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MALNUTRITION RELATED DISEASES CAUSING DEATH

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 155 TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.12.2022 MALNUTRITION RELATED DISEASES CAUSING DEATH 155. SHRI SYED NASIR HUSSAIN: Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state: (a) whether according to a recent report by the Centre for Science and Environment and Down to Earth magazine, 71 per cent of Indians cannot afford nutritious food and more than 17 lakh people die every year due to diseases caused by poor diet; (b) if so, the reasons therefor; (c) whether as per National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 67.1 per cent of children aged 6-59 months suffered from anemia in 2021 as compared to 58.6 per cent in 2016 highlighting the significant increase in anemia; and (d) if so, the reasons therefor? ANSWER MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI) (a) & (b) Ministry is not aware of any such report. However, the issue of food security at the household level has been addressed by Government by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality foodgrains at subsidised rates. Further, even during the COVID Pandemic, free ration was provided to 80 crore people under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (c) & (d) Children aged 6-59 months had some degree of anemia (haemoglobin levels below 11.0 g/dl) which has increased as per NFHS-5 survey. There are various causes for anemia in children, which inter alia include low iron stores at birth due to maternal anemia, non-exclusive breastfeeding, poor complementary feeding practices, insufficient quantity of iron and iron enhancers in diet such as foods rich in Vitamin-C, increased iron requirements related to rapid growth and development during infancy and childhood, iron losses due to parasite load (e.g. malaria, intestinal worms), unsafe drinking water and inadequate personal hygiene and poor environmental sanitation, etc.

Intergovernmental meeting to end plastic pollution concludes

Direction: The article highlights some of the effective ways to limit plastic pollution and India’s efforts in this direction. Context: The first session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-1) concluded in Uruguay. Background: The INC-1 was convened and managed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The INC-1 came after a landmark resolution was endorsed at the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), calling for the international legally binding instrument to promote sustainable production and consumption of plastics. According to the OECD, global plastic production was 460 million tonnes (Mt) in 2019 (234 Mt in 2000) and during the same period, plastic waste doubled to 353 Mt from 156 Mt. Extracts from the outcome document titled “Summary of plastic pollution science”: Recognised the links between plastic, human health and environmental health. Endorsed the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)’s position that plastic pollution is rooted in the material’s life cycle – an offshoot of the linear take-make-dispose economy. Current trends need to be replaced by a circular economy (CE) – a model of production and consumption, which involves reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible. 4 strategic goals that can guide the transition to a circular economy: Reduce the size of the problem by eliminating and substituting plastic items. Ensure that plastic products are designed to be circular. Close the loop of plastics in the economy. Manage plastics that cannot be reused or recycled in an environmentally responsible manner. Plastic Waste in India: The majority of plastic used in India today is for packaging and its production (the majority of which is single-use that may or may not be recyclable) is increasing each year. According to the Union Minister of Environment, over 34 lakh tonnes of plastic waste were generated in India in 2019-20, which has doubled in the last 5 years. As a result, the government has notified the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, which for the first time provided for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). Under this, producers, importers and brand owners have been made responsible for collecting waste generated by their products. What more needs to be done to tackle plastic pollution in the country? Strengthening India’s plastic waste production, consumption and recycling inventory; Making brands disclose the number of plastics produced, collected, recycled and burnt each year; Integrating the informal sector into the formal value chain for plastic management; Designing product packaging with the ‘end-of-life’ stage in mind.

BS3 petrol, BS4 diesel vehicles banned in Delhi

Vehicles not conforming to latest emission norms will not be allowed to ply on Delhi’s roads with immediate effect, the transport department announced on Monday, as air quality worsened in the capital. The deterioration in air quality prompted the Commission for Air Quality Management to trigger emergency measures under Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) on Sunday, which included a ban on all private construction activity. Petrol four-wheelers with BS-III emission standards and diesel vehicles with BS-IV standards are banned till December 9, unless the commission lifts Stage III restrictions earlier than that, the transport department said in its order. Vehicles on government duty or providing emergency services are exempt, it said. The Delhi traffic police have been informed of the decision, a transport department official said. Any vehicle found violating the ban can be fined ₹20,000. “Instructions have been relayed to the traffic police to comply with the order from immediate effect and fines can be issued based on this,” the official said, asking not to be named. “The ban will remain in place till December 9, unless the CAQM removes Stage III before that.” Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) deteriorated to the “severe” category for the first time in a month on Sunday, prompting the CAQM to invoke emergency measures. The AQI showed an improvement on Monday, dropping down to the “very poor” category with a reading of 347 at 4pm, a drop of 60 points from Sunday’s 407. November 4 was the last time Delhi’s air was in “severe” category. A similar ban on vehicles kicked in on November 5 and remained till November 13. State governments in the National Capital Region have an option to enforce such a ban when Stage III is triggered. There are currently around 0.3 million BS-IV diesel four-wheelers registered in Delhi, while there are around 0.2 million BS-III petrol vehicles. Although these bans are disruptive, they are emergency measures aimed at controlling the spike in air pollution, said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment. “Such measures can be avoided in the future if long-term action is taken,” she said. This is the first winter Delhi is seeing the impact of a revised Grap, which was modified by the CAQM in July as part of a new comprehensive policy to control air pollution in the national capital region. The new Grap has been linked to AQI instead of PM 2.5 and PM 10 concentration in the air, which was being done till last year. Under the previous Grap, four-wheelers could only be banned if the odd-even road rationing scheme came into effect, and only when air quality was in the “severe plus” or “emergency” categories.

Understanding climate change, health, and food security: The science of global warming

The United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference, COP27, was held from 6th to 20th November in Egypt. It reminded the world of the looming crises, how little has been done, and how much more is needed. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicated in its Sixth Assessment Report that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions should be cut by 43 percent by 2030 as compared to the 2019 levels. This would be critical to limiting global average temperature rise to well below 2 oC and preferably to 1.5oC above pre-industrial levels by the end of this century, which was agreed upon at COP21 in Paris. The Report also estimated that the world will likely hit this threshold by 2040, if not earlier, and in the worst-case scenario it will be 4.4oC warmer by the end of this century. As a prelude to COP27, The Economist warned that “the world is going to miss the totemic 1.5oC climate target”. Of the 40 actions required for meeting that target, none are on track. Twenty-seven are moving in the right direction but well below the required pace; five are going in the wrong direction; and the remaining eight lack sufficient data. There is a 48-percent chance of reaching the 1.5oC target in five years or less. The science of global warming is clear and convincing. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and ozone (O3) together make up less than 0.04 percent of the Earth’s atmosphere but disproportionately affect climate by trapping the planet’s heat. This “greenhouse effect” is important, for without it the Earth’s surface temperature would be about minus 18oC, and there would be no liquid water. Anthropogenic activity has steadily added GHGs to the Earth’s atmosphere—carbon dioxide from burning coal and other fossil fuels; methane from decaying organic material (including digestion of food by cattle); nitro oxide from agriculture, fossil fuels, and solid waste, and ozone from hydrocarbons (petroleum products, refrigerator coolants, etc.). This traps more heat and causes global warming. The biggest fraction of GHG emissions is CO2 (74.4 percent), with CH4 (17.3 percent), N2O (6.2 percent) and other emissions (2.1 percent) making up the rest. A daily record of atmospheric CO2 is called the Keeling Curve. It shows the global average CO2 concentration to have increased from 313 parts per million (ppm) in 1958 to 416 ppm now. Temperature measurements, initially from weather stations on land and on ships, and from satellites and geologic records, tell the story of a warming planet. Since 1880, average global temperatures have increased by 1.2oC, most of it in the late 20th century. Land areas have warmed more than the oceans, with average temperatures in the Arctic increasing by over 2.2oC since just the 1960s. The Earth is warmer today than any other time in the past millenium. This is reflected in increasing average temperatures and correlates with the rising global CO2 emissions (Figure 1). Figure 1. (Left) Rise in global mean temperatures from 1850 to 2019, using the 1850 to 1900 period as a pre-industrial baseline. The 0.8oC rise now is equivalent to about 1.2°C above pre-industrial levels. (Right) Annual global CO2 emissions, with contributions from different regions of the world. Since July 2020, the Climate TRACE initiative has mapped and tracked specific sources of GHG pollution across countries and two dozen sectors of the global economy. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to combine data from over 300 satellites and 11,000 sensors to identify all of the largest point sources, track them over time, and to make the data publicly available. During COP27, Climate TRACE released the largest global inventory that covered 70,000 of the highest GHG emissions sources. It showed oil and gas production fields and their associated facilities to be the biggest emitters, with emissions being underreported by up to three times. Over the next 20 years, there would be 80.7 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions globally, of which fossil fuels operations (24.21 percent), power (18.49 percent), agriculture (17.01 percent) and manufacturing (12.55 percent), would be the biggest sectoral emitters. During the same time frame, India may emit 5.62 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent, of which agriculture (31.09 percent), power (22.28 percent), manufacturing (13.86 percent) and waste (11.49 percent), would be the biggest sectoral emitters. Fossil fuel operations (8.32 percent), transportation (5.45 percent), and buildings (5.37 percent) are likely to be the other significant sectoral emitters for India. In 2022, extreme weather events brought widespread destruction, claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, and displaced millions of people worldwide. Global warming is not just higher temperatures, but also erratic weather patterns, droughts, floods, and rising sea levels that will adversely impact life on Earth. In 2022, extreme weather events brought widespread destruction, claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, and displaced millions of people worldwide. South Asia was the epicentre of heatwaves, erratic rains caused widespread flooding across Pakistan, Northeast India, Bangladesh, and China faced its worst drought in over 60 years. Europe, experienced the hottest month of May ever, and nearly half of the continent faced its worst drought in over 500 years. Higher than usual temperatures in the Arctic led to record ice melts. According to the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment, India witnessed 242 days of extreme weather somewhere in the country during the first nine months of this year. The five states of Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh reported more than 100 days of extreme weather events during this period. This is estimated to have caused over 2,700 deaths and damaged 1.9 million hectares (or ~1 percent) of crops in India. According to the United States National Intelligence Estimate on Climate Change, reduced food security and the emergence of new diseases will lead to large-scale migration, climate refugees, political instability, and increased global security risks. There would be increasing geopolitical tensions on ways to reduce GHG emissions, cross-border flashpoints, and potential for instability and internal conflicts in developing countries that did little to create the problem, but will feel the biggest impact of climate change. India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan were among the 11 countries singled out as being “highly vulnerable” in preparing and responding to the climate crisis.

‘AQI severe’: Delhi bans BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers till Dec 9

After the air quality index (AQI) in the national capital turned severe on Sunday at 407, the Delhi transport department on Monday, in compliance with measures under Stage III of the graded response action plan (Grap), banned the plying of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheeler vehicles in Delhi with immediate effect. City’s transport department while issuing notice on Monday said, “As per directions provided under Stage-III of the Grap and under Section 115 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, it is hereby ordered that there shall be restrictions to ply BS-III Petrol and BS IV diesel light motor vehicles (four-wheelers) in Delhi with immediate effect, till December 9, 2022, or till downward revision in the Grap stage, whichever is earlier.” The ban will remain till December 9, 2022, unless the CAQM removes Stage III restrictions earlier than that, it said. On Monday, Delhi’s air quality improved slightly to return to the “very poor.” An AQI of 366 was recorded at 7am compared to 407 at 4pm on Sunday. The order specified that diesel four-wheelers involved in providing emergency services or government/election work were exempted from this ban. Further, according to the order which has also been shared with the city traffic police, violators can be fined ₹20,000, as per section 194 of the motor vehicle act, 1988. “Instructions have been relayed to the traffic police to comply with the order from immediate effect and fines can be issued based on this,” said a transport official, on condition of anonymity. After the AQI deteriorated to the ‘severe’ category for the first time in a month on Sunday, the commission for air quality management (CAQM) held an emergency meeting and invoked all measures under Stage III with immediate effect which includes a ban on private construction activities across Delhi-NCR, closure of all brick kilns and hot mix plants not operating on clean fuels, closure of all stone crushers in NCR and a ban on mining and its associated activities. As per Stage III of Grap, states have an option to enforce such a ban, while in Stage IV (AQI of 450 or higher), it is mandatory to impose such a ban. At present, there are around 0.3 million BS IV diesel four-wheelers registered within Delhi, while there are around 0.2 million BS III petrol vehicles. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at the centre for science and environment (CSE) said, “Such measures can be avoided in the future if long-term action is taken. As per Grap, these bans should also be lifted as soon as the AQI improves,” adding that these curbs are aimed at controlling a spike in air pollution.

Un cours en ligne sur les stratégies de lutte contre la pollution plastique en Afrique

En Afrique, la forte croissance démographique et les nouveaux modes de consommation favorisent l’utilisation du plastique. Les déchets générés par ce plastique peuvent avoir des conséquences sur les ressources naturelles et le développement économique. Le Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), un groupe de réflexion basé à New Delhi, en Inde, propose de suivre un cours en ligne sur les stratégies visant à mettre fin à la pollution plastique dans les pays africains. Le cours est ouvert à tous. Les participants à la formation auront l'occasion d'acquérir des connaissances sur les différents défis de la gestion des déchets plastiques dans les économies en développement. Le cours est prévu pour durer 5 jours à partir du 12 décembre 2022 pour un total de 10 heures de formation. Les modules de formation seront axés sur le cycle de vie du plastique, les principales parties prenantes impliquées dans la chaîne de valeur du plastique, de la production à l'élimination en passant par la consommation, et l'importance des interventions politiques telle que la responsabilité élargie du producteur (REP). La forte croissance démographique en Afrique ajouté à l'augmentation de l'exode rural et de l'évolution des modes de consommation contribuent à l’augmentation de la production de déchets. Selon le CSE, le continent a produit 5 % et consommé 4 % des volumes mondiaux de plastique en 2015. La consommation de plastique en Afrique était de 16 kg par personne, contre une moyenne mondiale de 45 kg par personne.

This Mumbai startup is making tearable laundry sheets, bamboo-based facial tissues and more to replace plastic

Three friends Aditya, Anuj and Akshay, who graduated together from BITS Pilani, were regular participants in beach clean-ups in Mumbai. During one of their rounds, they found an orange wrapper of a chocolate bar Marathon, which was discontinued in the 1990s. Surprisingly, that plastic wrapper was well preserved and was still on the beach. That chocolate wrapper stuck in their minds and that’s how the sustainable home products company Beco was born in 2018. Beco captured the markets of Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai with its plant-based products like tearable laundry sheets (that work like soap strips), floor cleaners, reusable kitchen towel rolls, bamboo-based facial tissues, bamboo tissue roll and compostable garbage bags. Fast forward to 2022, their company Beco is now one of the most affordable and sustainable home products companies, they claim. Their mantra is simple – make products more sustainable and affordable; make sustainability a household habit. “The problem that we're trying to solve is to help make sustainability convenient. As a businessman, I look at myself as a consumer. Just making smarter, leaner choices today is actually not burning a hole in your pocket,” said Aditya Ruia, co-founder of Beco, in a conversation with Business Insider India. Almost everyone in day-to-day lives uses products that are made out of plastic or are not good for the environment and these small products become a larger plastic waste nightmare. The country overall generates 25,940 tonnes of plastic waste every day, according to State of India’s Environment 2022 report by Centre for Science and Environment. Advertisement But since the pandemic, the awareness for sustainability and related products among people has risen as people have grown more environmentally conscious and are gradually shifting to sustainable products. “After the pandemic, I think home became the center of people's lives. Many ended up spending a lot of time at home. General awareness of what they were using at homes increased,” said Ruia. The startup claims it uses cornstarch, bamboo, sugarcane, coconut and other natural alternatives in place of single-use plastic. “Our bamboo laundry sheets (that work like soap strips) challenge the usage of plastic detergent bottles. They use 70% water and only 30% formula, which is also chemical based,” Ruia added. And by using these alternatives and adopting sustainable production and manufacturing practices, the company has been able to save over 500 tonnes of plastic waste.The maximum cost of the 53 different home products it makes is under ₹1800. Advertisement “You are using those garbage bags when throwing your trash in your kitchen or in your common spaces. There is a compostable garbage bag available for that. Today, there are solutions for using eco-friendly bamboo toothbrushes, instead of a plastic one,” said Ruia. Celebrity investors, expanding partnerships Bollywood celebrities like Ranbir Kapoor, Aamir Khan, Dia Mirza and Bhumi Pednekar are already Beco’s investors. Beco was also one of the vendors for actress Dia Mirza’s eco-friendly wedding in 2021. It is also partnering with various big brands – We Work, BBlunt salon, Taj Hotel, Radisson – for increasing their sustainability practices. “So, when we are working with all of these partners, they have so much consumption in- house, whether it's in their salons, or in their co-working spaces, or in the hotels. We want to give an ESG (environmental, social, governance) push internally and promote sustainability,” Ruia said. D2C companies like Forest Essentials, Godrej Consumer, Colgate-Palmolive and Hindustan Unilever have also been coming up with similar sustainability initiatives. For instance, cosmetics and skincare company Forest Essentials has been using recyclable air-filled paper pouches or paper cushions for the products inside the cartons and for orders placed online via the company’s website, instead of plastic bubble wrap. Advertisement Similarly, Hindustan Unilever has initiated the usage of rHDPE, which is a plastic made from recycled High Density Polythene (25% recycled HDPE), in their personal care product bottles like TRESemmé, Sunsilk,Vaseline lotions, Surf excel laundry liquid and comfort fabric conditioner; and rPET (80% recycled PET) in blister packs for personal care brands such as Pepsodent toothbrushes and Vaseline lip care products. Funds usage Beco recently raised $3 million in a series A round that saw participation from Rukum Capital, Priyavrata Mafatlal, Better Capital, Prashant Pittie, Titan Capital and others. It plans to use these funds for research and development and product innovation, to build visibility and marketing, and for driving customer acquisition. “In terms of growth for the business, I think the funds are being deployed to grow. And we feel that to grow, we need to innovate on products. And we also need to spend on customer acquisition and help tell the customer, share that story. If they relate, they can make that switch,” Ruia added. Beco, like any other company, is also facing challenges in hiring the right talent and from rising costs in the digital marketing space. “Overall, I think it's a very common challenge. I don't think we are in the FMCG space. So, you know, obviously, building a retail presence becomes a tad bit more challenging, but I think we're getting there,” he added.

Where’s all the plastic, people?

Karnataka generates around 2.96 lakh tonnes of plastic waste Read more at: https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/cover-story/wheres-all-the-plastic-people/articleshow/95985482.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Worst Dec air spell only after mercury dips further: Experts

Though Delhi’s pollution levels worsened into the “severe” zone for the first time in a month on Sunday, experts said the worst of the city’s December phase of bad air is still to come, and will kick in after a further dip in temperatures towards the latter half of the month. The Capital on Sunday logged an AQI of 407, the worst since 447 on November 4. An AQI between 301 and 400 is classified as “very poor”, and one above 400 is “severe”. The AQI readings max out at 500. Experts said that Delhi usually sees two broad spells of hazardous air quality: The worst is between October and November, driven largely by smoke from farm fires in upwind Punjab and Haryana; the next is in the second half of December and early January, thanks to falling temperatures, calm winds and a low mixing height, all of which combine to keep pollutants trapped close to the surface. The latter spiral is largely on account of Delhi’s own pollutants, such as dust, vehicular emissions, open waste burning and industrial emissions. Experts said that the deterioration in AQI over the past few days shows how fast the air quality can turn if weather conditions are unfavourable. The Capital on Sunday logged an AQI of 407, the worst since 447 on November 4. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director of research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said forecasting models used by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), were unable to forecast the “severe” air day. “This shows the weather can turn adverse quite quickly at this time of the year, and that wind speeds can drop suddenly, leading to local emissions gradually accumulating,” she said.

Delhi Air Pollution: दिल्ली की हवा दिसंबर में होगी और ज्यादा खराब, रहें सावधान, जानें क्या कहते हैं एक्सपर्ट

Delhi Air Pollution अनुमिता रॉय चौधरी का कहना है कि दिल्ली में हर साल दिसंबर के अंत और जनवरी की शुरुआत तक तापमान काफी कम हो जाता है, इस कारण से पराली, वाहन उत्सर्जन और उद्योगों से निकलने वाला वायु प्रदूषण निचले स्तर पर फंस जाता है। Delhi Air Pollution। राष्ट्रीय राजधानी दिल्ली में हवा की गुणवत्ता एक बार फिर बेहद खराब श्रेणी में पहुंच गई है। दिसंबर माह में हवा की गुणवत्ता का सूचकांक लगातार गिर रहा है। सोमवार सुबह वायु गुणवत्ता सूचकांक (AQI) 372 (बहुत खराब श्रेणी में) श्रेणी में दर्ज किया गया है। वायु प्रदूषण को लेकर एक्सपर्ट का भी कहना है कि आने वाले कुछ दिनों में हवा की गुणवत्ता में एक बार फिर गिरावट आ सकती है और दिल्लीवासियों को अपने स्वास्थ्य के प्रति सतर्क रहने की जरूरत है। Advertisement (1 of 2): 0:23 Close Player ADVERTISING आपको बता दें कि एक दिन पहले रविवार को भी दिल्ली में प्रदूषण का स्तर बीते एक माह में पहली बार 'गंभीर' श्रेणी में पहुंच गया है। राजधानी दिल्ली में रविवार को AQI 407 दर्ज किया, जो 4 नवंबर को 447 के बाद सबसे खराब था। एक्सपर्ट का कहना है कि दिसंबर की खराब हवा का सबसे खराब दौर अभी आना बाकी है और आने वाले कुछ दिनों में तापमान में गिरावट के साथ भी हवा का स्तर भी खराब होता जाएगा। Pollution in Indore: इंदौर में ठंड के दौरान बढ़ा प्रदूषण, एक्यूआइ पहुंचा 134 पर Pollution in Indore: इंदौर में ठंड के दौरान बढ़ा प्रदूषण, एक्यूआइ पहुंचा 134 पर यह भी पढ़ें अक्टूबर और नवंबर में खराब होती है हवा आपको बता दें कि हर साल दिल्ली में वायु गुणवत्ता अक्टूबर और नवंबर माह में खराब स्तर पर पहुंच जाती है। ऐसा माना जाता है कि पंजाब और हरियाणा में इसी दौरान पराली जलाने के कारण उठने वाला दिल्ली की हवा का खराब करता है। हालांकि दिल्ली में होने वाले वायु प्रदूषण के लिए कई अन्य कारक भी जिम्मेदार हैं। दिल्ली में अक्टूबर नवंबर माह में तापमान में गिरावट, हवाओं के शांत होने के कारण भी वायु प्रदूषण बढ़ता है। Bypolls Voting Live Updates: अखिलेश यादव ने डाला वोट, लगाया आरोप- लोगों को मतदान से रोक रही पुलिस Bypolls Voting Live Updates: अखिलेश यादव ने डाला वोट, लगाया आरोप- लोगों को मतदान से रोक रही पुलिस यह भी पढ़ें एक्सपर्ट का कहना है कि बीते कुछ दिनों में AQI में गिरावट से पता चलता है कि मौसम की स्थिति प्रतिकूल होने पर हवा की गुणवत्ता कितनी तेजी से बदल सकती है। सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट (CSE) की कार्यकारी निदेशक अनुमिता रॉय चौधरी के मुताबिक वायु गुणवत्ता प्रबंधन आयोग (CAQM) अभी तक जिन पूर्वानुमान मॉडल के जरिए वायु की गंभीरता का अनुमान लगाता रहा है, वह पूर्वानुमान अब गलत निकल रहे हैं और हवा की गुणवत्ता उम्मीद से ज्यादा खराब श्रेणी में दर्ज की जा रही है। उन्होंने कहा कि इससे यह पता चलता है कि मौसम तेजी से प्रतिकूल हो रहा है या हो सकता है। हवा की गति में अचानक गिरावट से स्थानीय उत्सर्जन का जमाव बढ़ते जाता है। Exit Poll Results 2022: आज शाम को जारी होंगे गुजरात, हिमाचल समेत उपचुनाव और MCD चुनाव के एग्जिट पोल Exit Poll Results 2022: आज शाम को जारी होंगे गुजरात, हिमाचल समेत उपचुनाव और MCD चुनाव के एग्जिट पोल यह भी पढ़ें अनुमिता रॉय चौधरी का कहना है कि दिल्ली में हर साल दिसंबर के अंत और जनवरी की शुरुआत तक तापमान काफी कम हो जाता है, इस कारण से पराली, वाहन उत्सर्जन और उद्योगों से निकलने वाला वायु प्रदूषण निचले स्तर पर फंस जाता है। दिल्ली प्रदूषण नियंत्रण समिति (DPCC) ने बीते साल एक शोध में पाया कि 2016 और 2020 के बीच राजधानी दिल्ली में 1-15 नवंबर के बीच 285 माइक्रोग्राम प्रति घन मीटर की PM 2.5 डेंसिटी का औसत रहा, जो पूरे वर्ष में सबसे अधिक है। दूसरा उच्चतम औसत PM 2 है। वहीं 0.5 डेंसिटी 16 से 31 दिसंबर तक 218 माइक्रोग्राम प्रति घन मीटर थी।

Here is why the world needs regenerative agriculture

Source: The post is based on the article “Here is why the world needs regenerative agriculture” published in Down To Earth on 4th December 2022. What is the News? The importance of Regenerative Agriculture was emphasized in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on “Climate Change and Land.” The report listed Regenerative Agriculture as a ‘sustainable land management practice’ focused on ecological functions that “can be effective in building resilience of agroecosystems.” What is Regenerative Agriculture? Regenerative agriculture is a holistic farming system that focuses on soil health, food quality, biodiversity improvement, water quality and air quality. This is done through methods like reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, reducing tillage, integrating livestock and using cover crops. Principles: Regenerative agriculture adheres to the following principles: 1) Minimize soil distribution through conservation tillage, 2) Diversify crops to replenish nutrients and disrupt pest and disease life cycles, 3) Retain soil cover using cover crops and 4) Integrate livestock, which adds manure to the soil and serves as a source of carbon sinks. What is the need of Regenerative agriculture? The current intensive agriculture system has led to soil degradation and constant losses. There may not be enough soil to feed the world in the next 50 years. Soil fertility and biodiversity are also decreasing across the globe. What are the benefits of Regenerative agriculture? Regenerative farming can improve crop yields – the volume of crops produced – by improving the health of soil and its ability to retain water, as well as reducing soil erosion. Improved yields will help feed the world as the global population grows. Regenerative farming can also reduce emissions from agriculture and turn the croplands and pastures, which cover up to 40% of Earth’s ice-free land area, into carbon sinks. Other benefits of regenerative agriculture include more efficient water use and fewer pests, because greater biodiversity makes the land more resilient.

1.5°C threshold likely to be breached by 2030: Experts

The 1.5 degree C threshold for global warming, the redline as far as the climate crisis is concerned, may be breached as early as the end of the current decade, two Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s co-chairs said. Hans-Otto Pörtner, IPCC co-chair said: “Co-chairs do not hold a crystal ball but clearly the chances are already high and increasing daily that we shall miss holding warming to that important limit. Only a massive mobilisation towards transformation of energy use, industry, infrastructure, society and how we deal with ecosystems will keep that limit within reach. With unabated emission, 1.5°C warming will be passed around the end of this decade and may be reached during individual years even earlier.” Co-chair, Debra Roberts added: “The best available science assessed by the IPCC indicates that the world will most likely reach 1.5°C global warming in the period 2021-2040.” IPCC conducts regular assessments of climate science and identifies where there is agreement in the scientific community on topics related to climate change. Breaching the threshold -- it is the extent by which the world will warm from pre-industrial levels -- pushes the world into dangerous territory triggering several tipping points. To be sure, there was never a pragmatic chance of keeping global warming below this benchmark, the primary and most sacred goal of the Paris climate agreement of 2015 which aimed to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius. But it was retained simply because abandoning it was tantamount to accepting defeat. On the basis of the latest Nationally Determined Contributions, for instance, the world is expected to warm by 2.4 to 2.7 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels by the end of this century as per United Nations Environment Programme’s Emissions Gap Report. But 1.5 degrees is important in other ways as well. “1.5°C global warming represents the transition into a high-risk future for humankind and nature. Every effort is justified to keep global warming below that limit. However, the required political effort and societal mobilisation becomes massive, due to delays caused by barriers and short-sighted resistance, such that scepticism concerning feasibility is on the rise,” said Portner. “The science is clear. We are not on track to limit global warming to 1.5°C,” he added. Representatives of IPCC member governments meet one or more times a year in Plenary Sessions of the Panel. They elect a Bureau of scientists for the duration of an assessment cycle. The Co-Chairs and Vice-Chairs of each Working Group form the Bureau of every IPCC Working Group. 1.5 (and it is often just referred to as just that) may have still had a chance if the COP27 climate conference that recently ended agreed to emissions peaking by 2025 (put forth by the EU, UK and supported by small island nations), but the proposal found a few takers. This was mainly because peaking by 2025 devoid of the required climate finance, technology sharing by developed nations would stifle development in developing and poor countries, negotiators said. There was much wrangling at COP27 with negotiators failing to find consensus pushing talks overnight around this unrealistic goal and a few other issues such as Loss and Damage, phaseout/ phasedown of fossil fuels and climate finance. Still, the Sharm El Sheikh Implementation Plan agreed to on November 20 said that the impacts of climate change will be much lower at the temperature increase of 1.5 degree C compared with 2 degree C and resolved to pursue further efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degree C. The agreement made in the early hours of November 20 does capture the scale of what is needed to achieve this goal. It states that limiting global warming to 1.5 degree C requires rapid, deep and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions of 43% by 2030 relative to the 2019 level. In comparison, emissions, if accounted based on implementation of all latest nationally determined contributions, are estimated to be 0.3% below the 2019 level, the plan states. With time running out and the 1.5 degree C seeming imminent now, there was a stronger push by developed countries to push for steep mitigation efforts for all countries while obscuring concepts of historical responsibility and differentiation among developed and developing countries according to negotiators. There was further undermining of trust as developed countries continued to have a partial view on gas and oil and to continue their use as they are dependent on those fuels compared to coal which is primary for developing nations. “Every report shows 1.5 degree C is unlikely now. It should have made the centre stage of conversation at COP27. But that did not happen,” said Sunita Narain, director general, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) at a webinar on unpacking the key outcomes from COP 27 organised by Centre for Policy Research last Wednesday. The rich countries postured to champion the cause of 1.5 degree C at COP27 and rued that developing nations were not doing enough to keep global warming under 1.5 degree C. On November 20 at the closing plenary of COP27 after nightlong negotiations to reach compromise, EU Climate Policy Chief, Frans Timmermans made a long and emotive speech about his disappointment in pushing through stronger mitigation goals. “There were too many attempts to even rollback on Glasgow. Some are afraid to transition ahead…” he said.

What ails our public transport system and what’s the way out

Recently, a Delhi court said overcrowding in urban public transport services is a recipe for disaster. Traffic jams, congestion and haphazard parking put more pressure on the already burdened land transport. It is a recipe for disaster, a Delhi court said recently, referring to the issue of overcrowding in urban public transport services. It also sought a report from the Union Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways, the Transport department of Delhi Government and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) within a month. It added, “This court is pained to note the issue of overcrowding in public transportation, including public passenger buses. Public transportation, including passenger buses, inter-alia must be safe,comfortable and accessible.” In India, buses, metro trains, local trains and even shared auto-rickshaws bursting at the seams is a common sight. It is quite ubiquitous and people brave the risks that come with it. Overcrowding not just inconveniences passengers, but also questions the very essence of the ‘smart city’ concept. In a jam-packed metro or local train (read Mumbai’s suburban train) or bus, jostling for space (forget about seat) often causes verbal or physical duels that can involve mouthing of crude expletives and the unleashing of brash hostilities. Groping is another offence that is prevalent on public transport and, sadly, most women continue to suffer in silence due to it. “Crowded spaces on board of vehicle/public passenger bus can create feelings of anxiety, unsafety and insecurity. Hence, it creates a barrier to access to public buses, especially for disabled persons, women (including pregnant women), children and senior citizens,” the court pointed out. “In the present age of Amrit Kaal and Vande Bharat Express, with the vision of developed India in eyes, it is incumbent upon the state to ensure that public transportation is safe, comfortable and accessible and equipped with modern technologies, utilising internet of things, at par with any other modern nation,” the court added. KEY PROBLEMS The court made these observations while hearing a case against Mohammed Ayub, who was accused of assaulting complainant Manoj Kumar Sharma when he wanted to get off a bus at Sarita Vihar on March 29, 2014.This brings to the fore the problem of boarding and alighting a bus, local or metro train. Getting into overcrowded public transport and getting off it is a struggle that every commuter is quite familiar with. You have to use physical force and rub shoulders with many and sometimes, it may not be enough. The court contended, “If a healthy adult finds it difficult to board, travel and deboard, then what will be the situation in regards to disabled persons, women, children and senior citizens?” This highlights another related problem which is of frequency that the public transport in most Indian cities faces. Because of less frequency, the transport system gets overwhelmed with mad rush, mostly during peak hours. However, it is also a stark reality that departments responsible to look after public transport that grapple with fund crunch and can’t purchase new buses either to replace the old ones and for increasing number of buses on routes where passenger load is very high. The same goes for trains. A PPU model can go a long way in addressing this issue. More budgetary allocation should be given to streamline public transport. However, the myopic urban planners are busy devising short-term strategies. According to NITI Aayog’s recent report on transforming mobility: “India has 1.2 buses per 1,000 people, below developing nation benchmarks, with a vast disparity between states – 4.7 in Chandigarh vs 0.02 in Bihar,” it said. Compare this with Thailand (8.6 per 1,000) and South Africa (6.1 per 1,000).“Unreliable service, long waiting time, delayed journeys and crowding in buses and at bus stops keep people off public transport,” revealed a study carried out for the housing and urban affairs ministry. The survey also covered more than 15,000 bus drivers and conductors. It said that 59 per cent of respondents were concerned about delays due to traffic jams and parked auto rickshaws and shared autos blocking the bus stops. Traffic jams, congestion and haphazard parking put more pressure on the already burdened land transport. On September 29, 2017, as many as 23 Mumbai local train commuters lost their lives in a stampede at Elphinstone Road railway station because of overcrowding on a narrow footbridge. The incident highlights the lack of transportation integration in India. In Delhi, four different agencies -- Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), Delhi Integrated Multi Modal Transport System (DIMTS) and Indian Railways – handle public transport. And there’s no coordination and integration between them. THE SOLUTIONS A Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) study said that the share of public transport is projected to decrease from 75.7 per cent in 2000-01 to 44.7 per cent in 2030-31. In Delhi, between 2000 and 2009, the number of cars increased at the rate of 9 per cent annually versus buses’ share grew at just 1 per cent per year. This is a cause for concern. The car culture continues because the public transport system is not streamlined. It is imperative that policymakers explore and adopt innovative mechanisms to boost the system. A bus takes up twice the space of a car but can carry 20 times as many people. Delhi’s bus ridership is estimated to be about 40 lakh people per day, according to figures available from 2018. This shows how pertinent it is to travel by public transport when air pollution has reached monstrous levels of toxicity. Commuting by public transport, e-vehicles and car pooling are the best ways to reduce carbon footprint.

Diesel autos to be phased out from NCR by 2026, says CAQM; GB Nagar, Ghaziabad halfway there

From January 1, 2023, no diesel auto-rickshaw will be registered in the National Capital Region (NCR), the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR has told the states of Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in a letter, and directed the transport departments to register only CNG or electric autos. The latest directive is part of the CAQM’s policy to phase out diesel autos from NCR completely by December 31, 2026, as announced by the commission in July this year. The CAQM said all autos in Delhi are already compliant with these directions, but other NCR cities need to quickly follow suit. “Auto-rickshaws are a preferred economical mode of transport...while all auto-rickshaws in Delhi have already been mandated to be CNG fuelled or electric, there are still diesel auto-rickshaws plying in the NCR across Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan,” said the CAQM order dated November 30, 2022. CAQM clarified that no petrol autos will be allowed to be registered either. “Although only a handful, they too will not be allowed to be registered in NCR.Only CNG or electric will be the permissible fuel mode,” said a CAQM official, stating there were no timelines on phasing out petrol autos. The CAQM order states that a comprehensive policy to curb air pollution in NCR was formulated and disseminated to the NCR states in July 2022, a part of which was phasing out diesel autos from NCR by December 31, 2026. For Gurugram, Faridabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad, the deadline to phase out diesel autos has been set as December 31, 2024. For the districts of Sonepat, Rohtak, Jhajjar and Baghpat, the deadline is December 31, 2025, while for the rest of NCR, it is December 31, 2026, the CAQM said. Officials in Gautam Budh Nagar said the implementation of the order is not difficult as registration of diesel autos is already banned in the district for the past several years. The few remaining diesel autos are also being phased out. “We have just around 160 diesel autos, which have not taken a no objection certificate to transfer them to other districts. We have sent notices to them again and these will also be phased out soon,” said ARTO Siyaram Verma. He added that there are a total of 28,040 autos in the district. These include 18,540 CNG autos, 40 electric autos, 160 diesel autos and 9,300 e-rickshaws. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said diesel vehicles are a long-term segment of the larger jigsaw puzzle which aims to tackle different sources of pollution. “CAQM’s comprehensive policy is looking at sources from different sectors and autos are one of the key sources, the other being coal, which is being phased out simultaneously in NCR from January 1,” she said.

इन किताबों, डॉक्यूमेंट्रीज और फिल्मों के बाद वेबसीरीज में भी दर्ज हो चुकी है भोपाल की वो भयानक रात..

इस डरावने और दिल दहला देने वाले मंजर की यादों को ताजा रखने में फिल्म निर्माता भी पीछे नहीं रहे, कई डॉक्यूमेंट्रीज इस पर बनीं हैं, तो कई किताबें भी प्रकाशित की गई हैं। अगर आप भी उस रात के खौफनाक मंजर की केस स्टडी करना चाहते हैं, तो यह खबर आपके काम की हो सकती है... यहां चुन सकते हैं गैस त्रासदी पर प्रकाशित प्रमुख किताबें - भोपाल गैस ट्रेजेडी आधी रात का सच- इसे लेखक विजय कुमार तिवारी ने लिखा है। - भोपाल गैस त्रासदी और मीडिया - इसे लिखा है सत्य सिंह राठौड़ ने। -भोपाल गैस त्रासदी का सच - इसे लिखा है मोती सिंह ने। - भोपाल गैस ट्रेजेडी : आफ्टर 30 इयर्स - इसे लिखा है सुनीता नारायण और चंद्र भूषण के साथ ही रिचार्ड महापात्रा ने - द भोपाल ट्रेजेडी : व्हाट रियली हैपेन्ड एंड व्हाट इट मीन्स फोर अमेरिकन वर्कर्स एंड कम्यूनिटीज एट रिस्क- इस किताब के लेखक हैं एम. अरुण सुब्रमन्यम ने। - गैस ट्रेजेडी-भोपाल : वल्र्ड ग्रेटेस्ट इंडस्ट्रियल डिजास्टर - इसे लिखा है एच.एल. प्रजापति ने। - भोपाल गैस ट्रेजेडी : ए सर्वाइवरर्स टेल मैमोअर - इसे लिखा है एल बी थापा ने। - भोपाल गैस ट्रेजेडी- इसे लिखा है सुरूपा मुखर्जी ने। - सर्वाइविंग डिजास्टर्स : सलीम्स जर्नी थ्रो हेल : द नेवर-एंडिंग सागा ऑफ द भोपाल गैस ट्रेजेड़ी : 4 इसे लिखा है सुरूपा मुखर्जी ने। - 30 ईयर्स ऑफ टीयर्स : भोपाल गैस ट्रेजेडी- इसे लिखा है आमिर फैज ने। - भोपाल - इसे लिखा है आकाश शुक्ला ने। - भोपाल डिजास्टर : एन आईविटनेस एकाउंट इसे लिखा है ललीता शास्त्री ने। - फाइव पास्ट मिडनाइट इन भोपाल : द एपिक स्टोरी ऑफ द वल्डर्स डेडलाइस्ट इंडस्ट्रियल डिजास्टर - इसे लिखा है डोमिनिक लैपिएरे और जेवियर ने। वेबसीरीज भी बनकर तैयार कई बॉलीवुड फिल्मों, डॉक्यूमेंट्रीज, किताबों के बाद अब एक वेबसीरीज के रूप में भी भोपाल गैस ट्रेजेडी दर्शकों के लिए बनाई जा चुकी है। ट्रू स्टोरी बेस्ड इस वेबसीरीज का फोकस उन गुमनाम हस्तियों के नाम है, जिन्होंने अपनी जिंदगी की परवाह किए बिना कई लोगों की जान बचाई। वाईआरएफ एंटरटेनमेंट की इस वेबसीरीज का नाम है 'द रेलवे मेन, द अनटॉल्ड स्टोरी ऑफ भोपाल 1984'। बाबिल खान की इस वेबसीरीज को निर्देशित किया है डायरेक्टर शिव रवैल ने। ओटीटी प्लेटफॉर्म नेटफ्लिक्स पर अब इसे देखा जा सकेगा।