GRAPES-3
Category: Science & technology
- For the first time in the world, researchers at the GRAPES-3 muon telescope facility in Ooty have measured the electrical potential, size and height of a thundercloud that passed overhead.
- Clouds have negative charges along their lower side and positive charges on top and can be several kilometres thick.
- Thunderstorms had an effect on muon intensity.
- Muons are produced when cosmic rays bombard air particles surrounding the earth. The muons produced can have positive or negative charge.
- When a positively charged muon falls through a cloud, it loses energy. If its energy falls below 1 giga electron volt (GeV), which is the threshold of detection of the GRAPES-3 muon telescope, it goes undetected.
- On the contrary, a negatively charged muon gains energy when falling through the cloud and gets detected. Since there are more positive than negative muons produced in nature, the two effects don’t cancel out, and a net change in intensity is detected.
Bumphead Parrotfish
Category: Biodiversity
- The survival of the threatened bumphead parrotfish in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands hinges on the persistence of coral reefs and presence of marine protected areas.
- Implementing fishing regulations could help its population bounce back.
- Bumpheads are the world’s largest parrotfish.
- Ramming its enormous green head against corals to dislodge them, a single bumphead can nibble up to five tonnes of coral every year. Though seemingly destructive, this activity promotes coral growth and keeps reef ecosystems healthy.
- However, numbers of bumphead parrotfish have decreased worldwide. Overfishing is a concern.
- Bumpheads are not legally protected in India though the IUCN categorises them as Vulnerable.
Heat Waves
Category: Geography
- A study of urban areas in India has found that though there is an absolute increase in temperature during heat waves in both urban and non-urban areas, the urban areas are relatively cooler than the surrounding non-urban areas.
- At 1.94°C, the absolute increase in temperature during the day in non-urban areas during a heat wave was significantly higher than in urban areas (0.14°C)
- At 44.5°C, the non-urban areas were warmer than urban areas (43.7°C). However, during the night, all urban areas were hotter than the surrounding non-urban areas.
- The urban areas witness less temperature increase during heat waves compared with non-urban areas due to significantly higher tree cover and more number of water bodies. In contrast, a majority of non-urban areas are located in agriculture-dominated regions.
- In non-urban areas, the vegetation cover in the form of crops and soil moisture from cropland irrigation decline sharply after crops are harvested and well before the onset of heat waves during summer. The urban areas, on the other hand, have perennial vegetation in the form of tree cover and lawns, and more number of water bodies, which help in keeping the urban areas relatively cooler than non-urban areas.
Gatimaan Express
Category: Biodiversity
- India’s semi-high-speed train Gatimaan Express that runs between Delhi and Jhansi is now actively promoting elephant protection in partnership with Wildlife SOS.
- Seats on the train now carry the message “Joyrides on elephants is elephant abuse”. Also, the breakfast trays carry a message about “responsible tourism”.
- India is home to 50% of the world’s Asian elephant population.
Italy
Category: International
- Italy signed a “non-binding” protocol with China to take part in Beijing’s new “Silk Road” of transport and trade links stretching from Asia to Europe.
- In doing so, Italy became the first G7 country to sign up for the massive project.
Jupiter
Category: Science & technology
- Gas giants are usually close to their stars.
- Researchers find that Jupiter formed at a distance some four times away from the sun as its present orbit.
- Over 7,00,000 years it migrated inwards in the solar system.
- At first, Jupiter was no larger than the earth.
Scotty
Category: International
- The Tyrannosaurus rex discovered in Canada in 1991 is the world’s biggest.
- Nicknamed ‘Scotty’, the T. rex was 13 metres long and probably weighed more than 8,800 kg, making it bigger than all other carnivorous dinosaurs.
Nur-Sultan
Category: International
Kazakhstan renamed its capital Astana as Nur-Sultan.
