There have been numerous efforts to conserve terrestrial forests and habitats. However, the same cannot be said for our oceans and seascapes. In recent years, coastal zones have been under increasing pressure due to population growth, unplanned developmental activities, increase in infrastructural growth, coastal lighting, tourism and other related issues often leading to the destruction […]
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Current adequacy of earth observation satellites for locust surveillance The desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria (Orthoptera: Acrididae), a type of grasshopper, in accordance of their habitat, adopt one of two life forms—that of a lonely individual (solitary phase) or join other conspecifics to form swarms of migrating locusts (gregarious phase). This type of phenotypic plasticity is […]
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‘I don’t believe it’, was US President Donald Trump’ response to the ‘the National Climate Assessment’, in which climate scientists had concluded that climate change could cost the US economy hundreds of billions of dollars and thousands of lives each year in future. From 2018 to 2020, dismissing the climate change theory, Trump’s thinking has […]
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A national-level state of emergency has been declared by the Russian President Vladimir Putin in the regions of Norilsk and Taimyr, northern Siberia. The declared state of emergency in these Arctic regions is to bring in the ‘federal resources’ to assist the arduous clean-up efforts following a spill of more than 20,000 tonnes of diesel […]
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Gharana, a dying wetland, is located merely 500 m from the international border between India and Pakistan, the 200 acres of the Wetland situated in Jammu province (boundaries yet to be demarcated) harbours around 50 species of wintering waterbirds. Gharana is partially covered with various water plants — water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes, Hydrilla spp. and […]
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Climate Change indicators are observations that can be used to track the current state of climate and its trends. Climate is defined as the average weather conditions prevailing at a place or a region over a long period. At a broader scale climate systems include land, atmosphere, ocean and the cryosphere. The World Meteorological Organisation […]
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The Global Biodiversity Outlook is the flagship publication of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The CBD known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, was opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro on 5 June 1992 and entered into force on 29 December 1993, 90 days after the 30th ratification, as stated […]
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Glaciers are formed when snow, compressed into large thickness of crystalline ice mass, develops an ability to move due to sheer mass. These glaciers together with snow and ice constitute the cryosphere which covers nearly 10 per cent of the surface of the earth (NSIDC, undated). The major part of ice and glaciers is found […]
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Antarctic is known for being earth’s largest single mass of ice. It covers almost 14 million sq km and holds around 61 per cent of earth’s freshwater. However, wide networks of canyons, waterways and lakes that have been discovered buried under the ice sheet have captured the interest of people and are now the focus […]
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Stratospheric ozone Arctic Ozone Depletion and Impact on Climate Change A study which examined the Arctic ozone depletion at eight stations in the Arctic stipulates that the Arctic stratospheric ozone recovery, predicted for the mid 2030s, might be significantly delayed (Pommereau, 2018). The study observed that the 2015-2016 ozone depletion is the third largest reported […]
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