Current based PRELIMS QUESTION 5 May 2020 – The Core IAS

Current based PRELIMS QUESTION 5 May 2020

1. Consider the following statements regarding the Black carbon.
1. Black carbon has a warming impact on climate 460-1,500 times stronger than CO2 per unit of mass.
2. Black carbon/soot is a potent climate-warming component of particulate matter formed by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, wood and other fuels.
3. It also influences cloud formation and impacts regional circulation and rainfall patterns.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
(a) 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

  1. Answer-d
    Explanation-
    Black carbon levels spike at Himalayan glaciers
    India is the second largest emitter of black carbon in the world, with emissions expected to increase dramatically in the coming decades.
    What is black carbon?
    Black carbon/soot is a potent climate-warming component of particulate matter formed by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, wood and other fuels. Complete combustion would turn all carbon in the fuel into carbon dioxide (CO2), but combustion is never complete and CO2, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and organic carbon and black carbon particles are all formed in the process. The complex mixture of particulate matter resulting from incomplete combustion is often referred to as soot.
    Black carbon is a short-lived climate pollutant with a lifetime of only days to weeks after release in the atmosphere. During this short period of time, black carbon can have significant direct and indirect impacts on the climate, glacial regions, agriculture and human health.
    Black carbon has a warming impact on climate 460-1,500 times stronger than CO2 per unit of mass.
    The average atmospheric lifetime of black carbon particles is 4-12 days.
    Primary sources of black carbon emissions
    Black carbon emissions have been decreasing over the past decades in many developed countries due to stricter air quality regulations.
    As the result of open biomass burning and residential solid fuel combustion, Asia, Africa and Latin America contribute approximately 88% of global black carbon emissions.
    Black carbon is always co-emitted with other particles and gases, some of which have a cooling effect on the climate.
    The type and quantity of co-pollutants differs according to the source. Sources that release a high ratio of warming to cooling pollutants represent the most promising targets for mitigation and achieving climate and health benefits in the near term.
    Black carbon impacts
    CLIMATE IMPACTS
    Black carbon (soot) deposited on ice
    Black carbon is an important contributor to warming because it is very effective at absorbing light and heating its surroundings. Per unit of mass, black carbon has a warming impact on climate that is 460-1,500 times stronger than CO2.
    When suspended in the atmosphere, black carbon contributes to warming by converting incoming solar radiation to heat. It also influences cloud formation and impacts regional circulation and rainfall patterns.
    When deposited on ice and snow, black carbon and co-emitted particles reduce surface albedo (the ability to reflect sunlight) and heat the surface. The Arctic and glaciated regions such as the Himalayas are particularly vulnerable to melting as a result.
    HEALTH IMPACTS
    Relative size of particulate matter
    Black carbon and its co-pollutants are key components of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution, the leading environmental cause of poor health and premature deaths.
    At 2.5 micrometres or smaller in diameter, these particles are, many times smaller than a grain of table salt, which allows them to penetrate into the deepest regions of the lungs and facilitate the transport of toxic compounds into the bloodstream.
    PM2.5 has been linked to a number of health impacts including premature death in adults with heart and lung disease, strokes, heart attacks, chronic respiratory disease such as bronchitis, aggravated asthma and other cardio-respiratory symptoms. It is also responsible for premature deaths of children from acute lower respiratory infections such as pneumonia.
    Each year, an estimated 7 million premature deaths are attributed to household and ambient (outdoor) PM2.5 air pollution.
    IMPACTS ON VEGETATION AND ECOSYSTEMS
    Black carbon can affect the health of ecosystems in several ways: by depositing on plant leaves and increasing their temperature, dimming sunlight that reaches the earth, and modifying rainfall patterns.
    Changing rain patterns can have far-reaching consequences for both ecosystems and human livelihoods, for example by disrupting monsoons, which are critical for agriculture in large parts of Asia and Africa.
    Solutions
    Black carbon’s short atmospheric lifetime, combined with its strong warming potential, means that targeted strategies to reduce emissions can provide climate and health benefits within a relatively short period of time.
    The Climate and Clean Air Coalition supports implementation of control measures that, if globally implemented by 2030, could reduce global black carbon emissions by as much as 80% (UNEP & WMO 2011). Several of these emission reductions could be achieved with net cost savings. Adopting these measures would have major positive co-benefits for public health, especially in the developing world.
    BLACK CARBON – 80% emissions reduction potential globally by 2030
    HOUSEHOLD ENERGY
    Replace traditional cooking to clean burning modern fuel cookstoves
    Replace traditional cooking and heating with clean-burning biomass stoves
    Eliminate kerosene lamps
    Replace lump coal with coal briquettes for cooking and heating
    Replace wood stove and burners with pellet stoves and boilers
    INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION
    Modernize traditional brick kilns to vertical shaft brick kilns
    Modernize coke ovens to recovery ovens
    TRANSPORT

Use diesel particular filters for road and off-road vehicles
Fast transition to Euro VI/6 vehicles and soot-free buses and trucks
Eliminate high-emitting diesel vehicles
AGRICULTURE
Ban open-field burning of agricultural waste
FOSSIL FUELS
Capture and improve oil flaring and gas production
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Bans open burning of municipal waste

2. Consider the following statements regarding the Climate and Clean Air Coalition.
1. The Coalition’s activities follow sixteen control measures identified in a 2011 UN Environment and World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) assessment.
2. This is a voluntary partnership of governments, intergovernmental organizations, businesses, scientific institutions and civil society organizations committed to improving air quality and protecting the climate through actions to reduce short-lived climate pollutants.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

2. Answer-c
Explanation
The Climate and Clean Air Coalition
The Climate and Clean Air Coalition is a voluntary partnership of governments, intergovernmental organizations, businesses, scientific institutions and civil society organizations committed to improving air quality and protecting the climate through actions to reduce short-lived climate pollutants.
The global network currently includes over 120 state and non-state partners, and hundreds of local actors carrying out activities across economic sectors.
HISTORY
A scientific assessment released by UN Environment and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) in 2011 found that measures targeting short-lived climate pollutants could achieve “win-win” results for the climate, air quality, and human wellbeing over a relatively short timeframe.
In 2012, the governments of Bangladesh, Canada, Ghana, Mexico, Sweden and the United States, along with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), came together to initiate efforts to treat short-lived climate pollutants as an urgent and collective challenge. Together, they formed the Climate & Clean Air Coalition to support fast action and deliver benefits on several fronts at once: climate, public health, energy efficiency, and food security.
Today, the Coalition brings together hundreds of experienced and influential stakeholders from around the world to leverage high-level engagement and catalyse concrete actions in both the public and private sector.
The Coalition’s activities follow sixteen control measures identified in a 2011 UN Environment and World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) assessment.
If implemented globally by 2030, these measures could reduce global methane emissions by as much as 40% and global black carbon emissions by as much as 80% relative to a reference scenario, preventing up to 0.5°C of warming. An additional 0.1°C could be avoided by replacing high-global warming potential hydrofluorocarbons with available low-global warming potential and not-in-kind alternatives within the same time frame.
https://www.ccacoalition.org/ru/node/1981

3. Consider the following statements with respect to the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK).
1. KVK is an integral part of the National Agricultural Research System (NARS). The first KVK was established in 1974 at Puducherry.
2. The KVK scheme is 100% financed by the Government of India and the KVKs are sanctioned to Agricultural Universities, ICAR institutes, related Government Departments and Non Government Organizations (NGOs) working in Agriculture.
3. KVK was constituted on the recommendations of a committee headed by Dr. Mohan Singh Mehta.
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
(a) 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
3. Answer-d
Explanation-
Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK)
KVK is an agricultural extension center in India. Usually associated with a local agricultural university, these centers serve as the ultimate link between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and farmers, and aim to apply agricultural research in a practical, localized setting. All KVKs fall under the jurisdiction of one of the 11 Agricultural Technology Application Research Institutes (ATARIs) throughout India.
KVK is an integral part of the National Agricultural Research System (NARS). The first KVK was established in 1974 at Puducherry.
The KVK scheme is 100% financed by the Government of India and the KVKs are sanctioned to Agricultural Universities, ICAR institutes, related Government Departments and Non Government Organizations (NGOs) working in Agriculture.

Activities:
KVKs provide several farm support activities like providing technology dissemination to farmers, training, awareness etc.
To achieve these, KVKs undertake:
1. Farm advisory service.
2. Training programme for different categories of people.
3. Training programme for the extension functionaries.
4. Front line demonstration.
5. On farm testing.
http://vikaspedia.in/agriculture/agri-directory/krishi-vigyan-kendras

4. Consider the following statements regarding the Zamorin of Calicut.
1. This is the hereditary royal title used by the Muslim rulers of the medieval Kingdom of Calicut on Malabar Coast.
2. In 1766, Kingdom of Mysore under the leadership of Hyder Ali defeated the Zamorin and annexed the Calicut.
3. The Zamorin welcomed the Portuguese and allowed them to take pepper, drugs etc., on board.
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
(a) 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
4. Answer-a
Explanation-
Zamorin of Calicut
This is the hereditary royal title used by the Hindu rulers of the medieval Kingdom of Calicut on Malabar Coast. The Zamorins ruled for almost six centuries, between c. 12th and 18th century AD based at the city of Calicut, the one of most important trading centre in South India.
At the zenith in the 15th century, the kingdom covered almost all of present day northern and central regions of Kerala state.
It was after the disintegration of the Later Chera Kingdom in early 12th century; the Zamorins became completely independent and became a powerful economic and naval force.
The relative absence of intra-family quarrels and splits like other Nair royalties was one of the factors in the dramatic success of the Zamorins.
They had good trade relations with the Muslim-Arabs and Chinese, the primary spice traders on the Malabar Coast in the Middle Ages.
The Kunhali Marakkars, the famous Muslim admirals, were the naval chiefs of the Zamorins.
The Zamorins held most of the other important trading ports on the across Malabar Coast. The control over these ports provided the Zamorin a vast income of foreign money.
The Portuguese trader and navigator Vasco da Gama visited the Calicut in 1498, opening the sailing route directly from Europe to India.
In 1766 Kingdom of Mysore under the leadership of Hyder Ali defeated the Zamorin and annexed the Calicut.
The government at Calicut was an autocracy, limited by the power of the semi-independent vassal chiefs, perpetually in revolt, and by the priestly power of the Nambudiris.
The Zamorin’s family, being Eradis are connected to several other Eradi clans who are resident in Nilambur, Ponnani and nearby localities in Malappuram district.
The landing of Vasco da Gama in Calicut in 1498 with two ships has often been considered as the beginning of a new phase during which the control of the Indian Ocean passed into the hands of the Europeans.
The strong colony of Arab merchants settled in Calicut was hostile, but the Zamorin welcomed the Portuguese and allowed them to take pepper, drugs etc., on board. In Portugal, the goods brought by Gama from India were computed at sixty times the cost of the entire expedition. Calicut soon allied with the other Indian states on the western coast against the Portuguese and participated in a number of naval battles against them.
Kunhali Marakkar was the famous hereditary Grand Admirals of Calicut and organized a powerful navy to fight the Portuguese. Date Event 1498 May 27 Vasco Da Gama along with three ships and 170 men, lands at Kappakadavu, a beach town situated about 16 km from Calicut, and is welcomed by the Zamorin.
In, 1500 December Zamorin expels Portuguese forces from Calicut after the Calicut Massacre. 1500 December 24 Portuguese (led by Pedro Álvares Cabral) take refuge at port of Cochin, where the local ruler, a vassal of Calicut, placates them with spices for trade. 1501 January Portuguese conclude a treaty with the King of Cochin, allowing them to open a factory (trading depot) there. 1502 August Vasco Da Gama returns to India to try to control Calicut. He bombards Calicut and burns a Calicut ship, the Meri, full of Muslim pilgrims from Mecca. 1503 Portuguese crown the new ruler of Kochi, effectively making him a vassal of the King of Portugal. Vasco da Gama returns to Portugal. 1503 March Calicut attacks Kingdom of Cochin to foil the growing Portuguese influence. 1503 First Portuguese Viceroy Francisco de Almeida arrives in Cochin to find it destroyed, manages to obtain permission to build a fort. Thus the first European fort is built in India by 1505 called Fort Manuel (after King Manuel I of Portugal).
Coinage
The coins minted in Calicut included Fanams (made of gold), Tarens (made of silver) and Kasu (made of copper). Sixteen Kasu made one Taren, and sixteen Tarens made one Fanam. The mint was destroyed in 1766. The officer in-charge of the mint was called the “Goldsmith of Manavikraman”.

5. Consider the following statements about Gangotri Glacier.
1. The glacier is one of the largest in the Himalayas with an estimated volume of over 27 cubic kilometers.
2. The River Bhagirathi is one of the main tributaries of the Ganga, originates from Gangotri glacier.
3. Black carbon concentrations near this glacier rose 400 times in summer due to forest fires and stubble burning from agricultural waste, and triggered glacial melt.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
(a) 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

5. Answer-d
Explanation-
Gangotri Glacier
Black carbon concentrations near the Gangotri glacier rose 400 times in summer due to forest fires and stubble burning from agricultural waste, and triggered glacial melt, says a study by scientists at the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG).
The River Bhagirathi originates from the glacier retreated more than 1,500m in the last 70 years.
Glacier is located in Uttarkashi District.
The glaciers originate at about 7100 m above the sea level and are 30.2 km long and width that varies between 0.5 and 2.5 km.
The River Bhagirathi is one of the main tributaries of the Ganga, originates from Gangotri glacier.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *