Geography Current Affairs by Pmfias.

com – September 2020

Contents

{EG – Energy Resources – 2020/09/01} Coal Gasification .............................................................................................. 1

{EG – GI – 2020/09/21} Chendamangalam Sari.................................................................................................................................................... 2
{EG – Minerals Resources – 2020/09/14} Methane Hydrates ......................................................................................... 3
{EG – Renewable Energy – 2020/09/09} First World Solar Technology Summit (WSTS) ............................................ 5

{Geo – Climatology – 2020/09/21} Medicanes ................................................................................................................ 8

{Geo – In news – 2020/09/22} O-Smart Scheme ................................................................................................................................................. 9

{Geo – Infra – 2020/09/09} Green Blue Policy ...................................................................................................................................................... 9

{Geo – Infra – 2020/09/27} India’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) train .......................................................................... 10

{Geo – SG – 2020/09/22} Covid-19 reaches remote tribes of Odisha ...................................................................................................... 12

{Geo LBT – India – 2020/09/01} Pangong Tso Lake ......................................................................................................................................... 12

{Geo LBT – India – 2020/09/08} Chushul .............................................................................................................................................................. 14
{Geo LBT – India – 2020/09/12} Sonamura-Daudkandi Inland Waterway Route ................................................................................. 15

{Geo LBT – World – 2020/09/04} Belize ................................................................................................................................................................ 17

{Geo LBT – World – 2020/09/08} Yanomami Tribes ......................................................................................................................................... 17

{Geo LBT – World – 2020/09/16} Re-Measurement of Mt. Everest ............................................................................................................ 17

{Geo LBT – World – 2020/09/24} First Asian woman to swim across English Channel ...................................................................... 18

{Geo LBT – World – 2020/09/27} Nagorno-Karabakh .................................................................................................. 19

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{EG – Energy Resources – 2020/09/01} Coal Gasification

PIB | GS3 > Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of
their design and implementation.

• Context: India aims to achieve 100 MT coal gasification target by 2030.

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About Gasification

• Gasification is a technological process that can convert any carbonaceous (carbon-based) raw material
such as coal into fuel gas, also known as synthesis gas (syngas).

• Gasification occurs in a gasifier, generally a high temperature/pressure vessel where oxygen (or air) and
steam are directly contacted with the coal or other feed material causing a series of chemical reactions to
occur that convert the feed to syngas and ash/slag (mineral residues).
• Sum up-Gasification is a process that converts organic- or fossil fuel-based carbonaceous materials into
carbon monoxide, hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
• It is a thermochemical reaction.
• This is achieved by reacting the material at high temperatures (>700 °C), without combustion, with a con-
trolled amount of oxygen and/or steam.
• The resulting gas mixture is called syngas (from synthesis gas) or producer gas and is itself a fuel.

Syngas

• Syngas is the term generally used for mixture of combustible gases.

• Syngas is a mixture of Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen which is the product of steam or oxygen gasifi-
cation of organic material such as biomass.
• After clean up, syngas can be used to produce organic molecules such as synthetic natural gas (SNG-me-
thane (CH4)) or liquid biofuel such as synthetic diesel.

{EG – GI – 2020/09/21} Chendamangalam Sari

TH | GS3 > issues relating to Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).

• Context: The Care 4 Chendamangalam (C4C) initiative is supporting the 2018 Kerala flood-affected weav-
ers was in news recently.
• The GI-tagged Chendamangalam sari is recognisable by its puliyilakara border, a thin black line that runs
abreast with the sari’s selvedge.
• The saris made from the fine-count cotton yarn of 120s, 100s and 80s take between two to four days of
painstaking labour, depending on the design vocabulary.
• Innovations are consciously confined to the graphic-edged finishes and textures with the characteristic
kasavu zari borders.
• Other GI Tagged Products from Kerala: Kasaragod Sarees, Pokkali Rice, Nilambur Teak, Wayanad Robusta
Coffee, Tirur Betel Leaf, etc.

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GI tag

• A GI tag is a legal recognition given primarily to an agricultural, natural or a manufactured product (handi-
crafts and industrial goods) originating from a definite geographical territory.
• GI tag conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness of a product, which is essentially attributable to
the place of its origin.
• Once the GI protection is granted, no other producer can misuse the name to market similar products.
• It also provides comfort to customers about the authenticity of that product.

What is the difference between a geographical indication and a trademark?

• A trademark is a sign/word/phrase used by an entity to distinguish its goods & services from those of others.
• It gives the entity the right to prevent others from using the trademark.
• A geographical indication tells consumers that a product is produced in a certain place and has certain
characteristics that are due to that place of production.
• It may be used by all producers who make their products in the place designated by a geographical indication.

Who accords Geographical Indications?

• Globally, geographical Indications are covered as a component of intellectual property rights (IPRs) under
the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
• GI is also governed by WTO's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
• In India, Geographical Indications registration is administered by the Geographical Indications of Goods (Reg-
istration and Protection) Act, 1999, which came into force with effect from September 2003.
• The first product in India to be accorded with GI tag was Darjeeling tea in the year 2004-05.

Who can apply for a geographical indication?

• Any association of persons, producers, organisation, or authority established by or under the law can be a
registered proprietor.

How long is the registration of Geographical Indication valid?

• The registration of a geographical indication is valid for a period of 10 years (same for a trademark).
• It can be renewed from time to time for further period of 10 years each.

{EG – Minerals Resources – 2020/09/14} Methane Hydrates

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PIB | Economic Geography > Oceanic Mineral Resources

• Context: Researchers at the Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), an autonomous institute of the Depart-
ment of Science and Technology, Govt. of India have found that the methane hydrate deposits are
located in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin are of biogenic origin.

What is Methane?

• Methane (CH4) is colourless and odourless gas that occurs abundantly in nature and as a product of certain
human activities.
• Methane is the simplest member of the paraffin series of hydrocarbons and is among the most potent of
the greenhouse gases.

Properties of Methane

• Methane is lighter than air.

• It is only slightly soluble in water.
• It burns readily in air, forming carbon dioxide and water vapour; the flame is pale, slightly luminous, and
very hot.
• The boiling point of methane is −162 °C (−259.6 °F) and the melting point is −182.5 °C (−296.5 °F).
• Methane in general is very stable, but mixtures of methane and air, with the methane content between 5
and 14 percent by volume, are explosive.
• Methane is produced by the anaerobic bacterial decomposition of vegetable matter under water (where
it is sometimes called marsh gas or swamp gas).

Methane Hydrate

• Methane hydrate is formed when hydrogen-bonded water and methane gas come into contact at
high pressures and low temperatures in oceans.
• Methane hydrate is a crystalline solid that consists of a methane molecule surrounded by a cage of inter-
locking water molecules.
• Methane hydrate is an "ice" that only occurs naturally in subsurface deposits where temperature and pres-
sure conditions are favourable for its formation.
• If the ice is removed from this temperature/pressure environment, it becomes unstable.

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• They cannot be drilled and cored for study like other subsurface materials because as they are brought to
the surface, the pressure is reduced and the temperature rises. This causes the ice to melt and the methane
to escape.
• Other Names: hydromethane, methane ice, fire ice, natural gas hydrate, and gas hydrate.

{EG – Renewable Energy – 2020/09/09} First World Solar Technology Summit

(WSTS)

PIB | GS3 > Conservation | GS2 > Government Policies and Interventions for Development in Various Sectors and
Issues arising out of their design and implementation.

• Context: First WSTS was organised by International Solar Alliance (ISA) and Federation of Indian Cham-
bers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) aims to bring together key stakeholders.

Objectives of WSTS

• The main objective of WSTS is to showcase to member countries the state of the art and next-generation
solar technologies worldwide.
• To give an opportunity to decision-makers and stakeholders to meet.
• To discuss their own priorities and strategic agenda towards a larger integration.

Steps taken by India in Solar Energy

• Globally India now ranks 4th in terms of Renewable power.

• India has scaled its non-fossil fuel-based power generations to 134GW, which is about 35% of our total
power generation.
• It is confident of increasing it to 220 GW by 2022.
• Indian government has implemented a scheme named KUSUM that aims to replace the use of diesel in our
farm sector with solar energy.
✓ Under this scheme, India have targeted the solarisation of 2.8 million irrigation pumps.
✓ Such schemes will not only benefit the environment, but also increase the income of our farmers.
• India has also set up a Project Preparation Facility to develop bankable Solar Energy projects in ISA
member countries with the help of EXIM Bank of India.
• Indian Government had announced about US $1.4 Billion worth of lines of credit (LOCs) for covering 27 solar
projects across 15 countries.

5
• The ISA is a part of “One Word One Sun One Grid” project which can bring transformational benefits for
the entire humanity.

India and Solar Energy

National Solar Mission

• The National Solar Mission is a major initiative to promote ecologically sustainable growth while address-
ing India’s energy security challenge.
• The program was inaugurated in 2010 with a target of 20GW by 2022.
• It was later increased to 100 GW (100,000 MW).
• MNRE has proposed to achieve

✓ 60 GW from large and medium scale solar projects, and

✓ 40 GW through rooftop solar projects.

• Committed to Nationally Determined Contributions (Paris Accord), India made a pledge that by 2030,
40% of installed power generation capacity shall be based on clean sources.
• It was determined that 175 GW of renewable energy capacity will be installed by 2022.
• This includes

✓ 100 GW from solar,

✓ 60 GW from wind,
✓ 10 GW from bio-power and
✓ 5 GW from small hydro power

One Sun One World One Grid

• OSOWOG is India’s initiative to build a global ecosystem of interconnected renewable energy resources.
• The blueprint for the OSOWOG will be developed under the World Bank’s technical assistance programme
that is implemented to accelerate the deployment of grid connected rooftop solar installations.
• The concept of OSOWOG intends to tap the global solar energy potential for the benefit of all nations and
requires an International electricity grid to allow inter-country free flow of power.
• To achieve this, the OSOWOG will require certain changes in the regulatory framework especially in two
areas –
1. Grid security for the Indian grid.

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 2. Development of appropriate International energy exchange.
• The grid has to be a "smart grid" in order to obtain highest efficiencies given the constraints of transmission
of solar power, i.e. transmission losses.
• OSOWOG is planned to be completed in three phases.
1. The first phase will entail interconnectivity within the Asian continent;
2. The second phase will add Africa and
3. The third phase will globalise the whole project.
• This is seen as India’s counter to China’s Belt and Road initiative (BRI).

ISA

• The International Solar Alliance (ISA) was conceived as a coalition of solar-resource-rich countries (which lie
either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn) to address their
special energy needs.
• The ISA has 122 sun-belt countries that lie between the two tropics as its prospective member countries
and currently boasts a membership of 86 countries globally.
• As guided by the Framework Agreement of the ISA, the interests and objectives of the ISA are as follows:
✓ To mobilize investments of more than USD 1000 billion by 2030.
✓ Reduce the cost of finance to increase investments in solar energy in member countries by promoting
innovative financial mechanisms and mobilizing finance from Institutions.
✓ Scale up applications of solar technologies in member countries.
✓ Facilitate collaborative research and development (R&D) activities in solar energy technologies among
member countries.
✓ Promote a common cyber platform for networking, cooperation and exchange of ideas among member
countries.
• ISA has six programmes viz. Solar Applications for Agricultural Use, Affordable Finance at Scale, Mini Grids,
and Solar Rooftops and Solar E-mobility & Storage and Large-Scale Solar Parks.

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 s
Source and Credits

{Geo – Climatology – 2020/09/21} Medicanes

DTE | GS1 > Important Geophysical Phenomena such as Tsunami, Earthquake, Cyclone etc.

• Context: Medicane named Ianos made landfall along the coast of Greece and caused heavy rainfall and
flooding.
• Medicanes are extra tropical cyclones formed over the Mediterranean Sea.
• Medicanes occur more in colder waters.
• Like tropical storms, medicanes have a symmetric structure, a warm core, a clearly visible eye, and winds
of at least tropical-storm strength.
• Medicanes are typically smaller in diameter and have lower wind speeds than true tropical cyclones.
• Medicanes typically form in the fall or winter months and occur once or twice a year.
• The cores of these storms are also cold, as compared to the warm cores of tropical cyclones.
• Warmer cores tend to carry more moisture (hence rainfall), are bigger in size and have swifter winds.
• Sometimes, warm-cored tropical cyclones transform into cold-cored extratropical cyclones and in rare cases,
the opposite can also happen.
• The rare event of an extra tropical cyclone becoming a tropical cyclone happens because of warmer-than-
usual waters in the Mediterranean Sea
• The Mediterranean is a generally dry, evaporative sea and cyclonic storms don’t grow as much rain
and can be hard to detect.
• They can occur anytime of the year but tend to peak during fall /winter months

8
{Geo – In news – 2020/09/22} O-Smart Scheme

PIB | GS2 > Government Policies and Interventions for Development in Various Sectors and Issues arising out of
their design and implementation.

• Context: Recently, the Union Minister of Earth Sciences has provided information regarding the implemen-
tation of O-SMART Scheme.
• The Ocean Services, Technology, Observations, Resources Modelling and Science (O- SMART) Scheme
is an umbrella scheme of the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
• The objectives of O-SMART (Ocean Services, Modelling, Applications, Resources and Technology) scheme
of Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Govt. of India are: -
1) To generate and regularly update information on Marine Living Resources and their relationship with
the physical environment in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ),
2) To monitor levels of sea water pollutants for health assessment of coastal waters of India, to develop
shoreline change maps for assessment of coastal erosion due to natural and anthropogenic activities,
3) To develop a wide range of state-of-the art ocean observation systems for acquisition of real-time data
from the seas around India,
4) To generate and disseminate a suite of user-oriented ocean information, advisories, warnings, data and
data products for the benefit of society,
5) To develop high resolution models for ocean forecast and reanalysis system,
6) To develop technologies to tap the marine bio resources,
7) To develop technologies generating freshwater and energy from ocean,
8) To develop underwater vehicles and technologies,
9) Establishment of Ballast water treatment facility,
10) To carryout exploration of Polymetallic Nodules (MPN) from water depth of 5500 m in site of 75000
sq.km allotted to India by United Nations in Central Indian Ocean Basin, to carryout investigations
of gas hydrates,
11) Exploration of polymetallic sulphides near Rodrigues Triple junction in 10000 sq. km of area allotted
to India in International waters by International Seabed Authority/UN, etc.

{Geo – Infra – 2020/09/09} Green Blue Policy

IE | GS3 > Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

9
• Context: The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is holding public consultations for the preparation of the
Master Plan for Delhi, which includes green blue policy.

What is Green-Blue Infrastructure?

• ‘Blue’ infrastructure refers to water bodies like rivers, canals, ponds, wetlands, floodplains, and water
treatment facilities; while ‘Green’ stands for trees, lawns, hedgerows, parks, fields, and forests.
• The concept refers to urban planning where water bodies and land are interdependent, and grow with
the help of each other while offering environmental and social benefits.

What will the areas look like after redevelopment?

• Land around drains, carrying stormwater, will be declared as special buffer projects.
• A network of connected green spaces would be developed in the form of green mobility circuits of pedes-
trian and cycling paths. “
• The nature of use, extent of public access, type of vegetation, suitability for developing water bodies, etc.
shall be ascertained on a case-to-case basis through scientific assessments.

{Geo – Infra – 2020/09/27} India’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) train

IE | Livemint | GS3 >Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Ropads, Airports, Railways, etc.

• Context: Recently, the government has unveiled the first look of India’s first Regional Rapid Transit System
(RRTS) train.
• It is an environment friendly, energy efficient train which will improve the quality of life in NCR.

10
About RRTS train

• RRTS has a design speed of 180 kmph.

• Aerodynamic RRTS trains will be lightweight and fully air-conditioned.
• RRTS rolling stock will have lighting and temperature control systems to enhance the passenger experi-
ence with less energy consumption.
• The 82 km long Delhi–Ghaziabad–Meerut Corridor is the first RRTS corridor being implemented in India.

About NCRTC

• National Capital Region Transport Corporation is a joint venture of the

✓ Government of India (50%) and

✓ State Governments of Haryana (12.5%), NCT Delhi (12.5%), UP (12.5%) and Rajasthan (12.5%).

• It is mandated to design, construct, finance, operate and maintain RRTS in NCR and works under the admin-
istrative control of Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, GOI.
• NCRTC is mandated to implement India’s first RRTS in NCR.

11
{Geo – SG – 2020/09/22} Covid-19 reaches remote tribes of Odisha

IE | GS2 > Health | Geography > Social Geography for Prelims

• Context: One member of the Bonda tribe and five from the Didayi tribe in Odisha tested positive for the
novel coronavirus.
• Of the 62 tribal groups, Odisha has 13 tribes which are recognised as PVTGs, the highest in the country.

Bonda Tribes

• It’s a tribal community residing in the hill ranges of Malkangiri district in Odisha.
• Bondas, a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG), live in settlements comprising small hutments in
the hills of the Khairaput block.
• Bondas have almost no connection to the outside world.
• The Bondas and Didiayis are found in the Malkangiri district of the state, which shares its border with
Andhra Pradesh on the east and south and Chhattisgarh on the west.

Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group

• Tribal communities are often identified by some specific signs such as primitive traits, distinctive culture,
geographical isolation, shyness to contact with the community at large and backwardness.
• Along with these, some tribal groups have some specific features such as dependency on hunting, gathering,
having pre-agriculture level of technology, zero or negative growth of population and extremely low level
of literacy. These groups are called Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups.
• Government of India designed a procedure to identify PVTGs.
• According to the procedure, the state governments or UT governments submit proposals to the Central
Ministry of Tribal Welfare for identification of PVTGs.
• After ensuring the criteria is fulfilled, the Central Ministry selects those groups as PVTGs.
• There are total of 75 PVTGs out of 705 Scheduled Tribes, spread over 17 states and one Union Territory (UT),
in the country (2011 census).

{Geo LBT – India – 2020/09/01} Pangong Tso Lake

Location Based Topics – India

What is Pangong Tso Lake?

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• Made popular by the Hindi film 3 Idiots, Pangong Tso is an endorheic lake that is partly in India’s Ladakh
region and partly in Tibet.
• The name reflects the mixed heritage of the lake: Pangong in Ladakhi means extensive concavity, the word
Tso is Tibetan for lake.
• The lake’s water is brackish, making it undrinkable.
• Situated at an elevation of about 4,270 m, it is a nearly 135-km long, narrow lake — 6 km at its widest point
— and shaped liked a boomerang.
• The Karakoram Mountain range (Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China & India), with heights of over
6,000 m including K2, the world’s second highest peak, ends at the north bank of Pangong Tso.
• Its southern bank too has high broken mountains sloping towards Spangur Lake in the south.

Who controls Pangong Tso?

• Nearly two-thirds of the lake is controlled by China, with just about 45 km under Indian control.
• The LAC, running north-south, cuts the western part of the lake, aligned east-west.
• India and China have unsettled borders, and the perception of the LAC differs in multiple sectors, including
on Pangong Tso.
• On the north bank are spurs that jut into the lake, identified as fingers.
• India says the LAC passes through Finger 8; China claims it is farther west.

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{Geo LBT – India – 2020/09/08} Chushul

GS1 > Mapping

What is the Chushul sub-sector?

• The Chushul sub-sector lies south of Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh.

• Situated at a height of over 13,000 feet close to the LAC, the Chushul Valley has a vital airstrip that played
an important role even during the 1962 War with China.
• Chushul is one among the five Border Personnel Meeting points between the Indian Army and the
People’s Liberation Army of China.
• It is here that representatives of the two armies meet for regular interactions.
• The recent brigade-level meetings between the two sides were also held here.

What is its strategic importance to India?

• Chushul enjoys tremendous strategic and tactical importance because of its location and terrain, which make
it a centre for logistics deployment.
• Simply put, Chushul is the gateway to Leh. If China enters Chushul, it can launch its operations for Leh.

14
{Geo LBT – India – 2020/09/12} Sonamura-Daudkandi Inland Waterway Route

IE | In News for Prelims

• Context: Recently, Sonamura-Daudkandi inland waterway route between India and Bangladesh was opera-
tionalised.
• The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) held a series of visits and studied the feasibility of launch-
ing inland waterways connectivity on River Gomati.
• The river connects with Meghna in Bangladesh via a 90-km stretch of water from Sonamura till Daudkandi.
• Indo-Bangladesh Protocol on Inland Water Transit & Trade exists between India and Bangladesh under which
inland vessels of one country can transit through the specified routes of the other country.
• The existing protocol routes are:
1. Kolkata-Pandu-Kolkata
2. Kolkata-Karimganj - Kolkata
3. Rajshahi-Dhulian-Rajshahi
4. Pandu-Karimganj-Pandu
• For inter-country trade, certain ports of call have been designated in each country.
• These Ports of call generally act as an intermediate stop for a ship on its scheduled journey for unloading
and loading of cargo or taking on supplies or fuel and maintenance and refurbishing is carried out.

These are:

India

1. Haldia (West Bengal)

2. Kolkata (West Bengal)

15
3. Pandu (Assam)
4. Karimganj (Assam)
5. Silghat (Assam)

Bangladesh

1. Narayanganj
2. Khulna
3. Mongla
4. Sirajganj
5. Ashuganj

Source and Credits

Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI)

• Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is the statutory authority in charge of the waterways in India.
• It was constituted under IWAI Act-1985 by Parliament of India.
• Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) was created by Government of India on 1986 for develop-
ment and regulation of Inland waterways for shipping and navigation.
• Its headquarters is located in Noida, UP.
• In National Waterway - 1. The first implementation will be between Varanasi-Haldia stretch in assistance
and investment from World Bank.

16
{Geo LBT – World – 2020/09/04} Belize

IE | GS1 > Important Geophysical Phenomena i.e Hurricane

• Context: Hurricane Nana made landfall in Belize.

• Belize is a Caribbean country located on the north-eastern coast of Central America.
• Belize is bordered on the northwest by Mexico, on the east by the Caribbean Sea, and on the south and
west by Guatemala.
• It has the lowest population in Central America.

Map: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GRXBXifmaC7_eJ-Ysr6amOMYD7jS1xLO/view?usp=sharing

{Geo LBT – World – 2020/09/08} Yanomami Tribes

IE | In News for Prelims

• Context: The Yanomami people, who live in a settlement deep inside the rainforest, have been threatened
for several decades by illegal gold miners who invade their land and bring diseases.
• The Yanomami live in the rainforests and mountains of northern Brazil and southern Venezuela, and are,
according to Survival International, the largest relatively isolated tribe in South America.

{Geo LBT – World – 2020/09/16} Re-Measurement of Mt. Everest

IE | GS1 > Geographical Features and their Locations | Basics- Himalayas Formation, Ranges in Himalayas

• Context: China and Nepal together decided to re-measure the elevation of the world’s highest mountain,
the two countries are soon expected to announce its latest official height, the Nepali Times reported.

17
• Mount Everest or Sagarmatha, Earth’s highest mountain above sea level, is located in the Himalayas be-
tween China and Nepal the border between them running across its summit point.
• Its current official elevation 8,848m places it more than 200m above the world’s second-highest mountain,
K2, which is 8,611m tall and located in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Why is the height being measured again?

• Everest’s current official height – 8,848m – has been widely accepted since 1956, when the figure was meas-
ured by the Survey of India.
• The height of the summit, however, is known to change because of tectonic activity, such as the 2015 Nepal
earthquake.
• Its measurement over the decades has also depended on who was surveying.
• Another debate is whether the height should be based on the highest rock point or the highest snow point.
• For years, Nepal and China disagreed over the issue, which was resolved in 2010 when China accepted Ne-
pal’s claim of the snow height being 8,848m, while the Nepali side recognised the Chinese claim of the rock
height at 8,844.43m.

{Geo LBT – World – 2020/09/24} First Asian woman to swim across English Chan-
nel

TH | GS1 > Mapping

• Context: recently Google Doodle celebrates Arati Saha, first Asian woman to swim across English Channel

About English Channel

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• The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located between Great Britain (England and Scotland), Den-
mark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France.
• An epeiric (or "shelf") sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the ocean through the Eng-
lish Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north.
• English Channel, also called The Channel, French La Manche, narrow arm of the Atlantic Ocean separat-
ing the southern coast of England from the northern coast of France and tapering eastward to its
junction with the North Sea at the Strait of Dover.
• The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait, historically known as the Dover Narrows is the strait at the narrow-
est part of the English Channel, marking the boundary between the Channel and North Sea, sepa-
rating Great Britain from continental Europe.

Link– Source and Credits

{Geo LBT – World – 2020/09/27} Nagorno-Karabakh

BBC | GS1 > Mapping

• Context: Territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region has re-
erupted with heavy clashes recently.

Nagorno-Karabakh

• A mountainous region of about 4,400 sq km (1,700 sq miles).

• Traditionally inhabited by Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks.
• In Soviet times, it became an autonomous region within the republic of Azerbaijan.
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• Internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but majority of population is ethnic Armenian.
• An estimated one million people displaced by war in 1988-1994, and about 30,000 killed.
• Separatist forces captured some extra territory around the enclave in Azerbaijan in the 1990s war.
• Stalemate has largely prevailed since a 1994 ceasefire.
• Turkey openly supports Azerbaijan.
• Russia has military bases in Armenia.

Source and Credits

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