Daily News Digest 15 Feb 2024

Table of content

• Nazool Land
• ENIAC
• Lymphatic filariasis
• The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)
• ISRO to launch INSAT -3DS
• Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF)
• UN World Restoration Flagships
• Wheat blast

Nazool Land

Time to Read :🕑 3 Mins

Why in news?

Violence erupted in Haldwani, Uttarakhand's Nainital district, after the administration conducted a demolition drive on land claimed to be Nazool land.

About Nazool land

• Nazool land is owned by the government but most often not directly administered as state property. 
• The Nazool Lands (Transfer) Rules, 1956 is the law mostly used for Nazool land adjudication.
• The government generally uses Nazool land for public purposes like building schools, hospitals, Gram Panchayat buildings, etc. 
• The state generally allots such land to any entity on lease for a fixed period, generally between 15 and 99 years.
  • In case the lease term is expiring, one can approach the authority to renew the lease by submitting a written application to the Revenue Department of the local development authority. The government is free to either renew the lease or cancel it — taking back Nazool land.

ENIAC

Time to Read :🕑 3 Mins

Why in news?

On February 15th, 2024, the 78th anniversary of ENIAC, the first all-electronic, programmable computer.

About ENIAC

• The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer was the result of a U.S. government-funded project during World War II to build an electronic computer that could be programmed. 
• ENIAC was the first general-purpose electronic computer, ENIAC weighed 27 tons, stood 10ft tall, and took up 1800 square feet of space.
• The project was based out of the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School of Engineering. 
• The design team included engineer J. Presper Eckert Jr. and physicist John Mauchly under the leadership of Herman Goldstine. 
  • The team began work on the project in 1943. 
  • John von Neumann, a noted mathematician of the day, began consulting on the project in 1944.

Lymphatic filariasis

Time to Read :🕑 5 Mins

Why in news?

The health ministry has reinitiated a nationwide campaign aimed at eliminating lymphatic filariasis, a vector-borne disease also known as elephantiasis. About Lymphatic filariasis

• Lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis, is a painful and profoundly disfiguring disease. 
• It is caused by infection with parasites classified as nematodes (roundworms) of the family Filariodidea that are transmitted through the bites of infected mosquitos. 
• Mosquito-transmitted larvae are deposited on the skin from where they can enter the body.
• The larvae then migrate to the lymphatic vessels where they develop into adult worms, thus continuing a cycle of transmission.
• The disease manifests in three stages: asymptomatic, acute, and chronic. 
• The World Health Organization (WHO) and the health ministry recommend mass drug administration (MDA) as the primary strategy for control. 
  • Recommended medications include Albendazole, Ivermectin, Diethylcarbamazine citrate, and combinations thereof.
• Last week, the ministry launched the first phase of a bi-annual nationwide MDA campaign to curb lymphatic filariasis, distributing free preventive medication in high-burden districts across states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, among others. 
  • Covering 92 districts in 11 states over two weeks, this campaign aligns with India's goal to eliminate the disease by 2027, ahead of the global target. 

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)

Time to Read :🕑 11 Mins

Why in news?

Scientists from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, warn in a new paper that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) could collapse between 2025 and 2095 due to the impact of human-caused emissions. 

About AMOC

• The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a large system of ocean currents that carry warm water from the tropics northwards into the North Atlantic.

How does the AMOC work?

• The AMOC is a large system of ocean currents, like a conveyor belt, driven by differences in temperature and salt content – the water’s density. As warm water flows northwards it cools and some evaporation occurs, which increases the amount of salt. Low temperature and a high salt content make the water denser, and this dense water sinks deep into the ocean. The cold, dense water slowly spreads southwards, several kilometres below the surface. Eventually, it gets pulled back to the surface and warms in a process called “upwelling” and the circulation is complete.
• This global process makes sure that the world’s oceans are continually mixed, and that heat and energy are distributed around the earth. This, in turn, contributes to the climate we experience today.

Tipping elements

• If this prediction deems true, AMOC, which plays a crucial role in moderating the climate of Europe and North America and influences temperatures near the Equator, may be the first of the 16 climate tipping elements to be breached. 
• Tipping elements are large-scale systems that influence the planet’s climate and ecology, which are undergoing changes due to warming and accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from anthropogenic emissions. 
• If these elements cross certain thresholds due to rise in temperature, changes in them will become irreversible. 
• AMOC’s collapse could also have a cascading impact on the stability of other tipping elements and climate systems in a wider geography.

Slowing down AMOC and will lead to its collapse

• AMOC transports warm salty surface waters from the tropics to the northern regions. 
• The waters then cool down, increase in density and sink in the North Atlantic Ocean, in a phenomenon called downwelling or overturning. 
• Cold, fresh water from the melting ice of the Arctic is added to the cooler ocean that moves towards the equator. 
• This cycle, therefore, acts like a heat conveyor belt, warming the northern latitudes and cooling the southern latitudes. 
• But for the past few decades, more fresh cold water is added to the North Atlantic Ocean due to increased precipitation and rapid melting of the Greenland ice sheet, which is reducing salinity and density of the water. 
• In other words, the colder layer of the ocean is expanding and the warmer layer is contracting. 

Consequences of (slowing down) AMOC

• A collapsed AMOC would cause widespread cooling across the northern hemisphere and less precipitation in places such as Europe, North America, China and some parts of Russia in Asia. “AMOC is a kind of ‘switch’ for climate in the northern hemisphere, especially Europe. 
• The collapse could also impact climate over a wider geography. The heat not transported to the North will also stay in the tropics. This could disrupt other tipping elements like the Amazon rainforest, West Antarctic ice sheet, and the West African monsoon, as well as the Indian monsoon (see ‘Domino effect’).
• More ocean heat in the southern hemisphere may also impact the stability and melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet.
• Rainfall in the Sahel region (the West African monsoon) could reduce.
• The summer monsoon circulation in South Asia and India could weaken.
• There might be more winter storms in Europe.

ISRO to launch INSAT -3DS

Time to Read :🕑 5 Mins

Why in news?

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch the weather satellite INSAT-3DS on February 17th, aiming to improve forecasting capabilities.

About INSAT -3DS

• The INSAT-3DS is a continuation to the Third Generation Meteorological Satellite series from the geostationary orbit. 
  • • Presently, meteorologists make extensive use of data generated by satellites like the INSAT-3D and INSAT-3DR (launched in September, 2016, still operational)
• GSLV-F14/INSAT-3DS mission is fully funded by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES). 
• It is designed for enhanced meteorological observations and monitoring of land and ocean surfaces for weather forecasting and disaster warning. 
• The satellite will augment the Meteorological services along with the presently operational INSAT-3D and INSAT-3DR satellites. 
• The primary objectives of the mission are:

• • To monitor Earth’s surface, carry out Oceanic observations and its environment in various spectral channels of meteorological importance.
  • To provide the vertical profile of various meteorological parameters of the Atmosphere.
  • To provide the Data Collection and Data Dissemination capabilities from the Data Collection Platforms (DCPs).
  • To provide Satellite Aided Search and Rescue services.

Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF)

Time to Read :🕑 5 Mins

Why in news?

The inaugural council meeting of the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) convened recently in Washington D.C.

About Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF)

• The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) will scale up financing for the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
• The GBFF aims to help countries achieve the Global Biodiversity Framework goals and targets with a strategic focus on strengthening national-level biodiversity management, planning, policy, governance, and finance approaches. 
• The Fund was ratified by 186 countries and launched at the Seventh GEF Assembly in Vancouver, Canada in August 2023. 
• Public, private, and philanthropic funding will be disbursed through the GBFF’s streamlined funding procedures. 
• The Fund will provide enhanced support to Indigenous Peoples and local communities, Small Island Developing States, and Least Developed Countries, according to their own priorities.  

UN World Restoration Flagships

Time to Read :🕑 5 Mins

Why in news?

The United Nations has designated seven initiatives across Africa, Latin America, the Mediterranean, and Southeast Asia as World Restoration Flagships.

More detail about news:

• The projects revolve around revival and preservation of ecosystems at the tipping point of outright degradation caused by wildfires, drought, deforestation and pollution. 
  • Together, they are expected to restore about 40 million hectares and create around 500,000 jobs. 
• The award conferred by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN makes the initiatives eligible for technical and financial support from the organisation.  

List of Seven initiatives:

• The Restoring Mediterranean Forests Initiative involves the countries of Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and Türkiye. It consists of a novel approach said to have protected and restored natural habitats and vulnerable ecosystems. It is also said to have led to around two million hectares of forests restored across the region since 2017. Along with this, over eight million hectares are planned for restoration by 2030.
• The Living Indus initiative received approval from the Pakistan parliament in the wake of the devastating 2022 climate change-induced floods. Its official launch took place at the 27th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Sharm el-Sheikh. The initiative aims to restore 25 million hectares of the river basin by 2030, encompassing 30 per cent of Pakistan’s surface area through the implementation of 25 high-impact interventions for policymakers, practitioners and civil society. It designates the Indus River as a living entity with rights — a measure taken to protect rivers elsewhere as well. It involves Australia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, India, New Zealand, Peru and Sri Lanka.
• The Acción Andina social movement led by Peruvian conservation non-profit ECOAN aims to protect and restore a forest area of one million hectares. About 25,000 people from remote Andean communities are engaged in the process to restore 5,000 hectares and protect more than 11,000 hectares of Andean forests. 
• The Sri Lanka Mangrove Regeneration initiative is a science-driven programme co-led by local communities. It focuses on the restoration of natural balance in the ecosystem. Since its launch in 2015, efforts have led to 500 hectares of restored mangroves, according to the UN statement.
• The Terai Arc Landscape initiative aimed to restore the forests of critical corridors of the Terai Arc Landscape in collaboration with local communities working as citizen scientists, community-based anti-poaching units, forest guards, among others. Measures like the restoration of 66,800 hectares of Nepal’s forests, among others, were said to improve the livelihoods of about 500,000 households in the country, the UN bodies observed. 
• Regreening Africa’s agriculture is expected to benefit over 6,00,000 households. As per the statement, it continues to increase carbon storage, boost crop and grass yields, make soil more resilient (by preventing floods) and treat it with fixed nitrogen that acts as a natural fertiliser.
• Growing forests in Africa's drylands initiative aims to expand from 41,000 restored hectares today to 229,000 hectares by 2030. With the involvement of African farmers, tens of millions of trees are planted under the project every year, the intergovernmental bodies noted.

Wheat blast

Time to Read :🕑 11 Mins

Why in news?

A new study has warned of links between warming climate and the devastating fungal plant disease wheat blast. 

Background

About Wheat Blast

• Wheat blast is a fungal disease for warm and humid wheat production regions, caused by the pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae pathotype Triticum (MoT). 
• The pathogen can cause total losses to wheat producers during outbreak years. For example, the disease was detected in 70 counties in State of Paraná, Brazil and caused up to 100 per cent yield losses in commercial fields in 1987.
• The devastating wheat blast outbreak was first reported in Brazil in 1985. 
• The disease was restricted to South America until 2016, when a series of grain imports from Brazil led to a wheat blast outbreak in Bangladesh.

WHEAT BLAST OUTBREAKS THROUGH THE YEARS

Continent	Country	Year of outbreak
South America	Brazil	1985
South America	Bolivia	1996
South America	Paraguay	2002
South America	Argentina	2007
Asia	Bangladesh	2016
Africa	Zambia	2018

 

• Climate change-induced temperature increase probably contributed to the wheat blast epidemic in Bangladesh and will drive future occurrences in new countries, the global crop simulation study said, showing the potential global risk associated with the spread of wheat blast.
• A study published in 2018 too revealed that all the severe epidemics of wheat blast occurring across South America and Asia during the wet and warm years of 1987, 1997, 2002, 2009, 2012 and 2015 coincided with weather conditions dominated by the El Nino phenomenon.

Key highlight of the study

• Climate change Impact on Wheat Blast:

• • The disease currently poses a threat to 6.4 million hectares and by 2050, climate change is likely make the situation worse and threaten 13.5 million hectares of cropland, the study warned. 
  • Wheat blast alone has the potential to cut wheat production worldwide by 13 per cent. 
    • However, the study cautioned that other effects of climate change could cause yields to fall even further. 
  • The analysis focused exclusively on nations with wheat growing areas and covered 86 countries across six continents — Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Asia.
  • These areas are among the most vulnerable to the direct impacts of climate change, where food security is already a considerable concern and wheat consumption is increasing, especially in urban areas. 

• Vulnerability by Region:

• • South America and Africa will be the most vulnerable regions to wheat blast in the future climate, with up to 75 per cent of their wheat acreage at risk by 2050, warned the team of researchers from institutes International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (also known as CIMMYT), Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, University of Florida, International Food Policy Research Institute and Technical University Munich. 
  • By 2050, there will be more wheat blast-prone locations due to a confluence of factors, including increasing temperatures and persistent leaf moisture, which foster the growth and dissemination of the pathogen. 

• Future Spread and Impact:

• • In South America, the wheat blast disease is already present. But the disease could further expand mainly in countries that already suffer losses due to the disease, including Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay. 
    • It could also affect Uruguay, which has not been affected by the pest so far, the study said.
  • In 2020, the pathogen emerged in Zambia for the first time in Africa, and the study warned it may further expand in the country. Ethiopia, Kenya and Congo too are vulnerable and may suffer from yield losses due to wheat blast.
  • In Oceania and North America, only a small portion of wheat-growing area is currently vulnerable to wheat blast. However, the changing climate may expand it to 5 per cent and 12 per cent of the total wheat area of these countries, respectively. 

• India and wheat blast

• • In India, some parts of the country may become less vulnerable to wheat blast if dry seasonal conditions with more frequent severe high temperatures (over 35 degrees Celsius) occur in the later half of the wheat-growing season in future climates, the paper said. 
  • Although the risk of wheat blast infection is decreased by such high temperatures, they also create terminal heat stress, which lowers the country’s potential output.

Strategies suggested by study:

• Blast-resistant varieties: The wheat blast-resistant varieties produced by CIMMYT in collaboration with National Agricultural Research Systems partners have proven useful in reducing the impact of wheat blast.
• Farmers may need to shift to less susceptible crops: Given the threat to important wheat-growing areas around the world from wheat blast, farmers may need to shift to less susceptible crops to mitigate production and financial losses.  For instance, maize cultivation is gradually replacing wheat in midwest Brazil. 
• Wheat blast-promoting conditions: Accoding to researchers, wheat blast-promoting conditions can also be avoided by choosing the appropriate sowing date. The adjustment in planting dates is another effective mitigation strategy against the disease, according to the researchers.
• Avoiding early planting: Rain, followed by hot, humid weather during the flowering stage, can promote disease development. So, to reduce the risk of infection, the paper recommended avoiding early planting in central Brazil and late planting in Bangladesh, as these periods coincide with high temperatures and relative humidity due to increased precipitation levels.