Geo and env

25/11-Why has the Northeast monsoon remained

subdued this year?
Context:
Rainfall over the Southern peninsular region has been deficient so far.
The reason is:

1. Prevalent La Niña condition, along with a low pressure belt that is

currently lying to the north of its normal position.
2. The current position of the Inter Tropical Convective Zone (ITCZ).

What is La Nina?
La Niña (Spanish for ‘little girl’) is an abnormal cooling of eastern and central
regions of the Pacific Ocean surface waters.

1. Together, the El Niño and La Niña phenomena are termed as El Niño
Southern Oscillation (ENSO).
2. These are large-scale ocean phenomena which inflence the global
weather — winds, temperature and rainfall.
3. They have the ability to trigger extreme weather events like droughts,
floods, hot and cold conditions, globally.

Each cycle can last anywhere between 9 to 12 months, at times extendable to

18 months — and re-occur after every three to five years.
What is the Northeast monsoon?

1. Occurs during October to December, and is a small-scale monsoon

compared to South- West Monsoon.
2. It is confined to the Southern peninsula.
3. The rainfall associated with the Northeast monsoon is important for
Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal, Yanam, coastal Andhra Pradesh,
Kerala, north interior Karnataka, Mahe and Lakshadweep.
4. Some South Asian countries such as Maldives, Sri Lanka and Myanmar,
too, record rainfall during October to December.

But how is La Niña linked with the Northeast monsoon?

While La Niña conditions enhance the rainfall associated with the Southwest
monsoon, it has a negative impact on rainfall associated with the Northeast
monsoon.
During La Niña years, the synoptic systems — low pressure or cyclones —
formed in the Bay of Bengal remain significantly to the north of their normal
position.
 1. Besides, instead of moving westwards, these systems recurve. As they
lie to the north of their normal position, not much rainfall occurs over
southern regions like Tamil Nadu.

2-A parasite is an organism that lives in or on another living organism,

deriving nutrients from it. In this relationship the parasite benefits, but the
organism being fed upon, the host, is harmed. The host is usually weakened
by the parasite as it siphons resources the host would normally use to maintain
itself. The parasite, however, is unlikely to kill the host. This is because the
parasite needs the host to complete its reproductive cycle by spreading to
another host.
The reproductive cycles of parasites are often very complex, sometimes
requiring more than one host species. A tapeworm is a parasite that causes
disease in humans when contaminated, undercooked meat such as pork, fish,
or beef is consumed. The tapeworm can live inside the intestine of the host for
several years, benefiting from the food the host is bringing into its gut by
eating. The parasite moves from species to species as it requires two hosts to
complete its life cycle.

3-To avoid unfavourable conditions, which of the following enter into diapause,
a stage of suspended development.

Solution: a)
In animals, the organism, if unable to migrate, might avoid the stress by
escaping in time. The familiar case of bears going into hibernation during
winter is an example of escape in time. Some snails and fish go into
aestivation to avoid summer–related problems-heat and dessication. Under
unfavourable conditions many zooplankton species in lakes and ponds
are known to enter diapause, a stage of suspended development.

27/11- How is India performing on this front?

1. India’s renewable power capacity is the 4th largest in the world and

is growing at the fastest speed among all major countries.
2. The renewable energy capacity in India is currently 136 Giga Watts,
which is about 36% of our total capacity.
3. India’s annual renewable energy capacity addition has been exceeding
that of coal based thermal power since 2017.
 4. In the last 6 years, India has increased installed renewable energy
capacity by two and half times.

Overall, India has shown to the world that investing in renewable energy

early on even when it was not affordable has helped in achieving the
scale, which is bringing costs down. Sound environmental policies can also
be sound economics.

BUT THE TARGET FOR 2030 IS 450GW

28/11-

Topics Covered:  Conservation related issues.

Pilibhit tiger reserve gets the first TX2 award:

Context:
Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Uttar Pradesh has bagged the first
international award, TX2, among the 13 tiger ranging countries for having
doubled the number of tigers in less than the stipulated time.

1. In 2014, All India Tiger Estimation had estimated 25 tigers in Pilibhit and
2018 estimation showed an increase by projecting 65 tigers.

Conservation Excellence Award for 2020:

Transboundary Manas Conservation Area straddling the India-Bhutan border
has received the TX2 Conservation Excellence Award for 2020.

1. Transboundary Manas Conservation Area or TraMCA comprising the

500 sq. km. Manas National Park in Assam and the 1,057-sq. km. Royal
Manas National Park in Bhutan.
What is TX2?

It is the global award which was set up in 2010 in St. Petersburg,

Russia by international organizations working for tiger conservation like WWF,
UNDP, IUCN, Global Tiger Fund (GTF), CATS and The Lion’s Share.
Conservation efforts in India:

1. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has launched the

M-STrIPES (Monitoring System for Tigers – Intensive Protection and
Ecological Status), a mobile monitoring system for forest guards.
2. At the Petersburg Tiger Summit in 2010, leaders of 13 tiger range
countries resolved to do more for the tiger and embarked on efforts to
double its number in the wild, with a popular slogan ‘T X 2’.
3. The Global Tiger Initiative (GTI) program of the World Bank, using its
presence and convening ability, brought global partners together to
strengthen the tiger agenda.
4. Over the years, the initiative has institutionalised itself as a separate
entity in the form of the Global Tiger Initiative Council (GTIC), with its
two arms –the Global Tiger Forum and the Global Snow Leopard
Ecosystem Protection Program.
5. The Project Tiger, launched way back in 1973, has grown to more than
50 reserves amounting to almost 2.2% of the country’s geographical
area.