bridge their gaps on some major issues ahead of the upcoming UN climate change conference in Paris. The delegates ended three days of preparatory talks in the French capital on 9th November. Japanese officials say the industrialized and developing countries agreed that they need a long-term goal for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and they should review their efforts every 5 years. But the two sides remained divided on whether they should share the same level of responsibility for emission cuts.
- The delegates also disagreed on financial support from rich countries for developing nations. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who will chair the UN conference, said the ministerial meeting was an important step, but much hard work remains. He urged the participants to make further concessions, saying the summit, known as COP 21, must not end without an agreement.
- The UN conference will open on November 30th in Paris and aims to reach an accord on a new framework to curb global warming.
4) GSAT-15 successfully launched
- India`s latest communication satellite GSAT-15 was successfully launched by Ariane-5 rocket in the early hours on 11th November from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana.
- The European launcher blasted off at 03:04 AM (IST) and hurled the GSAT-15, designed to deliver telecommunications services, as well as dedicated navigation-aid and emergency services, into space in a flawless flight. GSAT-15 was launched into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) after its co-passenger Arabsat-6B (BADR-7) was injected into space.
- GSAT-15, weighing 3,164 kg at lift-off, is a high power satellite being inducted into the INSAT/GSAT system. It carries a total of 24 communication transponders in Ku-band as well as a GPS-Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) payload operating in L1 and L5 bands.
5) BRAHMOS hits target in maiden test firing
- BRAHMOS as the prime strike weapon will ensure the warship`s invincibility by engaging naval surface targets at long ranges, thus making the destroyer another lethal platform of Indian Navy.
- The Navy commissioned INS Kochi on September 30, 2015. The 7,500-ton indigenously developed warship incorporates new design concepts for improved survivability, stealth, sea-keeping and maneuverability.
6) India`s carbon emissions rise, even as global rates fall: PwC
- The rise in carbon emissions due to electricity generation was the highest in India even as the global economy moved away from carbon based energy sources, a study by international audit giant PwC said on 2nd November.
- The Low Carbon Economy Index 2015 by PwC shows carbon emissions from electricity generation in India rose 8.2% in 2014, whereas the corresponding global figure was only 0.5%.
- The report said India’s energy emissions, the highest in the world, have been driven by a double-digit growth in demand for coal, as power consumption increased in line with the rapid 7.4% growth in GDP. Global GDP growth was much lower at 3.3%.
- The report gathers significance in light of global negotiations on climate change that are scheduled for December in Paris. All countries have submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions or (INDC) with the collective aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions globally to limit the potential for global warming to 2°C by 2100.
- India being the fourth largest carbon emitter is expected to be the world’s fastest growing major economy. The report stressed that the country’s carbon intensity or measure of energy related greenhouse gas emissions per million dollars of GDP will have to be managed carefully.
- While India’s ambitious INDC program includes stringent emission standards and a fourfold increase in carbon tax, it also targets a 33%-35% reduction in carbon density by 2030, from 2005 levels. The report pointed out India’s carbon intensity or also grew by 0.7% in 2014, as renewable energy adoption remained slow. Globally, the carbon intensity fell by 2.7%, the highest annual fall since 2000, it added.
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- For the INDC targets to be achieved, a yearly 2.1% yearly reduction in carbon intensity would be required, it said. It added, however, India’s carbon intensity was about half that of China, and is still less than the global average.
- Over a longer period, India has reduced its carbon intensity by 1.4% per year between 2000 and 2014. Its rate of reduction in carbon intensity is slightly better than the global average of 1.3% per year during 2000-2014.
7)Dracula ant in Western Ghats
- A group of scientists have obtained the first photographic record of the Dracula ant from Kerala. They believe that their find may be a new species belonging to the Stigmatomma group of predaceous ants.
- The ant was identified by Manoj Vembayam, Kalesh Sadasivan and Vinay Krishnan, members of the TNHS Ant Research Group, a wing of the Travancore Natural History Society. The amateur researchers have found the ant from the Western Ghats region of the State.
- Dr. Sadasivan, Senior Resident (Non Academic), Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, said three Dracula ant species had been discovered in the past in the country from Kolkata, Himachal Pradesh, and Karnataka.