Geography Current Affairs by Pmfias.

com – May 2019 to December 2019

PDF – Contents

{DM – 19/05/01} National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) ........................................................................................................... 3

{DM – 19/05/06} It’s time for a National Disaster Insurance Policy (Mains topic) ................................................................................. 3

{DM – 19/11/26} 56% area of India prone to earthquakes ............................................................................................ 4

{DM – 19/12/10} Anaj Mandi Fire Tragedy ............................................................................................................................................................ 5

{DM – 28/06/2019} Funding disaster management in India.......................................................................................... 6

{EG – Coal – 19/09} How coal gasification can help India reduce its energy import ............................................................................ 8

{EG – Coal – 19/09} Measures taken to boost coal production in India ........................................................................ 8

{EG – Energy – 19/12/2} Increasing energy consumption ............................................................................................................................. 10

{EG – Energy Resources – 19/10/31} Britain orders immediate moratorium on fracking ................................................................. 11
{EG – Infra – 19/12/03} Fourth round of RCS scheme ..................................................................................................................................... 12

{EG – Infra – 19/12/05} Infrastructure creation for Coastal Shipping ........................................................................................................ 13

{EG – Marine Resources – 19/08/04} India's Deep Ocean Mission .............................................................................. 16

{EG – Minerals – 19/08/01} KABIL Set up to Ensure Supply of Critical Minerals ....................................................... 20
{EG – Minerals – 19/12/19} Cobalt ................................................................................................................................. 21

{EG – Renewable Energy – 19/08/09} PM-Kusum scheme ........................................................................................... 21

{EG – Renewable Energy – 19/08/19} Renewable hybrid energy systems .................................................................. 22

{EG – Renewable Energy – 19/08/22} In News ................................................................................................................................................... 24

{EG – Renewable Energy – 19/08/22} MNRE issues phase-2 norms for rooftop solar ....................................................................... 24

{EG – Renewable Energy – 19/10/10} 1,75,000 MW target by 2022 .......................................................................................................... 25

{EG – Renewable Energy – 19/12/11} Green window for green energy ................................................................................................... 26
{EG – Resources – 19/08/22} Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy .................................................................................................. 27
{EG – Resources – 19/12/12} Rare earths or Rare Earth Metals ................................................................................... 27

{EG – Water Resources – 19/09/18} Clean water sanctuaries ....................................................................................................................... 31

{EG – Water Resources – 19/12/09} Water Resources..................................................................................................................................... 32

{EG – Water Resources – 19/12/12} Atal Bhujal Yojana (ATAL JAL) ............................................................................ 33
{EG – Water Resources – 19/12/13} Failure of Jal Shakti Abhiyan .............................................................................. 34

{Geo – Climatology – 19/05/09} El Nino occurrences of over 400 years ................................................................................................. 35

{Geo – Climatology – 19/05/09} Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) ............................................................................ 36

{Geo – Climatology – 19/05/09} Southern Annular Mode (SAM) or Antarctic Oscillation ............................................................... 38

{Geo – Climatology – 19/05/20} Western disturbances.................................................................................................................................. 39

{Geo – Climatology – 19/07/25} Lightning and Thunder ............................................................................................. 41

{Geo – Climatology – 19/08/21} Grasslands ........................................................................................................................................................ 44

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 {Geo – Climatology – 19/08} Heat domes ............................................................................................................................................................ 45
{Geo – Climatology – 19/10/05} SW Monsoon & NE Monsoon this year ................................................................... 46

{Geo – Climatology – 19/12/06} Enhanced Cyclonic Activity in the Arabian Sea ...................................................... 50

{Geo – Critical Features – 19/08/29} African grasslands are meant to burn .............................................................. 53
{Geo – Critical Features – 19/08/29} Forest Fires in the Amazon ................................................................................ 54

{Geo – Critical Features – 19/08/29} Rainforests .......................................................................................................... 56

{Geo – Critical Features – 19/12/21} Amazon rainforest .............................................................................................. 59

{Geo – Cyclone – 19/05/01} Cyclone Fani (pronounced as FONI) ............................................................................... 60
{Geo – Cyclones – 19/05/09} Impact of Global Warming on Tropical Cyclones ........................................................ 62

{Geo – Cyclones – 19/06/20} Changing Cyclone Patterns in the North Indian Ocean ............................................... 64

{Geo – EG – 19/05/01} Wind Energy: India to install 54.7 GW wind capacity by 2022: Fitch Solutions ...................................... 65

{Geo – EG – 19/05/02} Clean Energy sources: CNG, LNG, LPG and Hydrogen ........................................................... 66

{Geo – EG – 19/05/08} Clean Fuels (Alternate Fuels) .................................................................................................... 68

{Geo – EG – 19/05/15} Graphite reserves in India ............................................................................................................................................. 71

{Geo – EG – 19/06/24} Clean Fuels: National Policy on Bio-Fuel 2018........................................................................ 72

{Geo – EG – 19/06/26} Nuclear Energy: Thorium-Based Nuclear Reactors ............................................................................................ 73

{Geo – EG – 19/06/28} Ground Water: Crop Diversification Programme ................................................................................................ 74

{Geo – EG – 19/08/09} Biodiesel from Used Cooking Oil ............................................................................................. 75

{Geo – Floods – 19/08/24} Flood control measures ......................................................................................................................................... 77

{Geo – HG – 19/05/15} Maldharis of Kutch ................................................................................................................... 78

{Geo – IG – 19/06/04} Atlantic Ocean and Indian Summer Monsoon ...................................................................................................... 79

{Geo – IG – 19/06/30} Indian Monsoon Prediction .......................................................................................................................................... 79

{Geo – IG – 19/08/10} Impact of irrigation on monsoon patterns ............................................................................................................. 81

{Geo – Oceanography – 19/09/23} Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) ....................................... 82

{Geo – Volcanism – 19/12/10} White Islands Volcano eruption ................................................................................................................. 84

{Geo LBT – India – 19/09/06} Karnataka’s Pavagada ....................................................................................................................................... 85

{Geo LBT – India – 19/09/12} Pangong Tso (lake)............................................................................................................................................. 86

{Geo LBT – India – 19/09/17} Alang shipbreaking yard .................................................................................................................................. 87

{Geo LBT – India – 19/09/20} Mawlynnong ......................................................................................................................................................... 87

{Geo LBT – India – 19/11/29} Saudi-UAE project in India .............................................................................................................................. 88

{Geo LBT – India – 19/25/12} Atal Tunnel (Rohtang Tunnel) ...................................................................................... 90

{Geo LBT – World – 19/11/22} Bougainville ........................................................................................................................................................ 92
{Geo LBT – World – 19/11/25} Dallol geothermal field .................................................................................................................................. 96

{Geo LBT – World – 19/12/07} Victoria Falls ....................................................................................................................................................... 97

[DOC] Envi Locations in News: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fG_OBENivd9oUuGdM7WP499DcqC2V7ho/view

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 [PDF] Envi Locations in News: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1les9T9YAGqdt4qfQ1qdeYeroeG6sp9HF/view
[Map] Envi Locations in News: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IUN3uNgtc6kCizDzLQ__9aHWHBjSh006/view
[Map] Geo Locations in News: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gpjNsOXRc5mv2nLuLJWMM4KuSzXy64D4/view
The above files will be updated every month from Jan 2020.

{DM – 19/05/01} National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC)

PIB | 01-05-2019 | Disaster Management | Notes on Disaster Management is in the making

• NCMC meets to take stock of disaster management arising out of the ESCS ‘Fani’.

About NCMC

• It is an ad hoc committee (temporary committee) set up by the GOI in the wake of a natural calamity.
• It is headed by Cabinet Secretary of GOI (top-most executive official of GOI).
• On the constitution of NCMC, the Secretaries of other departments must abide by the NCMC’s instructions.
• NCMC will give directions to the Crisis Management Group of the Home Ministry as deemed necessary.

Functions of NCMC

• Coordinate the activities of the Central Ministries (Departments of GOI) and the State Governments in relation
to dealing with a natural calamity (disaster preparedness and relief).
• Oversee effective coordination and implementation of relief measures and operations.
• Review every year Contingency Plans formulated by the Central Ministries/Departments.
• Review the measures required for dealing with a natural calamity.

{DM – 19/05/06} It’s time for a National Disaster Insurance Policy (Mains topic)

Livemint | 06-05-2019 | Disaster Management | Notes on Disaster Management is in the making.

• National Disaster and Management Authority (NDMA) was set up in the wake of 2004 tsunami.
• NDMA was created by an Act of Parliament in 2005.
• NDMA has been successful in reducing the causalities during disasters like cyclones.
• Now it’s time to move to the next level and work out ways to minimize the loss of property and assets.
• Disaster insurance would spread the risk of exposure to calamities across large populations.

Policy is not easy to achieve

• Even developed countries are struggling to design effective insurance programmes for the disaster struck.

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• Citizen’s may not participate in such insurance schemes (already paid GST, income tax na, why more!).
• Governments usually don’t have enough money and the insurers will not participate in the high risk schemes.
• Big ticket schemes are financially unviable without people’s cooperation. E.g. Ayushman Bharat looks attrac-
tive initially but will have long term financial implications. (GOI simply doesn’t have so much money!).

Ideas

• Premium fees need to be borne by both the government and the citizens.
• Region and disaster specific insurance schemes can be launched so that the citizens of the potential dis-
aster zones can be convinced to join the insurance scheme.
• The principle of progressive rates would need to apply based on the disaster exposure of the region (e.g.
coastal dwellers will pay high premium compared to non-coastal residents).

{DM – 19/11/26} 56% area of India prone to earthquakes

TH | 26-11-2019 | Disaster Management

• National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in association with IIIT-Hyderabad prepared an Earth-
quake Disaster Risk Index (EDRI) for India.
• EDRI is intended to increase public awareness about earthquake safety and earthquake resilient homes.
• EDRI comprises earthquake hazard, exposure and vulnerability of a city.
1. Earthquake hazard refers to the amount of ground shaking that an area will experience.
2. Exposure refers to the number of buildings present in that area, and
3. Vulnerability refers to the strength of the building to withstand an earthquake.
• EDRI shows that 56% area of India (inhabited by 82% of the population) is vulnerable to moderate to
major earthquakes.
• EDRI developed for 50 cities from high seismic zones showed that no city has a low hazard level.
• 7 cities have low level risk, 30 cities have medium level risk and 13 cities have high level risk.
• Major high risk cities include Aizawl, Srinagar, Nainital, Itanagar, Guwahati, Dispur, Port Blair, Jammu, etc.
• High risk with high exposure cities include Aizawl, Solan, Gangtok, and Vijayawada.
• Medium risk with high exposure cities include Ghaziabad, Pune, and Mumbai.
• Those with hilly terrain showed to have low exposure (because of low population density), whereas cities with
flat terrain and high populations have high exposure.

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 Earthquake zones of India (Source)

{DM – 19/12/10} Anaj Mandi Fire Tragedy

TH | 10-12-2019 | GS3 > Disaster Management

• At least 43 died while many others injured after a fire at an illegal factory in Anaj Mandi area, north Delhi.
• The factory was running in a residential area.
• There was lack of No-objection certificate from the fire department.

Fire services in India

• Fire services in India come under the 12th schedule of the Constitution under the provisions of Article 243W
of the Constitution which is the domain of municipalities.
• Fire services in some states like Gujarat are under the respective concerned municipal corporations.
• In other states, it is under the department of Home Ministry.
• The Standing Fire Advisory Council (SFAC) constituted by GOI in 1956 has laid down certain norms for estab-
lishment of Fire Stations, Equipment, Manpower and Fire tenders/vehicles etc.

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• It has recommended establishment of Fire Stations in the Country based on the response time which is 5 to
7 minutes in Urban areas and 20 minutes in Rural areas.

{DM – 28/06/2019} Funding disaster management in India

PIB | Livemint | 28-06-2019

Disaster Management: Responsibly and financial assistance

• The primary responsibility for disaster management rests with the State Governments.
• Central Government extends logistics and financial supports to the States to supplement their efforts.
• Disaster Management Division under Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is responsible for response, relief and
preparedness.
• The concerned State Governments provide financial relief from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).
• Additional financial assistance is extended from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).
• Financial assistance under SDRF/NDRF in the wake of natural disasters is by way of relief and not for com-
pensation of loss suffered/claimed.
• The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare is concerned with providing relief under
NDRF to farmers who have lost their crops due to drought, hailstorm, pest attack and cold wave/frost.

Three stages in disaster management

1. Disaster mitigation: taking long-term steps such as putting in place early warning systems and rainwater
harvesting structures to reduce the impact of disasters.
2. Disaster relief: affected persons are provided assistance and essential services are restored.
3. Disaster reconstruction: where damaged infrastructure is rebuilt.
• The Disaster Management Act, 2005, requires that a disaster management plan and a mitigation plan be
formulated at the district, state and national levels.
• Each is to be supported at every level by disaster relief and mitigation funds that must be set up.
• Thus, six plans and six funds are required to be created to manage disasters in India.
• The National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) and State Disaster Relief Funds (SDRF) have been set up.
• However, mitigation plans have not been prepared at any level.
• Also, the corresponding funds have not been set up.

Funding disaster management

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• National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) is financed by the National Calamity Contingency Duty (NCCD), the
proceeds of which have fallen sharply after the introduction of GST.
• The collections from NCCD during 2019-20 are projected to be only ₹2,480 crore.
• The government proposed an additional outlay of ₹7,520 crore, aggregating ₹10,000 crore for disaster relief
assistance. This amount is not enough to meet demand.
• The GST compensation cess generates more revenue in a month than the NCCD does in an entire year.

National Calamity Contingency Duty (NCCD)

• National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF) was renamed as National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) in
2010 with the enactment of the Disaster Management Act in 2005.
• NDRF is replenished through the National Calamity Contingent Duty imposed on cigarettes, pan masala,
beedis, other tobacco products and cellular phones.

States are driven to unorthodox sources of funding for three reasons

1. NDRF and SDRF are available only for disaster relief and not for mitigation or restoration. States must meet
outlays for disaster mitigation and restoration on their own.
2. State governments do not make adequate provision in their budgets for mitigation and reconstruction.
3. The borrowing capacity of states is constrained under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management
Act.

Recent instances

• Kerala government requested the GST Council to permit it to levy a cess on state GST (SGST) to fund its
disaster management.
• The council authorised it to levy a cess of 1% on its SGST for up to two years.
• If more such requests are agreed, each state will have a different GST structure and GST will no longer be
“one tax for one nation".
• Another unorthodox measure adopted by Kerala is its issuance of rupee-denominated bonds overseas (ma-
sala bonds).
• The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) issued masala bonds of ₹2,150 crore in March 2019.
• Critics have argued that the use of such an instrument of debt infringes Article 293(1) of the Constitution,
which prohibits state governments from borrowing outside the territory of India.

Recommendations for better funding

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• For sustainable option to fund disaster management nationally, the centre may consider expanding the tax
base of the NCCD to mimic that of the GST compensation cess.

{EG – Coal – 19/09} How coal gasification can help India reduce its energy import

IE | Economic Geography > Mineral Resources > Coal

• Odisha’s Talcher fertiliser plant will start a coal gasification unit for the production of urea and Ammonia.
• The goal is to revive closed PSU fertiliser plants operating under Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
• The decision is geared towards reducing India’s reliance on fertilizer imports and helping the country meet
its CoP-21 Paris Agreement commitments.
• Urea is currently produced using pooled natural gas (domestic natural gas + imported LNG).
• The usage of locally available coal for making fertilisers would help reduce the import of LNG.
• India currently imports 50 to 70 lakh tonnes of urea every year, and that the revival of the units would help
increase the availability of domestically produced fertilisers.

What is coal gasification?

• Coal gasification is the process of converting coal into synthesis gas (also called syngas), which is a mixture
of hydrogen (H2), carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2).
• The syngas can be used in a variety of applications such as in the production of electricity and making
chemical products, such as fertilisers.
• The coal gasification process holds good potential in the future, with coal being the most abundantly avail-
able fossil fuel across the world, and that even low-grade coal can be used in the process.

{EG – Coal – 19/09} Measures taken to boost coal production in India

D2E | Economic Geography > Coal

• Indian coal industry was plagued with low productivity, primitive technology, etc.
• Hence in 1975, public sector and private sector companies were liquidated to form Coal India Limited.
• Since 1975, all the mining activities were undertaken only by Coal India Ltd. and its subsidiaries.
• The centralization of the coal industry resulted in lack of innovation and the sector soon became stagnant.
• In 2004, GOI decided to allocate coal blocks to private companies for captive mining (mining for self-con-
sumption).
• But the procedure of allocation was embroiled in corruption (Coalgate scam: coal blocks were allocated with-
out any competitive bidding during the period 2004–2009).

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• GOI opened up commercial coal mining for the private sector in 2018 and approved the methodology
for auction of coal mines/blocks for sale of coal.

October 2019: Government allows 100% FDI in coal mining

• GOI has approved 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in coal mining and associated infra-
structure.
• The GOI hopes that 100% FDI in the sector will attract foreign investments to create an efficient coal market.
• Until now only Coal India Ltd (CIL) and its subsidiaries could mine and sell coal in the country.
• Along with CIL, private and public sector companies with captive mines (mines from which coal is extracted
by a company for self-consumption) were allowed to mine and sell 25 per cent of coal in the open market.
• With the deregulation of the sector, now the private companies will also be able to mine and sell coal.

Why 100% FDI now?

• The centralization of the coal industry resulted in many bureaucratic hurdles, irregularities (Coalgate scam)
lack of innovation and application of antiquated (obsolete, old-fashioned) mining technology.
• As a result, mining done by CIL or from captive mines came at a huge financial & environmental cost.
• Also, CIL was incapable of meeting the coal demand and India had to import from the outside.

How will 100% FDI change the sector?

• India is unlikely to open up more coal mines due to environmental issues. With the coming in of professional
coal miners, it would lead to an improvement of how coal is mined in the country.

Why does India import coal although it has enough reserves?

Inability to exploit reserves

• Unavailability of technology to mine coal from deep underground coal mines (40% of total coal reserves are
located at a deeper depth which cannot be extracted using opencast mining).
• Significant portions of Indian coal reserves are in Maoist affected regions and densely populated areas.

Short supply of coking coal (metallurgical coal)

• Coke is an important ingredient in the manufacture of iron (coke acts as fuel in a blast furnace).
• India has very few coking coal sources and hence it has to import it from Australia, Canada, South Africa,
Indonesia, etc.

Environmental concerns

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• India’s coal has high ash content and low caloric value. Hence burning it causes a lot of pollution.
• Previously, due to shortage of coal and pollution concerns, many Indian power plants had been designed to
run on superior quality imported coal.
• Clean coal technology used to clean coal to reduce emissions is expensive and complex to setup.

Lack of dedicated freight corridors (railway lines for goods trains)

• The distribution of coal is uneven.

• The movement of freight in India is slow (goods trains have to make way for passenger trains) as Indian
railways doesn’t have dedicated freight corridors.
• Hence it is sometimes convenient and/or less expensive to import coal.

Coal India is not able to meet the demand of captive power plants

• Aluminium smelters, cement makers and other industrial users that power their factories using their own coal
powered power plants (captive power plants).
• Given these consumers have to run their captive power plants in order to produce their goods, they have no
option but to turn to imports when Coal India can’t meet their needs.
• There is about 30 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired generation capacity that is used by captive power plants.

Captive power plant: A captive power plant provides localised source of power to an energy user. These are typi-
cally industrial facilities or large offices.

{EG – Energy – 19/12/2} Increasing energy consumption

PIB | 02-12-2019 | GS3 > Infrastructure >Energy

• India is the 3rd largest energy as well as crude oil consumer in the world.
• It’s share in the total global primary energy demand is set to double to 11% by 2040.
• India requires 100 billion dollars of investment in oil and gas to meet its energy demand.
• To meet the increased requirement, major strategies adopted include:
✓ attracting investment in E&P to enhance domestic oil and gas production
✓ shifting to a gas based economy
✓ technological upgradation to boost refinery processes, energy efficiency and productivity
✓ accelerating bio/fuel economy
✓ expanding overseas oil and gas portfolio
✓ diversifying oil and gas supply sources

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 ✓ driving infrastructure spending in oil and gas sector etc.

{EG – Energy Resources – 19/10/31} Britain orders immediate moratorium on

fracking

The Hindu | EG > Unconventional Gas Resources: Shale Gas & Coalbed Methane

• Britain will impose an immediate moratorium on fracking saying the industry is causing earth tremors.
• UK's government had previously signalled its support for the shale gas industry as it seeks ways to cut reliance
on imports of natural gas.
• Fracking involves extracting gas from rocks by breaking them up with water and chemicals at high pressure.
• An anti-fracking campaign by local people emerged opposing new fossil fuel projects in the region.

Hydro-fracturing or Fracking

• Shale rock is sometimes found 3,000 metres below the surface.

• After deep vertical drilling, there are techniques to drill horizontally for considerable distances in various
directions to extract the gas-rich shale.
• A mixture of water, chemicals, and sand is then injected into the well at very high pressures to create a
number of fissures in the rock to release the gas.
• The process of using water for breaking up the rock is known as ‘hydro-fracturing’ or ‘fracking’.
• The chemicals help in water and gas flow and tiny particles of sand enter the fissures to keep them open
and allow the gas to flow to the surface.

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{EG – Infra – 19/12/03} Fourth round of RCS scheme

PIB | 03-12-2019 | GS3 > Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

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• The 4th round of Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)/UdeDeshKaAamNagrik (UDAN) has been launched to
enhance connectivity to remote and regional areas of the country.
• Priority areas include North East Region, Hilly States, J&K, Ladakh and Islands.

About RCS scheme

• Ude Desh ka Aam Nagarik (UDAN) is a regional connectivity scheme the Government of India (GoI).
• It aims to develop smaller regional airports to allow common citizens easier access to aviation services.
• It is a part of the National Civil Aviation Policy and is funded jointly by the GoI and the state governments.

Objectives of the Regional Connectivity Scheme

• Operationalization and development of 425 underserved or unserved airports in the country.

• Inclusive economic development by providing faster connectivity.
• Development of air transport infrastructure in remote areas to aid job growth.

{EG – Infra – 19/12/05} Infrastructure creation for Coastal Shipping

PIB | 05-12-2019 | GS3 > Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

• Master Planning of 12 major ports has been carried out and 95 projects of capacity expansion and modern-
isation have been identified.
• The capacity of ports has been increased by 293 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).
• The Ministry of Shipping has approved 67 projects worth Rs. 1491 crore under Sagarmala Program for im-
proving port infrastructure and connectivity.
• As per the National Perspective Plan (NPP) for SagarmalaProgramme which was prepared in April 2016 a
roadmap has been developed for increasing port capacity to 3300+ MTPA by 2025.

Sagarmala Project

• Sagarmala project is a port-led development programme of Ministry of Shipping.

• Currently 95% of India’s trade by value and 70 % by volume take place through maritime transport.
• The cost of shipping goods through Indian maritime transport is quite high compared to that of China, South
Korea, Japan and other developed countries.
• This makes Indian goods uncompetitive in the international market.
• China, South Korea and Japan have effectively used their coastline for ‘port-led development’.
• India has to replicate their model to stay competitive.

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Objectives of the project

• Augmenting operational efficiency of ports (more terminals for loading and unloading cargo)
• Optimizing logistics (rails, roads and inland waterways).
• Identify capacity additions (more ports wherever viable).
• Modernize India’s Ports so that port/led development can be augmented.

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Six megaports are planned under Sagarmala project

State Place Port

Kerala Vizhinjam Vizhinjam International Seaport

Tamil Nadu Colachel Colachel Seaport

Maharashtra Vadhavan (near Dahanu) Vadhavan Port

Karnataka Tadadi Tadadi port

Andhra Pradesh Machilipatnam Machilipatnam Port

West Bengal Sagar Island Sagar Island Port

{EG – Marine Resources – 19/08/04} India's Deep Ocean Mission

TH | 04-08-2019 | Economic Geography > Marine Resources (given in detail in Oceanography 2019 edition)

• India’s ₹8,000-crore ‘Deep Ocean Mission’ to explore deep ocean minerals will be launched in October.
• One of the main aims of the mission is to explore and extract polymetallic nodules.
• Polymetallic nodules (marine manganese nodules) are small potato-like accretions composed of minerals
such as
✓ manganese (~30%),
✓ nickel (1.25-1.5%),
✓ copper (~1%),
✓ cobalt (~0.25%) and
✓ iron hydroxide.
• They lie scattered on the ocean floor at depths of about 6,000 m and the size can vary from a few millimetres
to centimetres.
• These metals can be extracted and used in electronic devices, batteries (cobalt is an important component
of lithium-ion batteries; Electric Vehicles use lithium-ion batteries) and even for solar panels.

Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB)

• The International Seabed Authority (ISA), an autonomous international organisation established under the
1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, allots the ‘area’ for deep-sea mining.
• India was the first country to receive the status of a ‘Pioneer Investor’ in 1987 and was given an area of about
1.5 lakh sq km in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) for nodule exploration.

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 Locations of known polymetallic nodules. From World Ocean Review 3, (2014) (Source)

• In 2002, India signed a contract with the ISA and after complete resource analysis of the seabed 50% was
surrendered and the country retained an area of 75,000 sq km.
• Further studies have helped narrow the mining area to 18,000 km2 which will be the ‘First Generation Mine-
site’.
• According to Ministry of Earth Sciences, the estimated polymetallic nodule resource potential in this area is
380 million tonnes (MT), containing
✓ 92.59 MT of manganese
✓ 4.7 MT of nickel,
✓ 4.29 MT of copper, and
✓ 0.55 MT of cobalt.

When will India start mining?

• India’s mining site is at a depth of 5,500 metres where the pressure is high, and temperature is extremely low.
• India has demonstrated the mining technology with artificial nodules at 500 metres depth.
• The mining machine newly developed for 6000 metres depth will be deployed at 5,500 metres as a part of
Deep Ocean Mission.
• However, the commercial mining from such depths in decades away.

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Which are the other countries that are in the race to mine the deep sea?

• Apart from the CIOB, polymetallic nodules have been identified from the central Pacific Ocean. It is known as
the Clarion-Clipperton Zone.
• ISA has entered into contracts for exploration for polymetallic nodules, polymetallic sulphides and cobalt-
rich ferromanganese crusts till 2022 in the deep seabed with 29 contractors.
• China, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Russia and also some small islands such as the Cook Islands,
Kiribati have joined the race for deep sea mining.
• Most of the countries have tested their technologies in shallow waters and are yet to start deep-sea extrac-
tion.

Environmental impact

• The deep sea’s biodiversity and ecology remain poorly understood, making it difficult to assess the environ-
mental impact and frame adequate guidelines.
• According IUCN, these deep locations can be home to unique species that have adapted themselves to con-
ditions such as poor oxygen and sunlight, high pressure and extremely low temperatures.
• Such mining expeditions can make them go extinct.
• Environmentalists are also worried about the sediment plumes that will be generated as the suspended par-
ticles can rise to the surface harming the filter feeders in the upper ocean layers.

Challenges

• Difficulty and expense of developing and operating mining technology that could economically remove the
nodules from depths of five or six kilometres.
• Continuing availability of the key minerals from land-based sources like nickel at market prices.
• The latest estimate from the ISA says it will be commercially viable only if about three million tonnes are
mined per year.

18
19
 Source and Credits: IUCN
For related topics like polymetallic sulphides, marine gas hydrates and other ocean resources, refer to
Pmfias Oceanography 2019 edition.

{EG – Minerals – 19/08/01} KABIL Set up to Ensure Supply of Critical Minerals

PIB | 01-08-2019

• A joint venture company namely Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. (KABIL) is to be set up with the participation of
three Central Public Sector Enterprises namely,
✓ National Aluminium Company Ltd. (NALCO),
✓ Hindustan Copper Ltd. (HCL) and
✓ Mineral Exploration Company Ltd. (MECL).
• The equity participation between NALCO, HCL and MECL is in the ratio of 40:30:30.
• Objective of constituting KABIL is to ensure a consistent supply of critical and strategic minerals to Indian
domestic market.

20
KABIL functions

• The KABIL would carry out identification, exploration, development, mining and processing of strategic min-
erals overseas for commercial use and meeting country’s requirement of these minerals.
• The new company will help in building partnerships with other mineral rich countries like Australia and those
in Africa and South America.

The Need for KABIL

• Indian is betting big on Electric Vehicle Mobility therefore it is important to ensure energy storage through
batteries.
• Aviation, Defence and Space Research also require minerals with lower weight and high mechanical strength.
• Among such twelve minerals identified as strategic minerals, which have meagre resource base, Lithium and
Cobalt are significant.

{EG – Minerals – 19/12/19} Cobalt

IE | 19-12-2019 | Mineral Resources > Cobalt

• The forced child labour case, filed in a court in Washington DC by International Rights Advocates, names
Apple, Alphabet (Google’s parent), Dell, Microsoft and Tesla as defendants.
• According to the IRA’s complaint, the defendants are benefiting from aiding and abetting “the cruel and
brutal use of young children in Democratic Republic of Congo (“DRC”) to mine cobalt”.
• Cobalt is an essential element in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that are used in tech products and
electric cars, and is, therefore, in high demand in the tech industry.
• The DRC has the world’s largest deposits of cobalt.
• More than half the world’s supply of cobalt comes from the DRC, while China produces almost half of the
world’s refined cobalt.
• Cobalt is mined in the DRC under extremely dangerous stone age conditions by children.

{EG – Renewable Energy – 19/08/09} PM-Kusum scheme

D2E | 09-08-2019 | General Science, Economic Geography > Energy Sources > Renewable Energy

• PM-Kusum: Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan

• PM-Kusum scheme consists of three components:
1. 10 GW of Decentralized Ground Mounted Grid Connected Renewable Power Plants.
2. Installation of 17.50 lakh standalone (off grid) Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps.

21
 3. Solarisation of 10 Lakh Grid-connected Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps.
• All three components combined, PM-Kusum aims to add a solar capacity of 25.75 GW by 2022.
• The total central financial support provided under the scheme would be Rs. 34,422 crores.
• Besides reducing emissions, the scheme aims to address challenges of irrigation supply, subsidy burden on
discoms (~Rs 50,000 crores) and farmer income (sale of surplus power).

Criticism of PM-Kusum scheme

• The scheme might result in over-exploitation of groundwater, according to CSE.

• PM-Kusum may also not help reduce discoms’ subsidy burden because the installation of pumps is not man-
datorily tied to decrease in subsidised agricultural power supply.
• PM-Kusum's proposed scheme of installing solar plants on farmland might benefit only the wealthy farmers,
as it requires large investment or the ability to lease land for 25 years.

The CSE report recommends

• Solar pump schemes should accompany strict measures of control to manage groundwater extraction.
• The focus should be on on-grid solar pumps as they are economically superior to off-grid pumps as excess
electricity can be injected into the grid.
• Off-grid pumps should be considered only for unelectrified regions with relatively high water-table.
• Clear targets must be set to provide solar pumps to small and marginal farmers.

{EG – Renewable Energy – 19/08/19} Renewable hybrid energy systems

Livemint | 19-08-2019 | General Science, Economic Geography > Energy Sources > Renewable Energy

• Hybrid systems of power generation and supply have the potential to bring down the costs by efficiently
utilizing the existing infrastructure.

Renewable energy has inherent challenges:

1. Renewable energy relies on intermittent sources like sun, wind, tides, etc. and hence its output is con-
strained to specific hours of the day. This can create issues in matching peak power demand.
➢ For example, solar output is maximum between 11am and 3pm, while wind output is highest in late
evening and early morning. However, peak demand for power is reached in the evening hours of 6-9
pm, which cannot be catered to by either wind or solar.
2. Its usage leads to lower utilization of transmission lines and hence relatively increased costs of trans-
mission.

22
• Because of these inherent shortcomings, there is a need to focus on hybrid systems of energy storage and
supply to cutdown costs and to ensure continuous supply of electricity even during peak hours.

What does hybrid systems constitute?

• Hybrid systems of energy storage and supply include flexible energy resources which can rapidly ramp up
or down power supply as needed.
• These could include hydro or gas-based power, or energy storage solutions (batteries).

How they work?

• Hybrid systems store excess energy during renewable generation hours and release it into the grid during
peak demand hours. In this way, it can provide both baseload and flexible 24x7 clean energy.

The cost advantages

• Hybrid systems are becoming increasingly cost competitive, driven by reducing costs of battery storage.
• An optimal combination of solar, wind and storage can deliver stable round-the-clock power even at today’s
costs of around ₹6-7/kWh. Compared to baseload coal plants, this is significantly higher.
• Also, Li-ion battery costs are expected to fall from current $220-240/kWh to below $100 in next 3-4 years.
• Similarly, costs of solar energy have plummeted from ₹4.63/kWh in 2016 to ₹2.50/kWh in the latest auctions.

Can hybrid systems substitute coal-fired power plants?

• The hybrid systems can potentially be competitive with 30-40% of existing coal-fired stations in India.
• McKinsey’s modelling suggests that that wind-solar storage hybrid systems could generate 24/7 power with
cost as well as reliability levels comparable to existing coal-fired power plants in the next 4-5 years.

Measures by the government: National Wind-solar Hybrid Policy

• India’s ministry of new and renewable energy released a solar-wind hybrid policy in 2018.
• The Policy seeks to promote new hybrid projects as well as hybridisation of existing wind/solar projects.
• The Policy provides for
✓ integration of wind and solar at AC as well as DC level.
✓ flexibility in share of wind and solar components in hybrid projects.
✓ procurement of power from a hybrid project on tariff based transparent bidding process.
• For a project to be recognized as hybrid project, rated power capacity of one resource should be at least 25%
of the rated power capacity of other resource.

23
• The objective of the policy is to provide a framework for promotion of large grid connected wind-solar hybrid
system for efficient utilization of transmission infrastructure and land.
• It also aims at reducing the variability in renewable power generation and achieving better grid stability.

{EG – Renewable Energy – 19/08/22} In News

PIB | PIB | 22-08-2019 | General Science, Economic Geography > Energy Sources > Renewable Energy

Ocean energy such as tidal, wave, shall be considered as Renewable Energy

• MNRE has clarified that energy produced using various forms of ocean energy such as tidal, wave, ocean
thermal energy conversion etc. shall be considered as Renewable Energy and shall be eligible for meeting
the non-solar Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO).

MoEF relaxed the lease rent norms for wind power projects

• Currently, to establish wind power project over forest land, the existing procedure requires payment of man-
datory charges for compensatory afforestation and Net Present value (NPV).
• In addition to these charges, the companies had to pay additional lease rent of Rs. 30,000/- per MW.
• MoEF has now relaxed the mandatory charging of lease rent of Rs. 30,000/- per MW for wind power projects.
• It is expected that this step will boost the investment in wind power projects and make wind power cheaper.
• Promotions of such projects strengthen commitments towards National Commitment pledged in Paris in
2015 was to have 40% of the power from renewable resources by 2030.

{EG – Renewable Energy – 19/08/22} MNRE issues phase-2 norms for rooftop so-
lar

D2E | 22-08-2019 | General Science, Economic Geography > Energy Sources > Renewable Energy

• The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) issued guidelines to implement the second phase
of grid-connected rooftop solar photovoltaic programme.
• Under the second phase, 22 GW of rooftop solar PV projects must be set up.
• Karnataka ranked the best for setting up a rooftop solar (RTS) project, according to the state rooftop solar
attractiveness index (SARAL) released by the Centre.
• Telangana, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh scored a rating of A++, while Jammu and Kashmir was placed at the
bottom.

24
• India targets to produce 40 per cent of its installed electricity capacity based on clean sources by 2030, in
line with its commitment towards the Paris Climate agreement.
• As part of this, 175 gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy capacity — 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from
wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro power — will be installed by 2022.
• The MNRE had, in December 2015, approved a programme ‘grid connected rooftop and small solar power
plants programme’, which aimed to install 4,200 MW rooftop solar plants in the country by year 2019-20.
• But, in the first phase only 2,158 megawatt (MW) of rooftop solar (RTS) systems could be installed.
• In the second phase, the electricity distribution companies (discoms) will play a key role in expansion of RTS.
• This is to ease the consumer’s challenge of approaching multiple agencies for getting an RTS plant installed.
• The discoms and its local offices would be the nodal points for implementation of the RTS programme.
• To install the grid connected RTS projects in residential sectors, a central financial assistance (CFA) of 4,000
MW will be provided to government-owned discoms.
• The discoms will be provided incentives because they will incur additional expenses in terms of more man-
power, creating infrastructure, capacity building, awareness, etc, to implement the project.

{EG – Renewable Energy – 19/10/10} 1,75,000 MW target by 2022

PIB | Geography > Economic Geography > Energy Sources > Renewable Energy

• There are apprehensions that India may fall short of its declared RE target of 1,75,000 MW by the year 2022.
• However, MNRE says India would overshoot its 2022 renewable energy target.
• By the end of September 2019, India has installed more than 82,580 MW of renewable energy capacity.
• According to MNRE, by the first quarter of 2021, India would install more than 1,13,000 MW RE capacity.
• Globally, India stands 5th in solar, 4th in wind, and 4th in total renewable power installed capacity.
• If large hydro included, India stands 3rd in renewable power capacity globally.

Measures taken to achieve the RE target of 1,75,000 MW by the year 2022

• Ease of doing business: transparent bidding and facilitation for procurement of power at competitive rates.
• Ensuring policy continuity: When Andhra Pradesh government announced intention to revisit already signed
Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), MNRE quickly clarified that no PPAs can be revisited unless there is a
clause to do so in such agreement or a case of malafide of corruption is proved beyond doubt.
• Land allocation: MNRE is in the process of developing Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Parks to overcome
the problem of land allocation. First such park is being planned in Dholera, Gujarat.

25
Schemes

• Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) Scheme Phase-ll for setting up 12,000 MW grid-connected
SPV Power Projects, by the Government Producers.
• PM-KUSUM scheme for de-dieselization of the farm sector.
• Roof Top Solar Phase-II programme SRISTI (Sustainable Rooftop Implementation for Solar Transfiguration
of India) scheme for accelerated deployment of solar roof top systems in the country.
• Under this scheme Central Financial Assistance for 4000 MW of small roof top capacity and incentives to
Distribution Companies for 18,000 MW capacity by 2022 have been provided.

PM-Kusum scheme

• PM-Kusum: Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan

• PM-Kusum scheme consists of three components:
4. 10 GW of Decentralized Ground Mounted Grid Connected Renewable Power Plants.
5. Installation of 17.50 lakh standalone (off grid) Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps.
6. Solarisation of 10 Lakh Grid-connected Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps.
• All three components combined, PM-Kusum aims to add a solar capacity of 25.75 GW by 2022.

{EG – Renewable Energy – 19/12/11} Green window for green energy

PIB | 11-12-2019 | Economic Geography > Energy Sources > Renewable Energy

• As India moves towards becoming a USD 5 trillion economy, the country’s aim to install 450 gigawatts (GW)
of renewable energy capacity would be one of the major drivers of its economic growth.
• The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), is planning to set up a dedicated “Green Win-
dow to serve the unserved segments of renewable energy.”
• IREDA is India’s leading financial institution dedicated to clean energy expansion.
• Since its founding under MNRE in 1987, IREDA has financed the largest share of renewable energy projects.
• An allocation of USD 20 million is being considered for the Green window.
• IREDA plans to leverage additional USD 80 million from other national and international agencies to establish
an envisaged facility of USD 100 million.

Green Window

• The Green Window would be set up to support underserved clean energy markets (bringing clean energy to
new areas) and support the scaling up of new clean energy technologies.

26
• There is limited debt capacity in the financial system to fund the amount of new generation tech needed to
meet renewables targets.
• A green window would lower the risk for traditional banks to finance green energy and tap into inter-
national capital to help India power its cities and rural communities.
• Green windows, like green banks, are public entities created to work with the private sector to increase in-
vestment in green energy and bring clean energy financing into the mainstream.
• They are innovative and new tools that have been successful in the developed economies.

{EG – Resources – 19/08/22} Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy

PIB | 19-08-2019 |

• India has increased its material consumption from 1.18 billion tonnes (BT) in 1970 to 7 BT in 2015.
• Enhancing resource efficiency and promoting the use of secondary raw materials is important to minimize
the trade-off between growth and environmental well-being.
• The Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy (NREP) envisions a future with environmentally sustainable and
equitable economic growth and resource security.
• The Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy is guided by the principles of
✓ reduction in primary resource consumption to ‘sustainable’ levels & staying within the planetary bound-
aries,
✓ creation of higher value with less material through resource efficient and circular approaches,
✓ waste minimization, and
✓ material security, and creation of employment opportunities and business models beneficial to the cause
of environment protection and restoration.

{EG – Resources – 19/12/12} Rare earths or Rare Earth Metals

IE | PIB | PIB | BI | Geology.com | 12-12-2019 | Economic Geography > Resources of strategic importance

• Rare Earth Elements or Rare Earth Metals are a set of 17 chemical elements in the periodic table — the 15
lanthanides, plus scandium and yttrium.

27
 Source and Credits

• The 17 Rare Earths are cerium (Ce), dysprosium (Dy), erbium (Er), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), holmium
(Ho), lanthanum (La), lutetium (Lu), neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), promethium (Pm), samarium (Sm),
scandium (Sc), terbium (Tb), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), and yttrium (Y).
• Promethium is radioactive.

Are rare earths rare? Why are they so expensive?

• Most of these elements are not really “rare”. They are called so as they tend to occur together in nature
as part of the same ore and are difficult to find as standalone minerals.
• They are often found in minerals with thorium (Th), and less commonly uranium (U).
• There are only a few viable areas on the planet where rare-earth elements can be mined and refined.
• Extracting these elements is challenging and expensive because they're just as likely to chemically bond to
surrounding dirt, rocks, and mineral sediment as they are to each other.

Applications of rare earths

28
• The importance of rare earths lies in their unique electronic, optical and magnetic characteristics, which
cannot be matched by any other metal or synthetic substitute.
• Rare Earth elements are used in space shuttle components, jet engine turbines, and drones.
• Cerium, the most abundant Rare Earth element, is essential to NASA’s Space Shuttle Programme.
• These elements are important in technologies of consumer electronics, communications, clean energy,
advanced transportation, healthcare, environmental mitigation, and national defence, among others.
• They are especially important for governments because of their use in manufacturing defence equipment.

Rare Earth Metal Applications (used in)

Scandium • Televisions and fluorescent lamps

Cerium • Essential to NASA’s Space Shuttle Programme

Yttrium • Used in drugs to treat rheumatoid arthritis and cancer

• Superconductors

Lanthanum • Night-vision goggles

Neodymium • Laser range-finders, guidance systems, communications

Europium • Fluorescents and phosphors in lamps and monitors

Erbium • Amplifiers in fiber-optic data transmission

Samarium • Permanent magnets that are stable at high temperatures

• Precision-guided weapons
• Cancer treatment

Praseodymium • Neodymium is used with praseodymium to create some of the strongest perma-
Neodymium nent magnets available.

Dysprosium • Has incredible magnetic properties

Holmium

Thulium • Portable X-ray devices

• Efficient lasers with various uses in defense & medicine

29
China’s domination

• China’s Rare Earths deposits account for 80% of identified global reserves.
• At present, China refines approximately 80%-90% of the world’s Rare Earths.
• Since 2010 when China curbed shipments of Rare Earths to Japan, the US, and Europe, production units have
come up in Australia and the US.
• Recently, China threatened to stop exporting Rare Earth materials to the US amid the ongoing trade war
between the countries.

India depends on imports

• India is dependent on imports for many critical elements like rare earths elements, selenium, germanium,
rhenium etc. required for clean-energy applications, solar cells and high technology products.
• The mineral monazite, occurring in beach sand and inland placer deposits along the coastal tracts of India,
is the major resource of rare earths in the country.
• Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), a constituent unit of Department of Atomic
Energy, has estimated 0.892 million tonnes of monazite resources in Kollam district, Kerala.

30
• Monazite typically contains about 55 – 60% total Rare Earth Oxides and about 9 – 10% Thorium Oxide.
• Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL), a Public Sector Undertaking under DAE, has set up a Monazite Processing
Plant in Odisha to process 10,000 tons per annum of monazite to produce mixed rare earth chloride.

{EG – Water Resources – 19/09/18} Clean water sanctuaries

The Hindu | 18-09-2019 | Geography > Economic Geography > Water Resources

• GOI has set a target to provide piped water to all rural households by 2024 under the Jal Jeevan Mission.
• However, over 70% of India’s surface water (rivers and lakes) and groundwater is polluted.
• Indians will soon need reverse osmosis (RO) for homes, which will add to the existing burden.
• The only unpolluted sources of water that remain are the
✓ waters underlying the floodplains of rivers (for bulk water) and
✓ subterranean natural mineral water underlying forest tracts (for drinking).
• These are two non-invasive sources which can perennially provide unpolluted water to the masses.
• Floodplains can be secured by planting organic food forests or fruit forests which don’t consume much water.
• Carving out lakes, as has been lately suggested, would require digging out vast quantities of sand.
• This will affect the wetland ecology of the floodplains. It will also cause loss of water due to evaporation.
• The natural mineral water that underlies forests is of the highest international quality.
• Unpolluted rainwater percolates through the humus or leaf cover on the forest floor while picking up nutri-
ents, and then through the underlying rock while picking up minerals.
• It finally settles in underground aquifers. This is highest quality natural mineral water for drinking.
• All our villages and cities in the sweep of the Western and Eastern Ghats have such forest aquifers.
• The hills around Visakhapatnam can provide enough water for millions of people.
• Shimla has a forest mineral water sanctuary spread over nearby hill ranges.
• Bengaluru’s Bannerghatta forest sanctuary and Mumbai’s Sanjay Gandhi National Park have underground
forest aquifers that can supply natural mineral water for the entire population of Bengaluru and Mumbai.
• Even the Aravallis can provide the best quality natural mineral water to all the cities in Rajasthan.

Measures that can be taken to prevent the contamination these aquifers

• The water levels of the floodplain aquifers need to be maintained (prevent overexploitation) well above the
river water level to avoid contamination by river water.
• We must maintain stable water levels for the subterranean forest aquifers to ensure sustainability.

31
• We need to declare the floodplains & forest aquifers as water sanctuaries similar to national parks & tiger
reserves.

Mains 2019: What is water stress? How and why does it differ regionally in India? (Answer in 250 words)

Water stress refers to a situation where the supply or available of water is way less than the demand or when
existing water resources can not be utilized due to quality issues.

{EG – Water Resources – 19/12/09} Water Resources

PIB | PIB | PIB | 09-12-2019 | GS3 > Envi

• The per capita water availability in the country is reducing with the increase in population.
• NITI Aayog, in its report titled “Composite Water Management Index” published in June 2018, has mentioned
that 21 major cities are expected to run out of groundwater by 2020.
• The average annual per capita water availability in the years 2001 and 2011 was assessed as 1816 cubic meters
and 1545 cubic meters and is likely to reduce to 1486 cubic meters in the year 2021.
• Water being a state subject, steps for conservation are undertaken by the State government where the
Central Government supplements the efforts.

List of measures by the Central Government

• Jal Shakti Abhiyan was launched to improve the availability of underground water in 256 water stressed
blocks of India.
• A National Perspective Plan (NPP) has been formulated for water resources development to transfer water
from surplus to deficit areas.
• Under the water supply component of the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)
Mission, projects related to rainwater harvesting, rejuvenation of water bodies, recharging of groundwater
can be taken up by the States/UTs to enhance water supply in the Mission cities.
• Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) was launched to provide every rural household functional tap connection by 2024
at the service level of 55 litre per capita per day.
• JJM focuses on integrated demand and supply management, creation of local infrastructure for sustainability
like rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge.
• Central Government also supports construction of water harvesting and conservation works primarily through
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and Pradhan Mantri Krishi
Sinchayee Yojana – Watershed Development Component (PMKSY-WDC).

32
{EG – Water Resources – 19/12/12} Atal Bhujal Yojana (ATAL JAL)

PIB | D2E | PIB | IE | 12-12-2019 | Economic Geography > Water resources

• ATAL JAL is a Rs. 6000 crore World Bank approved Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• The funding pattern is 50:50 between Government of India and World Bank.
• The entire World Bank's loan component and Central Assistance will be passed on to the States as Grants.
• The scheme will be implemented over a period of 5 years (2020-21 to 2024-25).
• It aims to improve ground water management in priority areas through community participation.
• Ground water contributes to 65% of total irrigated area and nearly 85% of the rural drinking water supply.
• The priority areas identified under the scheme fall in the states of Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
• The scheme is expected to benefit more than 8,000 villages in 78 districts in these seven states.
• These States represent about 25% of the total number of over-exploited, critical and semi-critical blocks in
terms of ground water in India.
• They also cover two major types of groundwater systems found in India – alluvial and hard rock aquifers –
and have varying degrees of institutional readiness and experience in groundwater management.
• The scheme is expected to have several positive outcomes which include
✓ integrated community based approach for addressing issues related to groundwater depletion
✓ sustainable groundwater management through convergence of on-going and new schemes
✓ adoption of efficient water use practices to reduce groundwater use for irrigation and
✓ augmentation of groundwater resources in targeted areas.

Features of ATAL JAL Scheme

• ATAL JAL will promote panchayat led ground water management and behavioural change with primary focus
on demand side (water consumption) management.
• It envisages community-led Water Security Plans.
• Concepts such as ‘Water User Associations’ and Water Budgeting will be introduced.
• Better performing districts and panchayats will get more funds.

India’s water situation

• India accounts for 16 per cent of the world’s population living in less than 2.5 per cent of the global area and
has just 4 per cent of the global water resources.

33
• According to the Central Water Commission (CWC), the estimated water resources potential of the country,
which occurs as natural runoff in the rivers, is 1,999 billion cubic metres (BCM).
• Of this, the estimated utilisable resources are 1,122 BCM per year — 690 BCM per year surface water and 432
BCM per year replenishable groundwater.
• Water-scarcity condition is prevalent in the basins of the Indus, Krishna, Cauvery, Subarnarekha, Pennar, Mahi,
Sabarmati and east-flowing rivers, and west-flowing rivers of Kutch and Saurashtra including Luni.
• Water scarcity is most acute in the basins of the Cauvery, Pennar, Sabarmati and east-flowing rivers, and
west-flowing rivers of Kutch and Saurashtra including Luni.

Percapita water situation

• According to the CWC, per capita availability in the country will decrease from 1,434 cubic metres in 2025 to
1,219 cubic metres in 2050.
• By CWC benchmarks, a water-stressed condition happens when per capita availability is less than 1,700
cubic metres, and a water-scarcity condition when per capita availability falls below 1,000 cubic metres.

India’s groundwater situation

• According to ‘Water and Related Statistics 2019’ by the CWC, the annual replenishable groundwater resources
in India (2017) are 432 BCM, out of which 393 BCM is the annual “extractable” groundwater availability.
• The current annual groundwater extraction is 249 BCM, the largest user being the irrigation sector.
• The CGWB has classified the country’s assessment units (blocks, taluks, mandals etc) into safe, semi-critical
and over-exploited in terms of groundwater resources.
• Jal Shakti Ministry had said 14% of the country’s assessment units are semi-critical, 5% are critical, and
17% are over-exploited, as of 2017.

{EG – Water Resources – 19/12/13} Failure of Jal Shakti Abhiyan

TH | 13-12-2019 | Economic Geography > Water Resources

• GOI launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA), a time-bound water conservation campaign to be carried out in
two phases, across the 255 districts having critical and over-exploited groundwater levels.
• JSA was not a funding programme and did not create any new intervention on its own.
• It only aimed to make water conservation a ‘people’s movement’ through schemes like the MGNREGA.
• It is modelled based on sporadic intitatives such as Anna Hazare-led efforts in Ralegan Siddhi, Maharashtra.
• These projects primarily involved building tanks and ponds to capture rainwater and building recharge wells.

34
Reasons for the failure of Jal Shakti Abhiyan

Not much scientific planning went into JSA

• Water planning should be based on hydrological units like river basins and catchement areas.
• However, JSA was planned based on administrative boundaries.
• This resulted in the division of basins/aquifers into multiple units that followed multiple policies.
• There was no data on basin-wise rainfall, no analysis of run-off and groundwater maps were rarely used.
• As a result, whether water harvested in a district was sometimes at the cost of water in adjoining districts.
• The JSA ignored the fact that most of India’s water-stressed basins, particularly those in the peninsular re-
gions, are facing closure, with the demand exceeding supply.
• Hence, groundwater recharge happened at the cost of surface water and vice versa.

Facile assumptions

• The per capita water allocation was 55 litres for rural & 135-150 litres for those linging in urban areas.
• However, JSA stressed on the rural areas and conveneiently ignored the urban areas.
• Therefore, the JSA’s asking villagers to ‘save water’, appears hypocritical, particularly when district admin-
istrations blatantly allow the sewage generated from cities to pollute village water sources.

Lack of long term solutions

• Most of the farm bunds built with soil collapse within one monsoon season due to rains.
• There are issues like lack of proper engineering supervision of these structures, involvement of multiple de-
partments with less or no coordination, and limited funding under MGNREGA and other schemes.
• Finally, there have hardly been any efforts undertaken to dissuade farmers from growing water-intensive
crops such as paddy, sugarcane, and banana.

{Geo – Climatology – 19/05/09} El Nino occurrences of over 400 years

D2E | 09-05-2019 | Geography > Climatology > El Nino

• A study has tracked El Nino occurrences of over 400 years.

• The El Niño trends of the past have been studied on the basis of coral cores spanning the Pacific Ocean.
• Coral cores — like tree rings and ice cores — have centuries-long growth patterns and contain isotopes
that can tell us a lot about the climate of the past.
• El Niños are linked to extreme weather across the globe, with particularly profound effects on precipitation
and temperature extremes in Australia, South East Asia and the Americas.

35
• Hence, the study is expected to strengthen the science of predicting extreme weathers and plan better.

Finding of the study

• El Niños have become stronger and their pattern too has been changing.
• The trend of El Niño in the last four centuries shows a variation in El Niño types.
• There has been an increase in central Pacific events (El Niño Modoki) lately.
• The most recent 30-year period includes fewer, but more intense, eastern Pacific El Niño events.

{Geo – Climatology – 19/05/09} Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO)

Source | 09-05-2019 | Geography > Climatology

• MJO is an eastward moving pulse of cloud & rainfall in the tropics that recurs every 30 to 60 days.
• Unlike ENSO, which is stationary (in Pacific Ocean), the MJO is an eastward moving disturbance.
• ENSO is associated with persistent features that last several seasons over the Pacific Ocean basin.
• On the other hand, multiple MJO events occur within a season (i.e. weather varies on a week-to-week basis).

36
 Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) Source and Credits

• The MJO consists of enhanced rainfall convective phase and suppressed rainfall convective phase.
• These two phases produce opposite changes in rainfall and this entire dipole propagates eastward.

37
 Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) Source and Credits

Madden-Julian Oscillation impact on Weather

• The MJO can modulate the timing and strength of monsoons.

• The MJO can influence tropical cyclone numbers and strength in nearly all ocean basins.
• The MJO can result in jet stream changes that can lead to cold air outbreaks, extreme heat events, and flood-
ing rains over North America.

{Geo – Climatology – 19/05/09} Southern Annular Mode (SAM) or Antarctic Oscil-

lation

Source | 09-05-2019 | Geography > Climatology

• SAM describes the north–south movement of the westerly wind belt that circles Antarctica.
• The changing position of the westerly wind belt influences the midlatitude storms.
• SAM has a significant impact on the weather of the South Indian Ocean and Australia.

Positive phase
38
• Band of westerly winds contracts toward Antarctica.
• Higher pressures over southern Australia.
• Stable and dry conditions (droughts, negatively effects tropical cyclones).

Negative phase

• Band of westerly winds expands towards the equator.

• More (or stronger) low pressure systems over southern Australia.
• Increased tropical storms and rain.

{Geo – Climatology – 19/05/20} Western disturbances

D2E | 20-05-2019 | Geography > Indian Climatology > Western Disturbances

• Every winter the weather systems that drape the Himalayas with snow come as visitors from far off lands.
• These visiting storms or low pressure areas originate in the Mediterranean region and the Atlantic.
• These storms come from a westward direction with respect to India, hence the name western disturbance.
• Then they travel towards Afghanistan, Pakistan and India along high altitude and brisk westerly winds
which are perennially flowing from the west to the east across the surface of the Earth.
• Along their way they pick up moisture from the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Caspian Sea and the Ara-
bian Sea.

39
• When the WDs come up against the Himalayas they shed their moisture in the form of rain and snow.
• Sometimes they move along the northern mountainous states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,
Uttarakhand and towards the north eastern states.
• While other times they move along more southward regions through Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pra-
desh and Bihar (good for rabi crops).

The WDs are not always the harbingers of good weather

• WDs can cause extreme weather events like flash floods, landslides, dust storms, hailstorms and cold waves.
• The 2013 Uttarakhand disaster was a result of an anomalous WD.
• The unusual dust storms in the summer of 2018, floods in Kashmir in 2014 and the cloud burst in Leh in 2010
can also be attributed to the same reason.
• The cold waves that hit northern and north western India from December 2018 to February 2019 were trig-
gered by an absence of intense WDs in the region.
• The weak WDs that did arrive did not move enough in the southward direction. The cold waves continued as
the intensity of the WDs suddenly increased in January.

More info: https://www.pmfias.com/western-disturbances-cloudburst/

40
{Geo – Climatology – 19/07/25} Lightning and Thunder

IE | Times Now | Weather.com | Geography > Climatology > Thunderstorm > Lightning and Thunder

Relevance

• In India every year more than 2,500 people die due to lightning.
• This is an unusually high number considering the climatic conditions of India.
• The high number of deaths are due to increasing lighting trend over the last 20 years, especially near the
foothills of the Himalayas.
• It has become a deadly natural phenomenon in Bihar and surrounding regions during pre-monsoon season
(April to June in South India – convectional thunderstorms; April to July in North India – frontal thunder-
storms in March-April due to Western Disturbances).
• The situation continues to get worse due to the increasing severity and frequency of thunderstorm/dust
storms/hailstorms due to increasing global temperatures.
• Inspite of all this, lightning remains among the least studied atmospheric phenomena in India.
• Monitoring, forecasting and warning systems have not evolved to address the gravity of present situation.

Image Credit: Wikipedia

Lightning

41
• Lightning is a very rapid and massive discharge of electricity in the atmosphere.
• Water vapour condenses into small ice crystals when it moves upward in the cumulonimbus cloud.
• The ice crystals continue to move up until they gather enough mass that can overcome the buoyant force.
• This leads to a system where smaller ice crystals move up while bigger crystals come down.
• The resulting collisions trigger the release of electrons, in a process very similar to the generation of electric
sparks (this is called as ionisation)
➢ In ionisation, an electron in the outer shell is peeled out of the atom, and the atom become an ion.
➢ There are two types of ions based on charge – cation and anion.
➢ Cation: A cation is an atom or a molecule which is positively charged, i.e. it has a greater number of
protons than electrons.
➢ Anion: An anion is an atom or molecule which is negatively charged, i.e. it has a greater number of
electrons than protons.
• The moving free electrons cause more collisions and more electrons are released and a chain reaction ensues.
• The process results in a situation in which the top layer of the cloud (10-12 km) gets positively charged
(cations) while the middle and bottom layers (1-3 km) are negatively (anions) charged.

Lightning (Credits)

• The electrical potential difference between the top and bottom layers is huge (of the order of a billion volts).
• In little time, a huge current starts to flow between the layers.
• It produces heat, leading to the heating of the air column between the two layers of cloud.
• It is because of this heat that the air column looks red during lightning.
• The heated air column expands and produces shock waves that result in thunder.

42
Thunder

• Thunder is the sound caused by the discharge of atmospheric electrical charge (creating plasma ― ionised
gas medium ― 30,000 °C) by lightning.
• The channel pressure of the electric charge greatly exceeds the ambient (surrounding) pressure, and the
channel expands at a supersonic rate (speed of sound).
• The resultant shock wave decays rapidly with distance and is eventually heard as thunder once it slows to
the speed of sound.
• Thunderbolt is a flash of lightning accompanied by a crash of thunder.

Lightning from cloud to Earth

• Earth is a good conductor of electricity but is electrically neutral.

• In comparison to the middle layer of the cloud, however, it becomes positively charged.
• As a result, a flow of current (about 20-15%) gets directed towards the Earth as well.
• It is this current flow that results in the damage to life and property.
• Once about 80-100 m from the surface, lightning tends to change course to hit the taller objects (guess
why very tall buildings have a vertical conducting pole above).
• This is because travelling through air, which is a bad conductor of electricity, electrons try to find a better
conductor, and also the shortest route to the relatively positively charged Earth’s surface.

Lightning strikes the metallic tower of the building

• The most lightning activity on Earth is seen on the shore of Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela.

Lightning deaths

• Several thousand thunderstorms occur over India every year.

• People are rarely hit directly by lightning. But such strikes are almost always fatal.
• The most common way in which people are struck by lightning are by ground currents.

43
• The electrical energy, after hitting a tree or any other object, spreads laterally on the ground for some dis-
tance, and people in this area receive electrical shocks.
• It becomes more dangerous if the ground is wet, or there is conducting material like metal on it.

Precautions

• Moving under a tree or lying flat on the ground can increase risks.
• Even indoors, electrical fittings, wires, metal and water must be avoided.

There was not much geography related content in July. Please check Indian Agriculture CA for im-
portant topics like Zero Budget Farming.

{Geo – Climatology – 19/08/21} Grasslands

D2E | 21-09-2019 | Geography > Climatic Regions > Grasslands

• Grasslands occupy ~25% of total land area and more than 40% of all the ice free land in the world.
• According to a study, climate change, pollution, etc. are changing grassland ecosystems.
• According to the study, grasslands showed resilience to factors like rising carbon dioxide (CO2), hotter tem-
peratures and drought in the first 10 years of exposure.
• After that there were significant changes in individual plant species.

Grasslands

• Grass is the naturally dominant vegetation in grasslands.

• Most of the grasslands are the transition zones (ecotone) between forests and deserts.

Importance of Grasslands

• Grasslands provide important services such as water catchments, biodiversity reserves, etc.
• Thirty per cent of the world's carbon is stored in these grasslands (carbon sink).
• They are one of the most agriculturally productive lands in the world as they tend to have deep and fertile
soils (frequent fires add to fertility), perfect for cropland or pastures (e.g. Prairies, Pampas, Steppes).
• Much of the North American Prairies have been converted into one of the richest agricultural regions.
• Must of the world’s supply of meat and milk comes from temperate grasslands (Prairies, Canterbury
(merino wool), Pampas, Steppes, etc.).

44
• Tropical grasslands are important to the livelihoods of the most impoverished populations of the earth.
• African savanna is home to some of the world’s most recognizable wildlife that includes large mammals
(herbivores: elephants, giraffes, rhinos, zebras; carnivores: lions, leopards, etc) and reptiles (crocodiles).

More info: Geography > Climatology > Climatic Regions > Grasslands (Tropical and Temperate).

{Geo – Climatology – 19/08} Heat domes

Source | Climatology > Jet Streams and Rossby Waves | Very low probability of asking this in exam.
Jet Streams greatly influence the day to day weather patterns of the temperate region (USA, Europe). They are
not of much concern to India.

• This summer (June & July) extreme heat waves have scorched both the United States and Europe due to
stagnant zones of high pressure known as heat domes.
• They are known to produce high temperatures, violent thunderstorms and dangerous wildfires.
• The heat domes form several miles high in the atmosphere and their air sinks down toward the ground,
heating up because of compression.
• Heat domes often form what are known as blocking patterns in the atmosphere, which halt the west-to-east
movement of weather.
• One of the blocking patterns is called omega block.
• Omega blocks have been the main culprit for the record-breaking heat in Europe this summer.

45
• As the name suggests, the omega block takes on the shape of the Greek letter omega on a weather map.
• It is anchored by zones of low pressure on its west and east sides, flanking the high-pressure zone or heat
dome in the middle.

Omega Block

{Geo – Climatology – 19/10/05} SW Monsoon & NE Monsoon this year

IE | TH | IE | IE | 05-10-2019 | Geography > Climatology > Indian SW Monsoon

Mains Practise:

1. India has received excess rainfall of 10 percent after 25 years beating IMD’s pre-monsoon predictions by a
huge margin. Bring out the possible reasons behind the excess SW monsoon rainfall in 2019.
2. 2019 SW monsoon season started as a lame duck (drought in June, July) but ended as a roaring beast (severe
flooding in August & September). Bring out the possible reasons behind this paradoxical behaviour of 2019
SW monsoon. Hint: Earlier phase of SW monsoon season was influenced by El Nino whereas the later phase
was influenced by IOD.

Earlier, UPSC used to ask questions in a very straightforward manner. Like, “Explain the influence of IOD on Indian
monsoon.” But the recent trends show that UPSC is stressing on the application of one’s analytical skills.

Factors that caused above normal SW Monsoon

• After an extremely dry June the monsoon brought generous rainfall in July, August and September.
• The rainfall during each subsequent month exceeded the normal by a higher deviation.

46
• The season was characterised by a number of extreme rainfall events in the months of August and September.
• Heavy downpours lasting several days were witnessed in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, MP & Gujarat.

• There is no standard definition of an extreme rainfall event.

• IMD uses different expressions to classify rainfall according to its intensity.
• More than 12 cm rainfall within a 24-hour period is classified as very heavy rainfall.
• Rainfall in excess of 25 cm within 24 hours is categorized as extremely heavy.

• IMD has recorded more than 560 extreme rainfall events this year (321 last year).
• Extreme events are increasing all over the world, not just in India, because of climate change.
• The standout feature of this year’s monsoon is the unusually high rainfall in September.
• September marks the beginning of the withdrawal of the monsoon.
• This year, however, withdrawal has seen a record delay.
• So far, the longest delay happened in 1961 when the withdrawal started on October 1.
• This year, IMD said, the withdrawal began only after October 10.
• This year, it started with a weak El Niño that had a negative impact on June Indian monsoon.
• The situation gradually turned neutral and then there was copious rainfall.
• There was no La Niña (La Niña causes above normal rainfall), but a similar phenomenon called the Indian
Ocean Dipole, could have contributed to enhanced rainfall.

Suggested Reading: El Nino | ENSO | La Nina | El Nino Modoki | Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD)

Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD)

• The Indian Ocean Dipole is a phenomenon similar to the ENSO condition observed in the Pacific Ocean which
creates the El Niño and La Niña events.
• But there is one major difference from ENSO. While the Pacific Ocean only has an El Niño or a La Niña con-
dition at a time, the Indian Ocean experiences both warm and cold conditions at the same time (dipole).
• One of these poles is located in the Arabian Sea while the other is in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia.

47
• The Indian Ocean Dipole is said to be positive when the western pole is warmer than the eastern one, and
negative when it is cooler.
• The Indian Ocean Dipole and ENSO are not unrelated.
• Positive Indian Ocean Dipole events are often associated with El Niño and negative Indian Ocean Dipole with
La Niña.
• This year the positive IOD started strengthening from July, and by September it evolved into the strongest
positive IOD ever recorded in the history of Indian summer monsoon.
• When the Indian Ocean Dipole and ENSO happen at the same time, the Dipole is known to strengthen the
impacts of the ENSO condition.

Monsoons delayed due to slow ITCZ

• Scientists describe the monsoon in terms of the movement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone, or ITCZ.
• ITCZ is a region near the Equator where the trade winds of both the hemispheres come together.
• During the monsoon season, this ITCZ is located over the Indian subcontinent.
• By September, as the temperature begins to go down, the ITCZ starts moving southwards of the Indian land-
mass, towards the equator, and further into the southern hemisphere.
• This year, this process has not started even with the beginning of October.
• In September this year, the northern hemisphere was much warmer than the southern hemisphere, and that
could be one reason why the ITCZ has remained longer than usual over the northern hemisphere.

48
North Monsoons on time

• The normal date for the onset of this monsoon is only around October 20.
• The months of October, November and December comprise the northeast monsoon season.

49
• The delayed withdrawal of the SW monsoon this year had no effect on the onset of the northeast monsoon.
• The northeast monsoon season brings rainfall to just five of the 36 meteorological divisions in the country —
Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema and South Interior Karnataka.
• NE season contributes only 11 per cent to India’s annual rainfall compared to about 75 per cent in the
summer monsoon season.
• The rest comes in non-monsoon months — Convectional Thunderstorms in summer & Western Disturbances
in Winter.
• The northeast monsoon is particularly important for Tamil Nadu, which receives almost half its annual rain-
fall (438 mm of the annual 914.4 mm) during this season.

• Unlike for the SW monsoon, IMD does not come out with a long-range forecast for the winter monsoon.
• The El Niño phenomenon has been connected with the failure of the southwest monsoon.
• However, researchers over the years have noted that El Niño had an opposite effect on the NE monsoon
leading to more voluminous showers in the winter and particularly over South India.

{Geo – Climatology – 19/12/06} Enhanced Cyclonic Activity in the Arabian Sea

DTE | 06-12-2019 | GS1 > Geography > Climatology > Tropical Cyclones

• With the formation of cyclone Pawan in southwest Arabian sea, the total number of cyclones in the North
Indian Ocean region this year has reached to eight.
• This is the highest number of cyclones in a single year since 1976.
• The Arabian Sea has seen a lot of cyclonic activity in 2019.
• Five of the eight cyclones this year formed in this region, the highest in the past 117 years.
• On the other hand, the activity over the Bay of Bengal has been subdued this year with the formation of only
three cyclones against the normal four. (The usual ratio of cyclone formation in BoB and Arabian Sea is 4:1)

Reasons for enhanced cyclonic activity

50
• First can be the active phases of both Indian Ocean Dipole and Madden Julian Oscillation phenomena.
• The second can be global warming, which has led to warmer-than-usual sea surface temperatures.
• It provides conditions for formation of low pressure areas which can intensify into depressions and further
into cyclones.

Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD)

• The Indian Ocean Dipole is a phenomenon similar to the ENSO condition observed in the Pacific Ocean which
creates the El Niño and La Niña events.
• But there is one major difference from ENSO. While the Pacific Ocean only has an El Niño or a La Niña con-
dition at a time, the Indian Ocean experiences both warm and cold conditions at the same time (dipole).
• One of these poles is located in the Arabian Sea while the other is in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia.

• The Indian Ocean Dipole is said to be positive when the western pole is warmer than the eastern one, and
negative when it is cooler.
• Positive Indian Ocean Dipole events are often associated with El Niño and negative Indian Ocean Dipole with
La Niña.
• This year the positive IOD started strengthening from July, and by September it evolved into the strongest
positive IOD ever recorded in the history of Indian summer monsoon.
• Positive IOD is usually associated with enhanced SW monsoonal & cyclonic activity in the Arabian Sea.

Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO)

• MJO is an eastward moving pulse of cloud & rainfall in the tropics that recurs every 30 to 60 days.
51
• Unlike ENSO, which is stationary (in Pacific Ocean), the MJO is an eastward moving disturbance.
• ENSO is associated with persistent features that last several seasons over the Pacific Ocean basin.
• On the other hand, multiple MJO events occur within a season (i.e. weather varies on a week-to-week basis).

Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) Source and Credits

52
• The MJO consists of enhanced rainfall convective phase and suppressed rainfall convective phase.
• These two phases produce opposite changes in rainfall and this entire dipole propagates eastward.

Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) Source and Credits

Madden-Julian Oscillation impact on Weather

• The MJO can modulate the timing and strength of monsoons.

• The MJO can influence tropical cyclone numbers and strength in nearly all ocean basins.
• The MJO can result in jet stream changes that can lead to cold air outbreaks, extreme heat events, and flood-
ing rains over North America.

{Geo – Critical Features – 19/08/29} African grasslands are meant to burn

D2E | 29-08-2019 | GS1 > changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in
flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

• The fires in savannas are usually lit by cattle farmers as part of their traditional management of the grasslands.
• Some fires are started to stimulate new growth of nutritious grass for their animals.

53
• Others are used to control the numbers of parasitic ticks or manage the growth of thorny scrub.
• Without fires, many savannahs (and the animals they support) wouldn’t exist and lighting them is a key man-
agement activity in many of the iconic protected areas of Africa.
• Fires in savannahs are carbon-neutral: Fires in the savannah burn mainly dry grasses that regrow each year:
the CO₂ released by fires is reabsorbed by the growth of new grass the next year.
• Preventing small fires in these ecosystems can have fatal consequences.
• This is because of accumulation of more combustible material which converts even harmless fires into de-
structive walls of flames.

{Geo – Critical Features – 19/08/29} Forest Fires in the Amazon

D2E | IE | 29-08-2019 | GS1 > changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and
in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

What is causing the Amazon fires?

Prolonged droughts due to climate change

• Amazonian forests and other tropical rainforest regions are usually immune to fires due to the high moisture
content of the undergrowth beneath the protection of the canopy tree cover.
• But the severe droughts of 1997-98, 2005, 2010, and 2019 have forever changed this perception.
• These severe ‘mega-droughts’ in the Amazon were most likely driven by large-scale climatic events, with the
warming of the Atlantic and the drying effects of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events in the Pacific.
• These droughts are clearly becoming far more frequent and more severe and are generating the conditions
conducive for either man-made or natural wildfires.

Slash and burn agricultural practise

• People clear the land by cutting down the vegetation during the rainy season, letting the trees dry out and
burning them during the dry season.
• Fully clearing the dense forest for agricultural use can take several years of slashing and burning.

Intentional fires caused by land grabbers

• They are manmade and are mostly set illegally by landgrabbers who are clearing the forest for cattle ranching
and crops.

Political discourse

54
• President Jair Bolsonaro has decreased the power and autonomy of forest protection agencies.
• He leads on of the most anti-environment regimes in the world.

How does the fires in Amazon affect the world?

Carbon sink to carbon source and global warming

• The Amazon is a critical carbon sink.

• Currently, the world is emitting around 40 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year.
• The Amazon absorbs 2 billion tons of CO2 per year (or 5% of annual emissions).
• The fires have not only turned the Amazon into a temporary carbon source, but also reduced its potential
to lock carbon in the future.

Forest fires intensify droughts

• The rainforest recycles its own water to produce a portion of the region’s rain, so deforestation makes rains
less frequent, extending the dry season.

The Role of Forest fires in Pollution and Global Warming

• Forest fires cause 15% of GHG emissions, more than 30% of global carbon monoxide emissions, 10% of
methane emissions and more than 85% of global soot emissions.
• They contribute greatly to global warming, which in turn leads to forests becoming increasingly dry and weak.
This destructive cycle often makes it easy for new fires to develop.

Impact of forest fires on Rainforests: Forest fires and droughts make way for Grasslands

• Scientists describe tropical rainforests as “fire-sensitive ecosystems.”

• About a third of all ecosystems worldwide are considered “fire-sensitive.”
• The plants and animals lack a natural ability to resist and recover from fires.
• In a rainforest-like the Amazon, massive forest fires are a disaster.
• Despite the lush vegetation, the soils are particularly barren and poor in nutrients.
• If the rainforest burns down, all nutrients are permanently lost (no recycling of nutrients) because they
are stored in the plants themselves and not in the soil.
• The fires combined with prolonged droughts and human encroachments can turn the jungle into a tropical
savannah (tropical grassland).
• Grass is a dominant species that can grow even in poorer soil. It doesn’t make way for trees so easily.

55
Fore fires are essential for other ecosystems

• While forest fires are a disaster to rainforests, they are necessary for the preservation of other ecosystems.
• This is true for about three-quarters of all habitats worldwide, including the Siberian taiga, the African savan-
nahs, the South Asian monsoon and dry forests, the Californian coniferous forests, the Australian eucalyptus
forests and the Mediterranean region.
• In these ecosystems, parts of the natural fauna and flora develop only due to fires.
• Animals and plants often have a natural capacity for resistance in such fire-dependent ecosystems.
• In grasslands, savannahs, some forests and wetlands, only a moderately intense ground fire sweeps through,
ensuring that the open landscape structure is maintained.
• Rare but very intense fires are characteristic of bush landscapes or forests. They consume old and diseased
trees, create new habitats and ensure an ecological rejuvenation of the tree population.
• Preventing small fires in these ecosystems can have fatal consequences.
• This is because of accumulatio of more combustible material which converts eve harmless fires into destruc-
tive walls of flames.
• This happens time and again in Australia or in the dense pine forests in the southwest of the United States.

Fires give new life

• The Douglas fir, a conifer, survives most fires thanks to its thick bark — after a fire, it will sprout new shoots.
• The North American lodgepole pine also needs the heat of the fire to open its cones and release seeds.
• The Australian grass tree needs smoke to open its seed pods.
• After a fire, without the usually dense canopy, more sunlight reaches the forest floor and the seedlings find
enough nutrients to sprout. (Small fires are good for even rainforests).
• Even some insect species need the fire to survive.

{Geo – Critical Features – 19/08/29} Rainforests

IE | 29-08-2019 | GS1 > changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in
flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.
Amazon Rainforests, The Taiga Forests, The Great Barrier Reef, The Himalayas and the Cryosphere, etc. are the
examples for “critical geographical features” ― meaning any adverse changes in these geographic features will
have a significant repercussion on the world’s climate and other natural processes.

Importance of rainforests

56
Major oxygen producers

• Rainforests produces about 20 percent of the earth’s oxygen.

Carbon sink

• Rainforests are our best defense against climate change as they can sequester a lot of carbon released by
human activities.

Precipitation

• Through evapotranspiration, the rainforests are responsible for creating 50-75 percent of their own precipi-
tation.

Source to many rivers

• They are the source to many of the world’s largest rivers.

• Amazon, Mekong, and Congo (Zaire) are some of the important rivers fed by the rainforests.

Climate

• Tropical forests exchange vast amounts of water and energy with the atmosphere and are thought to be
important in controlling local and regional climates.
• Water released into oceans by the rainforest rivers influences the circulation of ocean currents.
• This works as a feedback mechanism, as the process also sustains the regional climate on which it depends.

Biodiversity

• Tropical rainforests contain over 30 million species of plants and animals. That's half of the Earth's wildlife
and at least two-thirds of its plant species!

57
Commercial Agriculture

• Rainforests offer a conducive climate for the cultivation of commercial crops such as coffee, cocoa (choco-
late), palm, rubber, etc. (they require 100-200 cm of rainfall).

Indigenous communities

• Many indigenous people have been living in harmony with the rainforest for thousands of years, depending
on it for their food, shelter, medicines and subsistence agriculture (slash and burn agriculture).

Factors responsible for the destruction of the rainforests

• Logging for tropical hardwood.

• Clearing the forests for pastures for cattle-ranching and commercial agriculture.
• Petroleum extraction (Ecuador, Venezuela).

Plantation boom

• The rainforest climate is very favourable for the cultivation of certain plantation crops that are highly valued.
• The plantations destroyed nearly half of equatorial forests and continue to destroy them even today.

Plantations Region(s)

Palm Malaysia, Indonesia

Sugarcane Brazil

Coffee Brazil

Rubber Malaysia, Indonesia

Cocoa (used to make chocolates) Ghana, Nigeria Palm plantations in Indonesia

Effects of destroying rainforests

Soil Degradation

• Soil in the rainforest is very poor in nutrients (because of the leaching of the nutrients from the top layer).
• This is because the nutrients are stored in the vast numbers of trees and plants rather than in the soil.
• Tree roots bind the soil together, while the canopy protects the soil from heavy rains.
• When a tree dies and its trunk falls to the forest floor, it decays and the nutrients it contains are recycled.
• However, if trees are removed from the forest, the nutrients are removed with it.
• The unprotected soil is then simply washed away in heavy rains.

Droughts and famine

58
• Without rainforests continually recycling huge quantities of water, feeding the rivers, lakes and irrigation
systems, droughts would become more common, potentially leading to widespread famine and disease.

Even commercial planation crops would fail in the long run

• The plantation crops thrive in the tropics because of the conducive climatic conditions created by the rain-
forests.

Extinction of indigenous communities

• When oil and logging companies come to remove vast areas of forest, they bring diseases which the indige-
nous people have no resistance to, threatening their survival.
• Often, they are also forced to move away from their homes to unfamiliar places, sometimes even being killed
in the process.

{Geo – Critical Features – 19/12/21} Amazon rainforest

IE | 21-12-2019 | GS1 > changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in
flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

• In the recent few years, the rainforest has been under threat from deforestation and burning.
• 17 per cent of the entire rainforest and about 20 per cent of the Brazilian rainforest has been deforested.
• Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon started in the 1970s for cattle ranching and soy cultivation.
• Forest clearing has been encouraged by agricultural subsidies, timber concessions, etc.
• If the deforestation continues to happen at the going rate, the rainforest could soon not have enough mois-
ture for the rainforests to sustain, eventually leading to the development of savannahs.

Dieback

• When the Amazon rainforest reaches its tipping point, the rainforests will be unable to sustain themselves.
• This will lead to a situation when the trees, and in turn, the forest will start to “dieback”.
• In other words, some trees and eventually the forests will reach the physiological limits of dryness.
• Because of the dehydration, the trees will begin to die from the tip of their leaves or roots backwards.
• Essentially this means that instead of being a carbon sink, the rainforest would start emitting carbon.

Importance of the Amazon Rainforest

• The Amazon basin is the world’s largest repository of biodiversity.

• It produces about 20 per cent of the world’s flow of freshwater into the oceans.

59
• Amazon forest returns at least 75 per cent of the moisture to the westward-moving air mass.
• Moisture of the Amazon is crucial for the continental hydrologivcal cycle and climate system.
• In fact, every country in South America other than Chile (blocked from this moisture by the Andes) benefits
from Amazon moisture.
• The Amazon is a critical carbon sink. It absorbs 2 billion tons of CO2 per year (or 5% of annual emissions).

{Geo – Cyclone – 19/05/01} Cyclone Fani (pronounced as FONI)

PIB | 01-05-2019 | Must Read: Geography > Climatology > Tropical Cyclones

• Cyclone Fani is an Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm.

• Fani is moving slow (11-18 kmph) ➔ more moisture and energy it gained from the ocean.

Tropical Cyclone Scale by Indian Meteorological Department

S. No. Intensity Strength of wind Wave height (m)

1. Depression (L) 31- 49 kmph (17-27 knots) 1-4

2. Deep Depression (DD) 50 - 61 kmph (28-33 knots) 4-6

3. Cyclonic Storm (CS) 62 - 87 kmph (34-47 knots) 6-9

4. Severe Cyclonic Storm (SCS) 88-117 kmph (48-63 knots) 9-14

5. Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (VSCS) 118-166 kmph (64-89 knots) 14+

6. Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm (ESCS) 167-221 kmph (90-119 knots) 14+

7. Super Cyclonic Storm (SuCS) 222+ kmph (120+ knots) 14+

Tropical cyclones in the north Indian Ocean – Important facts and observations

• The frequency is more in the Bay of Bengal than in the Arabian Sea, the ratio being 4:1.
• The average annual frequency of tropical cyclones in the north Indian Ocean (Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea)
is about 5 (about 5-6 % of the global annual average of 80 cyclones).
• About 20-30 severe tropical storms occur around the world every year.
• Out of total disturbances
✓ 35% intensify to Cyclones
✓ 16 % intensify to severe cyclones
✓ 07% intensify to very severe cyclones

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 Monthly frequency of Tropical Cyclones in North Indian Ocean Source

• The months of May and October-November are known to produce cyclones of severe intensity.
• Tropical cyclones developing during the monsoon months (July to September) are generally not so intense.
• Monthly frequency of SCS in November > May > October > December
• Monthly frequency of CS in October > November > June
• Monthly frequency of Depressions in August > September > July

The frequencies of Cyclonic systems over north Indian Ocean during 1891-2006. Source

• The frequency of SCS for AP > TN > WB > Odisha > Gujarat
• The frequency of CS for Odisha > AP > WB > TN > Gujarat

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• Gujarat is most vulnerable state on the west coast.

Impact of Global Warming on Tropical Cyclones (Mains topic)

• Fani is India’s strongest April cyclone in 43 years. The unusual timing (leads to crop damage) could be a
consequence of global warming (unusual warming of the Bay of Bengal).
• Fani’s protracted gestation period of early 10 days is an extremely long period.
• In recent times, cyclones have had unusual timing, like Cyclone Pabuk in January.
• Some of the CS also tend to follow a very unusual path making forecasting difficult (E.g. Cyclone Titli).
• Seas and oceans have been unusually warm this March. The increasing ocean temperatures gave rise to
devastating Idai cyclone in March (1000 died ).
• Cyclone Idai (one of the worst tropical cyclones to affect Africa and the Southern Hemisphere) had an impact
on the coast of Mozambique in southern Africa.

Mains Practise: What are the consequences of Global Warming (anthropogenic impact) on the Indian
weather conditions?

• Answer must include El Nino, Tropical Cyclones, Hotter summers – devastating heat waves. Include examples
like 2018 Kerala floods, 2015 Chennai Floods, Severe Cyclonic Storm Fani in April, etc.

{Geo – Cyclones – 19/05/09} Impact of Global Warming on Tropical Cyclones

Business Standard | 09-05-2019 | Geography > Tropical Cyclones | Environment > Climate Change

Unusual development, frequency and behaviour of tropical cyclones

• There is a noticeable increase in frequency of high intensity storms in the Indian Ocean.
• Fani is India’s strongest April cyclone in 43 years.
• Fani’s protracted gestation period of early 10 days is an extremely long period.
• In recent times, cyclones have had unusual timing, like Cyclone Pabuk in January.
• Some of the them also tend to follow a very unusual path (E.g. Cyclone Titli).
• The increasing ocean temperatures gave rise to devastating Idai cyclone in March (1000 died in Africa).
• Tropical cyclone Idai is one of the most severe storms to have made landfall in Mozambique.
• Kenneth, a category 4 tropical cyclone made landfall over the border of Mozambique and Tanzania in April.
• It was the northernmost tropical cyclone and the first to make landfall on Tanzania.
• It occurred very late in the season. Most cyclones in the region occur from January to March.
• It was also unusual for the Mozambique Channel to experience two severe tropical cyclones.

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All because of global warming

• Tropical cyclones require a sea surface temperature of 26.5°C to form, while the highest intensity storms
require much warmer sea surface temperatures of 28-29°C.
• The frequent high intensity storms have been tied to the very warm sea surface temperatures.
• Temperatures of 30°C are occurring more often and over longer periods of time.
• The South Indian Ocean that previously experienced the temperatures of 26.5°C is now experiencing tem-
peratures as warm as 30-32°C.
• Regions further from the equator are more regularly experiencing the threshold temperature or 24-26°C
widening the range of formation of tropical cyclones (greater the range, greater the intensity and frequency).
• These conditions are exacerbated by global forcing mechanisms including El Niño, Indian Ocean Dipole,
Southern Annular Mode and Madden-Julian Oscillation (these in turn are affected by global warming).

Abnormally hot sea surface temperatures due to global warming Source and Credits

63
{Geo – Cyclones – 19/06/20} Changing Cyclone Patterns in the North Indian Ocean

D2E | 20-06-2019 | Geography > Climatology > Tropical Cyclones

• The severe cyclone frequency in the north Indian Ocean has registered about a three-fold increase.
• About one severe cyclone was expected to form every year during the intense cyclonic period (May, October
and November), the number has now gone up to about three per year.

Cyclone patterns in the Arabian Sea

Past Normal conditions

• Almost 50 per cent of the storms do not sustain over its waters since the west-central and north Arabian Sea
(due to Findlater or Somali Current that causes local upwelling) have a relatively colder sea temperature.
• This cold sea surface temperature is not favourable for the development and sustenance of cyclonic storms.

Present changes: Increased occurrence of Severe cyclonic storms

• Cyclone patterns and occurrence over Arabian Sea show a significant change.
• In the usual course, there was an occurrence of one extremely severe cyclone in every four-five years.
• Now the Arabian Sea started receiving tropical cyclones of high intensity in a small time interval.
• For instance, in 15 years (1998 to 2013), five extremely severe cyclones originated in the Sea.
• In October 2014, the west coast of India saw an extremely severe cyclonic storm, ‘Nilofar’ (Category 4).
• In 2015, within one week, the Arabian Sea experienced two more cyclones, even stronger than Nilofar: Cy-
clone ‘Chapal’ followed by Cyclone ‘Megh’.

Present changes: Unusual timing

• This year, a very severe cyclonic storm (VSCS) Vayu occurred in the Arabian Sea in the month of June.
• This is unusual as the conditions in June are not conducive for the depressions to turn into severe cyclones.

Present changes: Changing path

• Previously, tropical cyclones in the Arabian Sea were restricted to Gujarat.

• In the past decade though, Kerala and Karnataka have also become more vulnerable to cyclones.
• A recent example is ‘Ockhi’.

Present changes: Climate change

• The Indian Ocean is warming, particularly the Arabian Sea, which is doing so at the fastest rate.

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• The Arabian Sea is heating rapidly and driving more and more cyclones, and excessive rainfall (excessive
rainfall in sea means less moisture in monsoon winds and less rainfall on mainland).
• Climate models suggest that 64 per cent of the cyclone risk in the Arabian Sea was due to climate change.

Role of El Nino, El Nino Modoki

• El Nino Modoki (‘pseudo El Nino’) creates conditions which are not conducive for cyclogenesis in the Bay of
Bengal.
• On the other hand, it offers large convergence over the Arabian Sea, explaining a large number of cyclones
in that region.
• A more familiar phenomenon, El Nino, was found to suppress cyclone formation in the Arabian Sea.
• The statistical analysis supports the occurrence of the cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea in
line with the El Nino and El Nino Modoki years.

{Geo – EG – 19/05/01} Wind Energy: India to install 54.7 GW wind capacity by

2022: Fitch Solutions

The Hindu | 01-05-2019 | Geography > Economic Geography > Energy Sources > Renewable Energy

• India is likely to install 54.7 GW of wind capacity by 2022 against the 60-GW target.
• It was determined that 175 GW of renewable energy capacity will be installed by 2022.

As of October 2018

Sector Target (GW) Installed capacity (GW) as on 31.10.2018

Solar Power 100 24.33

Wind power 60 34.98

Bio Energy 10 9.54

Small Hydro 5 4.5

Total 175 73.35

• India attains global 4th and 5th positions in wind and solar power installed capacities.
• India is at 5th global position for overall installed renewable energy capacity

Source Installed Capacity (GW) as of October, 2018 Percentage

Thermal 221.76 GW (63.84%)

Nuclear 6.78 GW (1.95%)

Hydro 45.48 GW (13.09%)

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 Renewable 73.35 GW (21.12%)

Total 347.37 GW (100%)

• Renewable energy generation accounts for about 34 per cent of total installed power generation capacity.

Renewable energy: Challenges

• Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) is calling tenders for gigawatt-scale battery backup projects.

Why is the need for batteries?

• Rapid growth of the renewable energy sector has thrown up new challenges such as:
1. Difficulty in managing spikes in renewable energy output and balancing it with conventional projects.
2. Lack of round-the-clock dependability and non-availability during peak hours.

{Geo – EG – 19/05/02} Clean Energy sources: CNG, LNG, LPG and Hydrogen

Source | 02-05-2019 | Economic Geography > Energy Sources | Related content: Shale Gas & Coalbed Methane,
Natural Gas

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)

• LPG consists mainly of propane, butane, butylene, propylene, etc. in various mixtures.
• It is produced as a by-product of natural gas (mostly methane) processing and petroleum refining.
• The components of LPG are gases at normal temperature and pressure.
• One challenge with LPG is that it can vary widely in composition.
• As LPG is heavier than air, places with poor ventilation tend to trap the gas in case of leakage.
• LPG is odourless in its natural state. Ethyl Mercaptan or Ethanethiol (reaction of ethylene with hydrogen
sulphide) that has a strong odour is added to LPG to detect leakage.

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)

• Natural gas is drawn from gas wells or in conjunction with crude oil.
• When natural gas is compressed and stored in tanks it is called Compressed Natural Gas or CNG.
• Natural gas is mostly methane and to some extent ethane and propane.
• Other gases such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide, sulphur compounds, etc. are also present.
• A sulphur-based odorant is normally added to CNG to facilitate leak detection.
• Advantage over LPG is that CNG is lighter than air and thus will quickly dissipate in the case of a leak.
• CNG is a clean burning fuel, i.e., burning it leaves little or no residue (reduced engine maintenance).

66
• Although natural gas produces GHGs, it is considerably reduced compared to petrol or diesel.
• CNG is much safer compared to petrol and diesel. It has a high auto-ignition temperature.
• CNG is cheaper than petrol and diesel.
• CNG also carries a high calorific value (50,000 kJ/kg) as compared to petrol (45000 kJ/kg).
• Disadvantages: Large fuel tanks, less range, very few filling stations, old vehicles not designed for CNG.

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)

• Liquefied Natural Gas or LNG is natural gas stored as a super-cooled liquid (cryogenic) (-120 to -170°C).
• Advantage: takes up less space thereby extending range and reducing refuelling frequency.
• Disadvantage: high cost of cryogenic storage, transportation and dispensation.
• LNG is used in heavy-duty applications in developed countries like the US, Japan, etc.
• For many developing nations, using LNG is currently not a practical option.

Biogas

• Biogas is primarily methane (CH4) (50-65%) and carbon dioxide (CO2) (35-50%).
• Bio-gas is produced through a process of anaerobic decomposition (anaerobic digestion) from biomass.
• Anaerobic digestion uses the process of fermentation to breakdown organic matter.
• Biomass sources include agriculture residue, cattle dung, sugarcane press mud, municipal waste, etc.
• After purification, it is compressed and called CBG (pure methane content of over 95%).
• CBG (calorific value ~52,000 KJ/kg) is similar to CNG in its composition and energy potential.
• Given the abundance of biomass in the country, CBG has the potential to replace CNG.
• The potential for CBG production in India is estimated at about 62 million tonnes per annum.
• Biogas production is carbon-neutral, i.e., there is no net addition of carbon to the environment (the carbon
in biogas comes from plant matter that fixed this carbon from atmospheric CO2).
• Challenges: Lack of bio-waste segregation and collection at the household level.

Hydrogen

• Hydrogen is highly flammable and will burn at concentrations as low as 4%.

• Hydrogen is generally used in two forms:
1. In combustion, it is burned as conventional gaseous fuels
2. A fuel cell uses hydrogen to generate electricity.
• Hydrogen gas is an energy storage medium, not an energy source.
• The energy used to produce it usually comes from a more conventional source.

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• Hydrogen can be obtained utilizing methane, coal, LPG, from electrolysis of water, etc.
• Advantage: very low vehicle emissions and flexible energy storage.
• Challenges: current technologies are commercially unviable for production and utilization of H2.

Titbit: ONGC is the largest producer of oil (72%) and natural gas (48.5%) in the country.
Titbit: At present, over 78 per cent of India's oil requirements are being met through imports.

{Geo – EG – 19/05/08} Clean Fuels (Alternate Fuels)

Indian Express | The Hindu | The Hindu | PIB | 08-05-2019 | Economic Geography > Energy Sources

Fuel Calorific Value (Heat Value) in Megajoules/kg (MJ/kg = 1000 x KJ/Kg)

Hydrogen 141

Methane (CH2) 55

Ethane (C2H6) 52

Natural gas and CNG 52

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) 50

Propane, butane 50, 49

Petrol/gasoline 46.4

Kerosene 46.2

Diesel fuel 45.5

Biodiesel (methyl ester) 37

Ethanol (CH3−CH2−OH) 29

Methanol (CH3OH) 23

Coal anthracite has highest – 32; 17-32

peat has the lowest – 17)

Firewood (dry) 16

Source1, Source2

Backdrop

• Scientists have identified an enzyme that helps methanotrophic bacteria convert methane to methanol.
• Methanotrophs are prokaryotes (prokaryotic cells lack nuclear membrane) that metabolize methane as their
only source of carbon and energy.
• Importance: The finding could help develop human-made catalysts that can convert methane to methanol.

68
• Methanol is currently produced by breaking down natural gas (methane) at high pressure and temperatures
into hydrogen gas and carbon monoxide before reassembling them — expensive process.
• Methanol Economy is the “Bridge” to the dream of a complete “Hydrogen based fuel systems”.
• The Concept of “Methanol Economy” is being actively pursued by China (10% of fuel in transport sector).
• NITI Aayog has drawn out a comprehensive plan to replace 20% of crude imports from Methanol alone.
• The government aims to increase fuel blending (methanol, ethanol or biodiesel) to 20 per cent by 2030.

Methanol Ethanol

• Methyl Alcohol (CH3OH) • Ethyl Alcohol (drinking alcohol) (CH3−CH2−OH)

• Methanol is toxic and hence it is not suitable for • Ethanol is used in alcoholic beverages, as additive
consumption. in foods, etc.

• Methanol is mostly used to create other chemicals • It has antiseptic properties and is found in anti-
such as acetic acid and formaldehyde. bacterial wipes and hand gels.
• It is also the base of many paints and perfumes
because it is a good solvent.

• Its odour is distinctive, and it burns as a bright • It has a strong, burning odour and will burn as a
white flame. bright blue flame.

• Most of the methanol is produced from coal and • Most of the ethanol is produced by fermentation
natural gas. of biowaste and food crops.

• Volatile, flammable, colourless

• They are both used as solvents
• Both are clean fuels
• Both can be blended with petrol and used as automobile fuel

Methanol

• Methanol and ethanol can be produced form coal, petroleum, natural gas and biomass waste.
• Methanol and ethanol can be used as clean alternative fuels in automobiles.
• These fuels can contribute to ‘Import substitution’ of crude oil.
• India imports methanol from Saudi Arabia and Iran at present.
• Methanol economy will help India use its vast reserves of coal (burning coal directly is bad).

Advantages of methanol as fuel

• Methanol and ethanol are relatively cleaner fuel (low carbon emissions).

69
• Unit cost of energy produced from methanol is cheaper than that from petrol, diesel, LPG, etc.
• It is lighter than petrol and diesel but heavier than LPG.
• CO2 can be converted to methanol (treating CO2 with hydrogen gas (H2) can produce methanol or methane).
• Methanol burns efficiently in all internal combustion engines, produces no particulate matter, no soot, almost
nil SOX and NOX emissions.
• Methanol 15 % blend (M15) in petrol will reduce pollution by 33% & diesel replacement by methanol will
reduce by more than 80%.
• To adopt Methanol as a transport fuel, it requires little infrastructure modifications compared to other alter-
native fuels such as CNG, LPG, etc.

Biodiesel (renewable energy)

• Biodiesel is made from renewable sources such as vegetable/plant/animal oils for use in diesel engines.
• Vegetable oils are chemically called triglycerides (fats).
• Biodiesel comprises esters of long chain fatty acids derived from these oils.
• To make biodiesel, fats in the vegetable oil (triglycerides) are reacted with alcohol — usually methanol.
• In this reaction, glycerine (in triglycerides) is replaced by methanol to produce methyl ester (biodiesel).
• Biofuel development in India centres around the cultivation of Jatropha plant seeds — rich in oil (40%).
• In 2008, the Indian Government announced its 'National Biofuel Policy'.
• It aims to meet 20% of India's diesel demand with fuel derived from plants.

Biodiesel blend

• The biodiesel blend is a mix of biodiesel with fossil fuel, designated as BXX, where XX represents the volume
percentage of biodiesel in the blend (B100 means pure biofuel).
• Currently, biodiesel is blended with the fossil fuel in the proportion of 2%, 5%, etc, although technically it can
be used as a pure fuel with some minor modifications in existing engine systems.
• The blend ratio is based more on the available quantity of biodiesel rather than technical reasons.
• Filling stations in the European Union countries and the United States supply everything from B2 to B100.
• Except B100, these blends can be used in any existing diesel engine without any modifications.

Advantages of Biodiesel

• Biodiesel has intrinsic lubricating properties due to the presence of long chain fatty acids, which signifi-
cantly helps reduce engine wear and tear.

70
• The Cetane Index (CI), a measure of the inflammability of fuel, is more than 56 to 58 for biodiesel compared
50/52 for fossil fuel. A higher CI value will mean better ignition and combustion.
• The biodiesel molecule contains about 11% oxygen, facilitating improved combustion and less soot.
• The sulphur content in biodiesel is as low as 0.001%.
• As its viscosity is similar to fossil fuel, no changes are required in the existing fuel injection equipment.
• It is less toxic and biodegradable.
• It is much safer to handle due to its high flash point — more than 130 °C compared to 51 °C for fossil diesel.
• Substantial reduction in the emission of particulate matter, unburnt hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide and
complete elimination of sulphur products in exhaust emission.
• Biodiesel requires less energy to produce than fossil fuels (for every unit of energy needed to produce
biodiesel, 3.24 units of energy are gained) (each litre of biodiesel saves 2.2 kg greenhouse gases).
• Biodiesel production doesn’t hurt the production of edible oil (‘food or fuel’ dilemma doesn’t exist).

Advantages over other alternative fuels (CNG, LNG, LPG and ethanol)

Mains practise: Biodiesel emerges as the most promising alternate fuel. Examine.

• Unlike alternative fuels such as CNG, LNG, LPG, and ethanol, biodiesel is both renewable and sustainable.
• Unlike other alternative fuels, biodiesel doesn’t require significant modifications in existing infrastructure.
• CNG, LNG, LPG, etc. (low energy content per volume = frequent refuelling) require bigger storage space.
• Ethanol manufactured from molasses is renewable, but its calorific value is less than that of biodiesel.
• Switching to biodiesel would be far smoother and cheaper.
• Abundant availability of fallow land and labour, favourable weather conditions, availability of a wide range of
oilseed crops such as soybean, neem, mohwa, jatropha, castor, kusum palash and karanjia.

{Geo – EG – 19/05/15} Graphite reserves in India

The Hindu | 15-05-2019 | Geography > Economic Geography > Mineral Distribution > Graphite

• Arunachal Pradesh has asked the Geological Survey of India (GSI) to explore the possibility of surveying and
drilling for minerals along the India-China border.
• The GSI presented data showed that the State has 35% of the total graphite reserves in India – the highest
in the country.
• The GSI’s 2013 report, however, showed Arunachal Pradesh sits on 43% of the country’s graphite resources
followed by Jammu & Kashmir (37%), Jharkhand (6%), Tamil Nadu (5%), and Odisha (3%).
• Mining the resource from Arunachal can cut down India’s import of the mineral.

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Graphite

• Graphite is the only non-metal element that is a good conductor of electricity.

• Graphite is known as a dry lubricant for its greasy feel.
• Graphite has many industrial uses, particularly for products that need very high heat.

More info: https://www.pmfias.com/diamond-graphite-distribution-india-world-differences-between-diamond-

graphite/#Graphite

{Geo – EG – 19/06/24} Clean Fuels: National Policy on Bio-Fuel 2018

PIB | PIB | 24-06-2019 | “Clean energy fuels” given under May 2019 CA | Economic Geography > Energy Sources

• National Policy on Bio-Fuel 2018 is a revised version of National Policy on Biofuels made by Ministry of New
and Renewable Energy during the year 2009.
• The Policy categorises biofuels as
1. "Basic Biofuels" – First Generation (1G) bioethanol & biodiesel and
2. "Advanced Biofuels" – Second Generation (2G) ethanol, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) to drop-in fuels,
3. Third Generation (3G) biofuels, bio-CNG etc.
• Categorization enables extension of appropriate financial and fiscal incentives under each category.
• The Policy expands the scope of raw material for ethanol production by allowing use of
✓ Sugarcane Juice, Sugar containing materials like Sugar Beet, Sweet Sorghum, Starch containing materials
like Corn, Cassava,
✓ Damaged food grains like wheat, broken rice, Rotten Potatoes, unfit for human consumption
✓ Surplus food grains with the approval of National Biofuel Coordination Committee.
• Use of damaged foodgrains and surplus foodgrains for production of ethanol will increase its availability for
Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme.

Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme

• The National Policy on Biofuels-2018 approved by the Government envisages an indicative target of 20%
blending of ethanol in petrol and 5% blending of bio-diesel in diesel by 2030.
• Under EBP programme, ethanol blending in petrol is being undertaken by the Oil Marketing Companies.
• Government has approved Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana to provide Viability Gap Funding (VGF) to 2G
bio-ethanol manufacturing projects to increase availability of ethanol for EBP programme.

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• During the ethanol supply year 2017-18, Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme resulted in foreign ex-
change impact of about Rs. 5070 crore and carbon emission reduced to the extent of 29.94 lakh tonnes.

Drop-in Biofuels

• According to IEA, “Drop-in biofuels are liquid bio-hydrocarbons that are functionally equivalent to petro-
leum fuels and are fully compatible with existing petroleum infrastructure”.
• Existing biofuels like bioethanol and biodiesel have wide variation from fossil fuels in their blend and are not
readily compatible with existing engines and infrastructures.
• The biofuels are converted to drop-in fuel using thermochemical processes to make them compatible.

Expected Benefits from adaptation of biofuels

• Reduced Import Dependency: improves energy security and reduces the stress on forex reserves.
• Cleaner Environment: one crore lit of E-10 saves around 20,000 ton of CO2 emissions. By reducing crop
burning & conversion of agricultural residues to biofuels there will be further reduction in GHGs.
• Additional Income to Farmers: Agricultural residues/waste can be converted to ethanol and can fetch a
price for these wastes if a market is developed for the same.
• Health benefits: prolonged reuse of Cooking Oil is a potential health hazard. Used Cooking Oil for making
biodiesel will prevent diversion of used cooking oil in the food industry.
• MSW Management: it is estimated that, annually 62 MMT of Municipal Solid Waste gets generated in India.
There are technologies available which can convert waste/plastic, MSW to drop in fuels.
• Addition of bio refineries across the Country will spur infrastructural investment in the rural areas and
provide better employment opportunities.

{Geo – EG – 19/06/26} Nuclear Energy: Thorium-Based Nuclear Reactors

PIB | 26-06-2019 | Geography > Economic Geography > Nuclear Energy

• India’s Three Stage Nuclear Power Programme has been chalked out to use Thorium (monazite, the ore of
thorium is abundantly available along the coastline of Kerala and eastern India) as a viable option.
• Thorium will be used as fuel in the third stage of the Indian Nuclear Programme.
• The three stage nuclear power programme:
1. Stage I: use of natural Uranium in Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors
2. Stage II: use of Plutonium in Fast Breeder Reactors. Plutonium is obtained from the spent fuel of Pressur-
ised Heavy Water Reactors.

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 3. Stage III: use Thorium in Thermal Breeder Reactors.
• Clean source of energy (as long the reactor doesn’t blow up!): As is the case with generation of electricity
from Uranium, there will be no emission of greenhouse gases from Thorium also.
• It is not possible to build a nuclear reactor using Thorium (Thorium-232 is fertile but not fissionable).
• Thorium has to be converted to Uranium-233 (fissionable) in a reactor before it can be used as fuel.
• Commercial utilisation of Thorium, on a significant scale can begin only when abundant supplies of either
Uranium-233 or Plutonium resources are available.
• The large scale introduction of Thorium is possible after an adequate inventory of Plutonium becomes avail-
able from our Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) (second stage of nuclear power programme).
• So, thorium can only be used after a few decades of large scale deployment of FBRs.

Basics are the key for understanding the concept of India’s Three Stage Nuclear Power Programme.

Basics:

• Nuclear Fission, Components of Nuclear Reactor, Types of Nuclear Reactors

• Uranium & Thorium Distribution across India & World
• India’s Three-Stage Nuclear Power Programme

Nuclear Energy in India

• Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) set up in 1958, is the apex body regarding use of nuclear energy.
• AEC formulates policy of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) in all matters concerning nuclear energy.
• The targets for nuclear power generation are set on an annual basis, as a part of Nuclear Power Corporation
of India Limited (NPCIL)’s annual Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with DAE.
• The generation target for the year 2018-19 was 36904 Million Units (MUs).

Installed nuclear power capacity

• The Government has planned to increase the installed capacity base of nuclear power in the country.
• The present installed nuclear power capacity of 6780 MW would reach 13480 MW by the year 2024-25 with
the completion of projects under construction (including 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at
Kalpakkam).
• The Government has also accorded administrative approval and financial sanction for 12 nuclear power re-
actors aggregating a total capacity of 9000 MW, which are scheduled to be completed by the year 2031.

{Geo – EG – 19/06/28} Ground Water: Crop Diversification Programme

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PIB | 28-06-2019 | Geography > Economic Geography > Resources > Water Resources

• Ground water levels are declining because of green revolution, industrialization, urbanization etc.
• Government has taken several steps, which among others, include Crop Diversification Programme (CDP).
• CDP is being implemented in original green revolution states viz. Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh
as a sub scheme of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) since 2013-14.
• CDP aims to divert the area of paddy crop to alternate crops like pulses, oilseeds, cereals, cotton, etc.

Objectives of CDP in original green revolution states:

• Promote improved production technologies of alternate crops for diversion of paddy cultivation.
• Restore soil fertility through cultivation of leguminous crops.

Other measures for conservation of ground water

• Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) has been constituted under the “Environment (Protection) Act,
1986” for the purpose of regulation of ground water management in the Country.
• The National Water Policy (2012) advocates conservation of water and highlights the need for augmenting
the availability of water through rainwater harvesting, direct use of rainfall and other management measures.
• National Aquifer Mapping and Management (NAQUIM) for mapping and development of aquifers to
facilitate sustainable development of ground water resources has been rolled out.
• Implementation of schemes for Aquifer Rejuvenation under ‘Ground Water Management and Regulation’
scheme in select overexploited blocks on pilot basis.
• A joint Action Plan has been prepared with the Ministry of Rural development for effective implementation
of water conservation and artificial recharge structures in convergence with MGNREGS.
• Artificial Recharge and Rainwater Harvesting are being implemented under various Schemes of Government
i.e. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), MGNREGS, Integrated Watershed Management Pro-
gramme (IWMP) and Command Area Development & Water Management (CAD&WM) Programme etc.

Ministry of Jal Shakti

• The ministries of water resources, river development, Ganga rejuvenation, and drinking water and sanitation
were merged to form the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• Ministry of Jal Shakti brings about a much-needed integrated approach for India’s water management issues.

{Geo – EG – 19/08/09} Biodiesel from Used Cooking Oil

PIB | The Hindu | 09-08-2019 | Economic Geography > Energy Sources

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• World Biofuel Day is observed every year on 10th of August to create awareness about the importance of
non-fossil fuels as an alternative to conventional fossil fuels.
• This year the theme of the World Biofuel Day is “Production of Biodiesel from Used Cooking Oil (UCO)”.
• Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is working on a four-pronged strategy by promoting ethanol, sec-
ond-generation ethanol, compressed biogas and biodiesel.
• Biodiesel is low hanging fruit in the scheme of alternate source of energies.

Issues with Used Cooking Oil (UCO)

• When used multiple times, cooking oil becomes acidic and darkens in colour.
• This may alter the fatty acid composition of the oil leading to formation of polar compounds.
• These polar compounds are associated with diseases such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, etc.
• UCO is either not discarded at all or disposed off in an environmentally hazardous manner choking drains.

Initiatives by GOI to reduce the adverse impacts of UCO

• The National Policy on Biofuels 2018 envisages production of biofuel from UCO.
• FSSAI is implementing a strategy to divert UCO from the food value chain.
• At present, ~850 crore litres of High Speed Diesel (HSD) is consumed on a monthly basis in India.
• The National Policy on Biofuels 2018 envisages a target of 5% blending of Biodiesel in HSD by 2030.
• In order to achieve the blending target, 500 crore litres of Biodiesel is required in a year.
• Conversion of UCO will give approximately 110 crore litres of Biodiesel in one year.

Collection and processing

• Presently there is no established collection chain for UCO.

• Oil Marketing Companies will take measures for procurement of Biodiesel from UCO across 100 cities.
• OMCs will encourage the applicants to set up biodiesel production and processing plants from UCO.
• Repurpose Used Cooking Oil (RUCO) sticker and an app to facilitate UCO collection will be released by FSSAI.
• FSSAI has ordered food business operators (FBOs) consuming more than 50 litres of oil a day for frying to
strictly maintain the usage records and stop reusing the oil more than three times.
• FSSAI will also ask cooking oil manufacturers to come out with colour charts that will help people to identify
if the oil is fresh or re-used.

Assured procurement of biofuel

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• Biodiesel plants using used cooking oil as their raw material will be assured that their entire production will
be procured by the oil marketing companies to be blended with normal diesel.
• Under the scheme, the OMCs will pay biodiesel producers ₹51 per litre in the first year, ₹52.7 per litre in the
second, and ₹54.5 per litre in the third year.
• The oil companies will also bear the cost of transportation and GST for the first year.

Benefits of using biofuels

• Reduction of import dependence.

• Cleaner environment.
• Additional income to farmers.
• Infrastructural investment in rural areas.
• Employment generation.
• Health benefits as there would be no recycling of the UCO.

Mus read:

1. {Geo – EG – 19/05/08} Clean Fuels (Alternate Fuels) for information related to ‘Biodiesel’
2. {Geo – EG – 19/06/24} Clean Fuels: National Policy on Bio-Fuel 2018

{Geo – Floods – 19/08/24} Flood control measures

IE | Livemint | 24-08-2019 | Geography > Natural Calamities > Floods Control Measures

• Extreme rainfall in the catchment areas of Sutlej river followed by breaches in Dhussi Bandhs (kutcha em-
barkments) caused heavy flooding in Punjab.
• Dhussi Bandhs are elevated structures on both the sides of a river.
• A large portion of rivers like Sutlej, Beas, Ravi and Ghaggar lack embankments at several places.
• Besides these rivers, several rivulets criss-cross Punjab which also create huge destruction.
• Apart from this, people too puncture Dhussi Bandha for installing underground pipelines or irrigation.
• The Punjab government has announced a plan to canalize all rivers of the state to avert flooding in future.
• Only the perennial rivers in Punjab — Sutlej, Beas and Ravi (Ghaggar is non-perennial) — are canalised by
making dams.

Bhakra dam on Sutlej, Pong dam (Maharana Pratap Sagar) on Beas and Ranjit Sagar dam on Ravi

• There is hardly any canalisation system for the rivulets, and they are easily flooded during the monsoons.

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What is canalising?

• Canalising involves regulating the water of a river by directing it into specific channels and mini dams, rea-
ligning river streams, strengthening and widening of the river embankments and other measures.

Is canalisation a good idea?

• Flood is a natural phenomenon, but canalisation & concretization have converted it into a disaster in some
places. E.g. Embankments along river Yamuna could not prevent floods in Delhi.
• Permanent embankments would lead to more human settlements along the flood plains, causing more dam-
age once the breach takes place. E.g. Kosi River (Sorrow of Bihar).
• UP undertook a project to straighten the Gomti river channel and control the width of its riverbed. But this
led to decline in freshwater species, deposition of silt in flood plains and lowered the groundwater tables.

What should be done instead?

• With extreme rainfall events on the rise, the disaster potential for flooding in major rivers has only increased.
• Experts highlight that overreliance on concrete based solutions creates new challenges.
• Instead of focusing on embankments, focus must be on protecting the catchment area of major rivers.
• Natural drainage patterns need to be restored.
• Wetlands and small rivers which have gone dry must be rejuvenated.
• Desilting of rivers must be taken on a priority basis.
• Also, there is need to check underground pipelines from rivers, and encroachment of the riverbed.

Bhakra dam

• The Bhakra dam (207 m) is the second tallest dam in Asia after Tehri dam (261 m – Uttarakhand).
• It is located on the Sutlej River in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, very close to the border of Punjab.
• The Gobind Sagar reservoir of the Bhakra dam is the third largest reservoir in India in terms of capacity.
• The first being Indira Sagar dam in Madhya Pradesh and second Nagarjuna Sagar dam in Telangana-AP.
• Nangal Dam is another dam in Punjab downstream of Bhakra Dam.
• However, sometimes both the dams together are called Bhakra-Nangal Dam.
• With extreme rainfall events on the rise, the disaster potential for flooding in major rivers has increased.

{Geo – HG – 19/05/15} Maldharis of Kutch

The Hindu | 15-05-2019 | Geography > Social Geography (part of Human Geography) for Prelims

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• Banni, an arid grassland system, too saline for agriculture, but fertile for certain grasses, is home to a centu-
ries-old pastoral community — the Maldharis.
• Maldharis have developed uniquely tolerant breeds of livestock such as the kankrej, the Banni buffalo (pro-
duces high-fat milk despite water scarcity), and the kharai camel (swimming camel).
• Prosopis juliflora (mad babool) species were introduced in the 60s to prevent desertification.
• The Banni grasslands are now under threat from these invasive trees (Prosopis juliflora).
• But it has also meant unexpected income: Prosopis charcoal has a sizeable market demand.

{Geo – IG – 19/06/04} Atlantic Ocean and Indian Summer Monsoon

The Hindu | 04-06-2019 | Geography > Indian Geography > Indian Monsoons | El Nino, ENSO, IOD

• When predicting monsoon patterns, the IMD should start taking the changes in the Atlantic Ocean also into
consideration.
• Until 1975, ENSO was the dominant factor affecting the Indian monsoon.
• Only after the 70s we see an increasing influence from the Atlantic Ocean.
• Changes in the equatorial Atlantic have an inverse relationship with the Indian monsoons.
• This means if there is a cold phase in the Atlantic, it can bring more rainfall to India and vice versa.

Mechanism

• The warming or cooling of the Atlantic Ocean (Atlantic Zonal Mode or Atlantic Nino) influences the Kelvin
waves in the atmosphere.
• Kelvin waves are eastward moving disturbances in the troposphere (about 10 km above the ground).
• The waves move towards the tropical Indian Ocean and either increase or decrease the atmospheric temper-
ature.
• This in turn influences the temperature gradient between Indian Ocean and subcontinent and thereby affect-
ing the monsoon.

Relevance

• There have been instances where the El Niño predictions have failed (E.g. monsoons were normal during
1997 El Niño year).
• Therefore, IMD should give more weightage to anomalies in the Atlantic sea surface temperature in their
forecast models to get a better prediction of our monsoons.

{Geo – IG – 19/06/30} Indian Monsoon Prediction

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The Hindu | 30-06-2019 | Indian Geography > Indian Monsoon

➢ Mechanism of Indian Monsoons

➢ Indian Monsoon Mechanism: Jet Stream Theory
➢ Indian Monsoons: Role of Tropical Easterly Jet, Tibet, Somali Jet & Indian Ocean Dipole
➢ Indian Monsoons: South West Monsoons & North East Monsoons
• IMD issues five kinds of forecasts:
1. Nowcast is for less than 24 hours.
2. The short-range forecast is for up to three days.
3. The medium-range is from three to 10 days.
4. The extended-range is for 10-30 days.
5. The long-range is on a seasonal scale (e.g. monsoons).
• Over the years, IMD has moved to a mix of crude and advanced models to predict the weather.

Statistical models of monsoon prediction

• Since long, IMD employed statistical models to forecast the monsoon.

• Statistical models involved identifying climate parameters linked to the performance of the monsoon — for
instance, the sea surface temperature gradient between North Atlantic and North Pacific, the volume of warm
water in the equatorial Pacific, the Eurasian snow cover, etc.
• Their values are correlated to values of actual rainfall over a hundred years and then, using statistical tech-
niques, extrapolated to forecast a particular year’s monsoon.
• For example, historical data between the monsoons and El Niño or unusual warming of the Pacific shows that
they have a negative relationship.
• This is how the IMD dispensed its long-range forecasts until recently.
• This has, however, proved wrong as the IMD missed its mark on forecasting major droughts and rain-deficits.

Digital System since 2015

• IMD started to use the dynamic model along with the statistical model.
• The dynamic system simulates the weather at a chosen set of locations on a given and the computers calcu-
late how these weather variables will change over days, weeks, months.
• Dynamical models need data about current weather conditions for accurate prediction.
• But IMD doesn’t have enough data collection centres to collect weather data of the entire country.
• Moreover, they are not entirely reliable for forecasting the longer term weather phenomenon like monsoon.

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High-resolution computer models

• The IMD and several private weather agencies are increasingly relying on more sophisticated and high-reso-
lution computer models to give localised forecasts or warn farmers of changes in weather 10-15 days ahead.
• These shorter forecasts are far more reliable and help farmers make decisions about sowing.
• These models are also useful for anticipating heat-wave or a cold-wave and therefore useful to urban plan-
ners and government.

The statistical model continues to be the bedrock of the IMD’s forecast, but new model will soon takeover.

Why are monsoons difficult to predict?

• Indian monsoon system is the most complex weather system in the world as it depends on many factors like:
✓ El Nino, La Nina, Indian Ocean Dipole, etc. (El Nino | ENSO | La Nina | El Nino Modoki | Indian Ocean
Dipole (IOD))
✓ Sub-tropical Jet Stream, Somali Jet, etc.
✓ Atlantic Zonal Mode or Atlantic Nino
✓ Madden–Julian oscillation (given in May 2019 current affairs file), etc.
• There is no proper understanding of how pollution, aerosols and clouds influence the monsoon.
• There is a lack of competent software professionals and scientists working with the IMD.

{Geo – IG – 19/08/10} Impact of irrigation on monsoon patterns

The Hindu | 10-08-2019 | Geography > Indian Geography > Monsoons

• Land-surface processes including irrigation affect the heat fluxes (flow of heat) and evapotranspiration.
• Modified heat fluxes along with changes in atmospheric moisture result in a shift in monsoon patterns.

Impact of irrigation on monsoon patterns in NW India in the month of September

• Researchers from IIT Bombay have found that a change in irrigation policy has the potential to shift monsoon
rainfall and intensify extreme rainfall in India through soil to atmosphere feedback.
• The researchers found that as a result of excess irrigation over northern India, the summer monsoon rainfall
in September shifts towards the north-western part of the country.
• There is also intensification of extreme rainfall over central India during September.
• During the month of September, agriculture lands are highly irrigated, and the crops are matured.
• As a result, there is maximum evapotranspiration taking place leading to highest contribution of moisture
from the land to the atmosphere.

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• The study has not looked at how irrigation and agriculture influence monsoon in southern India.

{Geo – Oceanography – 19/09/23} Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

(AMOC)

D2E | MetUK | IE | 23-09-2019 | Geography > Oceanography

• AMOC is characterized by a northward flow of warm, salty water in the upper layers of the Atlantic, and a
southward flow of colder, deep waters that are part of the thermohaline circulation.

Thermohaline Circulation

• Winds drive ocean currents in the upper 100 meters of the ocean’s surface.
• However, ocean currents also flow thousands of meters below the surface.
• These deep-ocean currents are driven by differences in the water’s density, which is controlled by temper-
ature (thermo) and salinity (haline).
• This process is known as thermohaline circulation.
• The thermohaline circulation is sometimes called the ocean conveyor belt, the great ocean conveyor, or
the global conveyor belt.
• Ocean bottom relief greatly influences thermohaline circulation.

Thermohaline Circulation (Wikipedia)

How AMOC works?

• As warm water flows northwards in the Atlantic, it cools, while evaporation increases its salt content.

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• Low temperature and a high salt content raise the density of the water, causing it to sink deep into the ocean.
• The cold, dense water deep below slowly spreads southward.
• Eventually, it gets pulled back to the surface and warms again, and the circulation is complete.

Image Credits: Wikipedia

Importance of AMOC

• AMOC aids in distributing heat and energy around the earth (heat budget).
• Western Europe’s climate is less harsh even in winters because of AMOC (Gulf Stream, North Atlantic Drift).
• It acts as a carbon sink by absorbing and storing atmospheric carbon.
• AMOC’s carbon sequestration has significant implications for evolution of anthropogenic global warming.

Cause of concern

• AMOC has undergone exceptional weakening in the last 150 years compared to the previous 1500 years.
• Climate models suggest that the AMOC will weaken over the 21st Century as greenhouse gases increase.
• This is because as the atmosphere warms, the surface ocean beneath it retains more of its heat.
• Meanwhile increases in rainfall and ice melt mean it gets fresher too.

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• All these changes make the ocean water lighter and reduce the sinking in the conveyor belt (weaker AMOC).
• A weaker AMOC will bring less warm water northwards, and this will partly offset the warming effect of the
greenhouse gases over western Europe.

Effects of AMOC Slowdown

• IPCC report indicates that AMOC has already weakened.

• Any substantial weakening of the AMOC would cause
✓ further decrease in marine productivity in the North Atlantic (less sinking will lead to less mixing of water),
✓ more storms in Northern Europe,
✓ less Sahelian summer rainfall and South Asian summer rainfall,
✓ a reduced number of tropical cyclones in the Atlantic and
✓ an increase in regional sea level along the northeast coast of North America.

Rising temperatures in Indian Ocean can boost Atlantic’s ocean currents temporarily

• For thousands of years, AMOC has remained stable, but since the past 15 years, it has been weakening.
• However, rising temperatures in the Indian Ocean can help boost the AMOC and delay the slow down.

Indian Ocean’s role

• The Indian Ocean is one of the fingerprints of global warming.

• As the Indian Ocean warms faster and faster, it generates additional precipitation.
• This draws more air from other parts of the world to the Indian Ocean, including the Atlantic.
• With so much precipitation in the Indian Ocean, there will be less precipitation in the Atlantic Ocean.
• Less precipitation will lead to higher salinity in the waters of the tropical portion of the Atlantic.
• This saltier water, as it comes north via AMOC, will get cold much quicker than usual and sink faster.
• This would act as a jump start for AMOC, intensifying the circulation.
• However, scientists don't know for how long this enhanced warming in Indian Ocean will continue.
• If other tropical oceans’ warming, especially the Pacific's, catches up with the Indian Ocean, the advantage
for AMOC will stop.

{Geo – Volcanism – 19/12/10} White Islands Volcano eruption

TH | 10-12-2019 | Geomorphology > Volcanism

• Whakaari/White Island is New Zealand’s most active cone volcanoes.

• It erupted recently resulting in blast of ash and steam killing a number of tourists.
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• Tourists were seen walking inside the crater of White Island volcano moments before it erupted.
• About 70% of the volcano lies under the sea while the Island forms the tip of the volcano.

Source and Credits: BBC

Hydrothermal eruptions

• Volcano that has its magma vent/chmaber in close contact with water can produce explosive eruptions.
• The explosion is caused primarily due to hydrothermal expansion.
• The expansion of water into steam is supersonic in speed and the liquid can expand to 1,700 times its original
volume. This produces catastrophic explosions.
• In the case of White Island, magma is shallow, and the heat affected the surface and ground water.
• In similar types of volcanoes, water is trapped in pores of rocks in a super-heated state.
• Any external process, such as an earthquake, can release the pressure on the hot and trapped water.
• The resulting steam-driven eruption can happen suddenly and with little or no warning.
• The expansion energy is enough to shatter solid rock, excavate craters and eject rock fragments and ash out
to hundreds of meters away from the vent.

• A nuclear meltdown (core meltdown) results in core damage from overheating.

• The earth is close contact is converted into lava due to the tremendous heat of the core.
• If this lava comes in contact with water, it will result in a very powerful hydrothermal explosion.

{Geo LBT – India – 19/09/06} Karnataka’s Pavagada

D2E | 06-09-2019 | Location Based Topics for Prelims

• At UNCCD’s CoP14, International Solar Alliance (ISA) along with the government of India, showcased the
Pavagada Solar Park (Tumakuru district, Karnataka) as a model to deal with land degradation.

85
• Pavagada Solar Park is billed as the world’s largest solar park spread over 13,000 acres of land.
• The arid region with fallow land was not irrigated and a drought-like situation prevailed continuously.
• A committee constituted in 2015 to deal with lease rent finalised a rate of Rs 21,000/acre/annum with a 5 per
cent escalation every two years. The lease is for 28 years.
• Even if five per cent of the state’s waste land is be used for solar power plants, 25,000 MW will be generated.
• ISA said that Pavagada can be an example for states like Rajasthan with abundant wasteland.

{Geo LBT – India – 19/09/12} Pangong Tso (lake)

IE | 12-09-2019

In News

• Indian and Chinese soldiers had a heated exchange in Ladakh near the Pangong Tso lake.

Pangong Tso

• Pangong Tso is a long, thin, brackish, endorheic (no outflow) Himalayan lake.
• The Line of Actual Control (LAC) cuts through the lake, but India and China do not agree on its exact location.

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 Map Credits: Wikipedia

{Geo LBT – India – 19/09/17} Alang shipbreaking yard

D2E | 17-09-2019

• In 2018, Union Ministry of Shipping decided that it would develop Alang, Asia’s largest shipping yard, into
an eco-friendly one, enabling it to even dismantle warships.
• According to the ministry, warships entail a huge business opportunity for India due to non-availability of
warship dismantling facilities across the world.
• Dutch company, SBM Offshore, concealed that a gas tanker it owned, which was to be scrapped in Alang,
was contaminated with mercury (Basel Convention for a toss).

{Geo LBT – India – 19/09/20} Mawlynnong

The Hindu | 20-09-2019 | Location Based Topics for Prelims

• The travel magazine Discover India declared the Mawlynnong as the cleanest in Asia in 2003.

87
• PM Modi turned the spotlight on the village in a monthly radio address in 2015.
• Mawlynnong is a village in the East Khasi Hills (along the India-Bangladesh border) of the Meghalaya state.
• The people residing in the community are Khasi people (indigenous ethnic group of Meghalaya).

{Geo LBT – India – 19/11/29} Saudi-UAE project in India

IE | 29-11-2019 | Economic Geography > Oil Refineries in India

88
• Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) are set to jointly build a refinery project in
Raigad district, Maharashtra, India.
• Repeated delays in land acquisition have led to the expected year of completion being postponed to 2025.
• Saudi Aramco is Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company.
• ADNOC is the state-owned oil company of the UAE.
• The two state-owned companies are responsible for building, owning and operating the refinery in collabo-
ration with Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum.
• Aramco and ADNOC will own a 50 per cent share in the company, the remaining will be owned by the In-
dian consortium.

Existing Oil Refiners in India

• India's first oil refinery started working way back in 1901 at Digboi in Assam.
• In 1954 a refinery was setup at Tarapur (Mumbai).
• Refinery hub and refining capacity exceeds the demand.
• Excess refined oil and other petroleum products are exported.

Refinery Location Capacity (MMTPA)*

SEZ, Jamnagar, Gujarat (RIL – private sector) 35

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 DTA-Jamnagar (RIL – private sector) 33

Vadinar, Gujarat (Essar Oil – private sector) 20

Kochi, Kerala (BPCL) 15

Panipat, Haryana (IOCL) 15

Paradip, Odisha (IOCL) 15

Mangalore, Karnataka (MRPL) 15

Koyali, Gujarat (IOCL) 13

Mumbai, Maharashtra (BPCL) 12

Bathinda, Punjab (JV refinieries) 11

Manali, Tamil Nadu (CPCL) 10

Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh (HPCL) 8.3

Mathura, U.P (IOCL) 8

Bina, MP (JV refineries) 7.8

Haldia, West Bengal (IOCL) 7.5

Mumbai, Maharashtra (HPCL) 7.5

Barauni, Bihar (IOCL) 6

Numaligarh, Assam (Numaligarh Refinery Ltd.) 3

Bongaigaon, Assam (IOCL) 2.35

Guwahati, Assam (IOCL) 1

Nagapattinam (CPCL) 1

Digboi, Assam (IOCL) 0.65

Tatipaka, AP 0.066

Total 249

MMTPA: Million Metric Tonne Per Annum

BPCL: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (Public Sector Units)
CPCL: Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (Public Sector Units)
HPCL: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (Public Sector Units)
IOCL: Indian Oil Corporation Limited (Public Sector Units)

{Geo LBT – India – 19/25/12} Atal Tunnel (Rohtang Tunnel)

IE | 25-12-2019 | Location Based Topics – India

• Rohtang Tunnel which will connect Manali in Himachal Pradesh with Leh, Ladakh, & JK.

90
• The decision to construct a tunnel below the Rohtang Pass was taken by former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
• The tunnel is expected to be ready for an official inauguration by September 2020.
• Upon completion, the 8.8 km-long tunnel will be the world’s longest highway tunnel at an altitude of above
10,000 feet (3,000 metres).
• It is a 10.5 m-wide single tube, a bi-lane tunnel with a fireproof emergency tunnel built into the main tunnel.
• Vehicles will travel at a maximum speed of 80 km per hour inside the tunnel.
• Up to 3,000 cars and 1,500 trucks are expected to use the tunnel every day.
• Cutting through the mighty Pir Panjal range, the tunnel will reduce the distance between Manali and Leh by
46 kilometres and save crores of rupees in transport costs.
• It will also provide all-weather connectivity to remote border areas of Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh
• The project has significant strategic implications for the military.
• Once the tunnel is operational, the forces will have access beyond the Rohtang Pass even in peak winter.
• More tunnels will have to be built to tackle the high passes which fall beyond Rohtang.
• While Rohtang Pass is at a height of 13,050 feet, the pass on the road to Leh is Baralacha La at 16,040 feet.
• A 13.2-km long tunnel would be required to bypass this pass.
• Further down the highway comes Lachung La Pass, that will require a 14.78 km-long tunnel.
• Thereafter falls the Tanglang La pass at 17,480 feet, which will need a 7.32 km-long tunnel.
• An alternative road link to Ladakh has also been developed by BRO on the Darcha-Padam-Nimu axis, but
here again, a 4.15 km-long tunnel at Sinka La Pass (16,703 feet) would be required for all-weather access.

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{Geo LBT – World – 19/11/22} Bougainville

IE | 22-11-2019 | Location Based Topics for Prelims – World

• 97% of voters on the Pacific island of Bougainville opted for independence from Papua New Guinea (PNG).
• The outcome of the poll is not binding on the government of Papua New Guinea.
• Bougainville is a part of the archipelago that includes the Solomon Islands.

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93
Google Maps

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 Oceania (Australia, Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia) (Jailbird, via Wikimedia Commons)

• Bougainville is a resource-rich autonomous island inherited by Papua New Guinea from Australia.
• PNG failed to honour the many agreed arrangements of the autonomy clause.
• Bougainville/Panguna Copper Mine holds some of the world’s largest reserves of copper.
• Copper extracted from the Panguna mine contributed significantly to Papua New Guinea’s economy.
• The mine created opportunities for people from PNG & Australia, leading to conflicts with Bougainvilleans.
• The peace agreement of 2001 brought an end to the violent conflict between Bougainville and PNG.

What is at stake for Australia, China, the United States?

• The stability of the region is clearly important to Australia.

• However, Bougainvilleans see a great deal of unrealised potential in developing relations with China.

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{Geo LBT – World – 19/11/25} Dallol geothermal field

TH | 25-11-2019 | Location Based Topics – World

• Researchers have found an aquatic environment with complete absence of any form of life.
• The lifeless environment consists of hot, saline, hyperacid ponds of the Dallol geothermal field in Ethiopia.
• The discovery may lead to an improved understanding of the limits of habitability.

Dallol geothermal field in Ethiopia: A.Savin (Wikimedia)

Map Source: Google Maps

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Suggested Reading: Geography 2019 edition > Geomorphology > Volcanism > Hotspot Volcanism > Mantle
Plumes > Mantle plumes and divergence (plate tectonics)

{Geo LBT – World – 19/12/07} Victoria Falls

IE | 07-12-2019 | Location Based Topics – World

• The flow of Victoria Falls, with a width of 1.7 km and a height of roughly 108 metres, has been reduced to a
trickle due to the severe droughts in the southern African region since October 2018.

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• Victoria falls (The Smoke that Thunders) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• The Victoria Falls is considered to be the largest waterfall in the world.
• The falls are fed by the Zambezi river and define the boundary between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Victoria Falls Location (Google Maps)

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