The threat of rising sea levels

The report, entitled ‘State of the Global Climate 2022’, was published last week. Along with accelerating sea-level rise, it focused on a consistent rise in global temperatures, record-breaking increases in the concentration of greenhouse gases as well as glacier loss, sustained drought-like conditions in East Africa, record rainfall in Pakistan, and unprecedented heatwaves that struck Europe and China in 2022.

Droughts, floods and heatwaves affected communities on every continent and cost many billions of dollars. Antarctic sea ice fell to its lowest extent on record and the melting of some European glaciers was, literally, off the charts.

• Sea Level Rise (SLR):
  • SLR is an increase in the level of the world’s oceans due to the effects of climate change, especially global warming, induced by three primary factors: Thermal Expansion, Melting Glaciers and Loss of Greenland and Antarctica’s ice sheets.
  • Sea level is primarily measured using tide stations and satellite laser altimeters.
• SLR is Linked to Three Primary Factors:
  • Thermal Expansion: When water heats up, it expands. About half of the sea-level rise over the past 25 years is attributable to warmer oceans simply occupying more space.
  • Melting Glaciers: Higher temperatures caused by global warming have led to greater-than-average summer melting of large ice formations like mountain glaciers as well as diminished snowfall due to later winters and earlier springs.
    • That creates an imbalance between runoff and ocean evaporation, causing sea levels to rise.
  • Loss of Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets: As with mountain glaciers, increased heat is causing the massive ice sheets that cover Greenland and Antarctica to melt more quickly, and also move more quickly into the sea.
• Rate of SLR:
  • Global: Global sea level has been rising over the past century, and the rate has accelerated in recent decades. The average global sea level has risen 8.9 inches between 1880 and 2015. That’s much faster than in the previous 2,700 years.
    • Also, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released ‘The Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate’ in 2019 which underlined the dire changes taking place in oceans, glaciers, and ice-deposits on land and sea.
  • Regional: SLR is not uniform across the world. Regional SLR may be higher or lower than Global SLR due to subsidence, upstream flood control, erosion, regional ocean currents, variations in land height, and compressive weight of Ice Age glaciers.
• Consequences of SLR:
  • Coastal Flooding: Globally, eight of the world''s 10 largest cities are near a coast, which is threatened by coastal flooding.
  • Destruction of Coastal Biodiversity: SLR can cause destructive erosion, wetland flooding, aquifer and agricultural soil contamination with salt, and lost habitat for biodiversity.
  • Dangerous Storm Surges: Higher sea levels are coinciding with more dangerous hurricanes and typhoons leading to loss of life and property.
  • Lateral and Inland Migration: Flooding in low-lying coastal areas is forcing people to migrate to the higher ground causing displacement and dispossession and in turn a refugee crisis worldwide.
  • Impact on Infrastructure: The prospect of higher coastal water levels threatens basic services such as internet access.
  • Threat to Inland Life: Rising seas can contaminate soil and groundwater with salt threatening life farther away from coasts.
  • Tourism and Military Preparedness: Tourism to coastal areas and military preparedness will also be negatively affected by an increase in SLR.

Y20 Pre Summit Meeting under G20 hosted by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports begins with an excursion trip for delegates

The Y 20 Pre Summit Meeting under G20 hosted by Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs  began today with an excursion trip today in and around Leh.  The meeting is being organised from 26th to 28th April.

Y20 delegates got a glimpse of Ladakh''s rich cultural heritage when they visited Hemis and Thiksey Monasteries.

At Hemis Monastery,  delegates witnessed the famous Cham dance

Cham dance

• An enigmatic and energetic mask dance.
• Cham dance is used in all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism—Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu and Gelug—in their rituals as a sacred dance that is reflective of the Buddhist tantric practices.

Hemis Monastery:

• It is a Buddhist monastery located in Leh City,
• It belongs to the Drukpa lineage of Buddhism.
• The monastery was first established in the 11th century and later re-established in the 17th century by the Ladakhi King Sengge Namgyal.
• It is also famous for its 2-day religious ceremony known as the Hemis Festival.
• This festival is celebrated in honour of Padmasambhava which is observed here in
• It is the biggest and very richly endowed monastery.

Drukpa Lineage Buddhism

• It was founded in the 12th century by Gyalwa Gotsangpa, a disciple of the famous Tibetan master Phagmo Drupa.
• It is particularly prominent in Bhutan.
• This is known for its efforts to empower women, and their nuns are allowed to receive the same level of training and education as their male counterparts.

WHO launches initiative to make world better prepared for future pandemics

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a new initiative to be better prepared for future outbreaks of a similar scale and devastation as the COVID-19 pandemic.

PRET

• The Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats (PRET) Initiative is aimed at providing “guidance on integrated planning for responding to any respiratory pathogen such as influenza or coronaviruses”.
• It was announced at the Global Meeting for Future Respiratory Pathogen Pandemics held on 24-26 April 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland.
• The first module focuses on respiratory pathogens, including influenza, coronaviruses, and respiratory syncytial virus.
• It involves three-pronged approach which includes
  • Update preparedness plans that affirm priority actions and that have considered learnings from past events.
  • Increase connectivity among stakeholders in pandemic preparedness planning through systematic coordination and cooperation. This includes building equitable systems; conducting joint exercises; and sharing information on good practices, challenges, and opportunities.
  • Dedicate sustained investments, financing and monitoring of pandemic preparednesswith a particular focus on addressing the gaps identified during past pandemics and epidemics.

Call to protect historically significant structures at Thirunelly temple

The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has urged the government to conserve the historically significant structures, including the 600-year-old ‘Vilakkumadom’, an exquisite granite structure, at the Sree Mahavishnu Temple at Thirunelly in Wayanad district during the on-going renovation of the temple.

Thirunelly Temple:

• It is an ancient temple dedicated to the Lord Maha Vishnu.
• Location: It is located on the sides of Brahmagiri Hill, a part of the Sahyadri Mountain Ranges in the Wayanad district of Kerala.
• It is also known as the Sahyamala Kshetram and Kashi of the South.
• It is the only temple in the world where the devotees can perform all the rituals related to one’s life, starting from birth to death and life after death.
• The rituals in this temple are performed on the banks of stream Papanashini, which originates from the Brahmagiri hills.
• Legend behind:
  • It’s an ancient temple where Lord Brahma is said to establish the idol of Lord Vishnu.
  • It’s believed that he found the idol on a gooseberry (amla) tree, locally known as nelli, thus giving Thirunelli its name.
• Architecture:
  • The temple embodies classical, traditional Kerala architecture.
  • The shrine is shielded with 30 granite columns, and the ground is paved with huge square pieces of granite.
  • The inner sanctum is surrounded by a tile-roofed structure, and there is an open courtyard around the Sanctorum.
  • Along the outer wall of the temple is a cloister made of granite pillars cut in cubical style.
  • The main deity idol of the temple is in the form of Chathurbhuja - Lord Vishnu with his four hands.

Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH):

• INTACH is an autonomous non-governmental Indian non-profit society that seeks to preserve Indian culture and heritage.
• It was founded in 1984 with the vision to spearhead heritage awareness and conservation in India.
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• It operates through various divisions such as Architectural Heritage, Natural Heritage, Material Heritage, Intangible Cultural Heritage, Heritage Education and Communication Services (HECS), Crafts and Community Cell, Chapters, INTACH Heritage Academy, Heritage Tourism, Listing Cell and Library, Archives and Documentation Centre.

Galaxy mergers ignite ‘quasars’ — the most powerful celestial objects

• The collision of two galaxies likely ignites quasars, the new study published
• As a supermassive black hole feed on gas and dust, it releases extraordinary amounts of energy in the form of radiation, resulting in a quasar.
• When galaxies collide, it pushes the gas from the outer reaches of the galaxies to the centre. And as the supermassive black hole gorges on the gas, it releases ferocious fountains of energy in the form of radiation, leading to the quasar.
• These results present strong evidence that galaxy interactions are the dominant trigger for quasars in the local universe.

Quasars

• The quasi-stellar radio sources (Quasars) were first discovered six decades ago.
• These are very luminous objects in faraway galaxies that emit jets at radio frequencies.
• They are located in supermassive black holes, which sit in the centre of galaxies.
• These are formed by the energy emitted by materials spiralling around a black hole right before being sucked into it.
• Most quasars are larger than our solar system. A quasar is approximately 1-kilo parsec in width.
• When galaxies collide, it pushes the gas from the outer reaches of the galaxies to the centre.
• As the supermassive black hole gorges on the gas, it releases ferocious fountains of energy in the form of radiation, leading to the quasar.