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Welcome to the Net Crackers Current Affairs Section for UGC NET/ JRF 2019 Exam.

This section Provide best and authentic current affairs in last 6 months. These are

fact-based quizzes written for aspirants of competitive exams where direct factual

questions may be asked on current affairs.

IndAIR: CSIR-NEERI’s web facility launched It was established in Nagpur in 1958 with focus on water supply, sewage disposal, communicable

diseases and to some extent on industrial pollution and occupational diseases found common in

post-independent India.

NMCG organized ‘Ganga Utsav’ in New Delhi The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) organized the ‘Ganga Utsav’ in Major Dhyanchand

stadium in New Delhi to mark the 11th anniversary of Ganga being declared as national river. It

was organized in coordination with Union Jal Shakti Ministry.

Madrid to host COP 25 The Spanish capital city of Madrid will be hosting the world’s annual climate conference, called

COP-25 (Conference of the Parties) from 2 to 13 December 2019. This decision was taken

following Chile’s stepping down as host for the COP-25 event due to the ongoing street protests

in South American country.

Kanpur is world’s most polluted city: Guinness World Records

2020 The city of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh held the title for the world’s most polluted city in the latest

edition of Guinness World Records. The book, ‘Guinness World Records 2020’, lists thousands of

new record titles and holders that will educate curious readers of all age groups. It is released

annually by publisher Penguin Random House. This year, about 80 record breaking achievements

by Indians that have made it to the latest edition of the book.

Nelloptodes gretae: Tiny beetle named after climate activist

Greta Thunberg

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Scientists at the British Natural History Museum in London, UK have officially named a tiny

species of beetle that was discovered more than 50 years ago as ‘Nelloptodes gretae’, to honour

the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist’s ‘outstanding contribution’ in raising global awareness

of climate change.

UNEP’s Colombo Declaration to tackle global nitrogen

challenges On October 24, 2019, the member states of The United Nations endorsed a proposed road map

for action on nitrogen challenges called Colombo Declaration on Sustainable Nitrogen

Management. It was organized by Sri Lanka with the support of the UN and its member nations.

A two-day event was conducted to frame the declaration

First national protocol to count India’s Snow Leopard

population launched On the occasion of International Snow Leopard Day, Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and

Climate Change (MoEFCC) launched the first national protocol to enumerate the population of

this elusive and endangered species of snow leopard in India. The Day is celebrated on 23 October

every year to protect and conserve snow leopards and preserve beautiful wildlife of Himalayas.

Ozone Hole: Smallest on record NASA reported that ozone hole near the south pole is in its smallest size since it was discovered.

In 2006, the hole was 10.3 million square miles. However, recently it has reduced to 3.6 million

square miles. Scientists say that the hole is smaller than it was found in 1985. Every year, the

ozone hole reaches its peak in September and October and disappears by late December.

Facts Box: Vizag’s Battle against Plastics The Vishakhapatnam Municipal Corporation has achieved great results from its long battle

against plastic bags. The measures taken by the corporation and their strict implementation is

the sole success in the battle.

New Kiln technology in Punjab: 70% emissions cut Following orders from NGT (National Green Tribunal) and CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board)

the Punjab Government had ordered the closure of traditional kilns in March 2019. This was

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mainly to control the toxicity of the NCR (National Capital Region). The stubble burning, industrial

and kiln smoke from Punjab, brought by the retreating monsoon during this time, slogged Delhi

making lives difficult. Schools are closed and the routine normal life is highly disrupted.

Switzerland Glaciers Shrink 10%

Switzerland Glaciers have lost a tenth in their volume in the past five years. The melting is the

largest in the last 5 years of observation. The Cryospheric commission at the Swiss Academy of

Sciences published the annual study on the state of glaciers. According to the study, around 20

glaciers have shown melt rates that have reached record levels

Typhoon Hagibis hits Japan Typhoon Hagibis hits Japan Torrential rain and tornado-like winds lashed large parts of Japan, as

the country was hit by Typhoon Hagibis. The typhoon is being touted as the strongest storm the

country faced in the past 60 years since Kanagawa Typhoon (1958).

India, China, Pakistan to work together to study the impact of climate change on Hindu-Kush-

Himalayan region

India Meteorological Department (IMD) is collaborating with meteorological agencies in China

and Pakistan, among others, to provide climate forecast services to countries in Hindu-Kush-

Himalayan (HKH) region. These countries have agreed to establish regional climate centre that

will provide forecasting services and climate analyses. This centre will be under World

Meteorological Organisation (WMO). It will help to better forecast impact of climate change on

Hindu Kush mountains. It will take a few years to take shape. It will also provide data services,

training and capacity-building, research and development.

C40 cities climate summit The C40 Summit is to take place in Copenhagen between 9th October and 12th October, 2019.

The aim of the summit is to show how cities are delivering their strong commitments for

healthier, sustainable, resilient and inclusive future.

The 2019 summit in specific aims to build a global coalition of cities, citizens and businesses that

rallies around ambitious climate action that the earth needs right now.

Ministry of S&T launches Eco friendly crackers developed by

CSIR

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On 6th October, 2019, Ministry of Science and Technology launched a new set of crackers called

Eco – friendly crackers. These crackers help to reduce particulate emissions by 30% by producing

the same level of light and sound. The crackers were developed by CSIR – Council of Scientific

and Industrial Research. They were developed in the wake of SC directions on use and restrictions

of fireworks

Wildlife Week India, 2019 The Wildlife Week is celebrated all over the country every year between 2nd October and 8th

October. The aim is to preserve animal life in India. Throughout the week events and campaigns

are organized to teach people about animal life and encourage them save large number of

animals by not killing them for food and other purposes

Single use plastics to be banned inside monuments: Govt Single-use plastic will be banned inside and within a 100 metre periphery of all Archaeological

Survey of India (ASI) protected monuments across the country. The announcement in this regard

was made by Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel on the sidelines of the launch of the tourism

ministry’s annual ‘Paryatan Parv’ in New Delhi. The Paryatan Parv showcases traditional cuisines

and handicrafts from across Indian states and is an attempt by tourism ministry to promote

tourism in India.

India records highest monsoon rains in 25 years The IMD (Indian Meteorological Department) said that India received 10% above average

monsoon rains in 2019. It is the highest in 25 years.

States like Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karnataka received 35% more rainfall than normal. It is the

highest recorded rain in the history of these states. Heavy rains damaged the summer sown crops

like pulses, soybean and cotton that were close to harvest.

Russia formally joins Paris Agreement on Climate Change Russia has formally accepted the 2015 Paris agreement on Climate Change. The Prime Minister

of Russia Dmitry Medvedev has recently signed a document in this regard. As per the document

Russia will now allocate financial resources towards developing countries for prevention of and

adaptation to climate change.

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UN Climate Action Summit, 2019 held in New York The UN Climate Change Summit, 2019 was held in New York. The key focus of the summit is to

accelerate the actions to implement the Paris agreement. To achieve this the summit focuses in

9 independent tracks that are led by 19 countries supported by international organizations. India

and Sweden are leading the “Industry Transition” track and are supported by the World Economic

Forum. The other tracks are as follows:

14th UNCCD COP inaugurated at Greater Noida The 12-day 14th Conference of Parties (COP14) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification

(UNCCD) inaugurated at India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

During the meet, Union Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Prakash

Javadekar expressed that mass awareness and public participation is the need of the hour as be

it climate change or desertification, human actions have a role in disturbing the balance of nature.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the high-level segment meeting on 9 September

2019.

India’s First Garbage Café to open in Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh: India's first garbage cafe to be opened in Ambikapur. In a unique initiative, the

Ambikapur municipal corporation of Chhattisgarh, will open a first-of-its-kind 'Garbage Cafe'

within a few days.

Ocean Energy gets renewable energy Status Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has approved proposal to declare ocean

energy as Renewable Energy. It has clarified to all stakeholders that energy produced using

various forms of ocean energy such as tidal, wave and ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC)

will be considered as Renewable Energy. The decision will give boost to ocean energy in the

country. It will make ocean energy eligible for meeting the non-solar Renewable Purchase

Obligations (RPO).

India biggest emitter of sulphur dioxide: Report According to recently released report by Greenpeace India, India is the largest emitter of sulphur

dioxide (SO2) in the world. The findings of the report were based on data obtained from NASA’s

Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite.

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All India Tiger Estimation Report 2018 released As per the All India Tiger Estimation Report 2018 India has 2,967 tigers, a third more than in 2014.

The Tiger census made public on the occasion of Global Tiger Day (29 July) by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi.

IUCN adds more than 7,000 to its Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has added more than 7,000 animals,

fish and plants to its endangered Red List. IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species shows that more

and more species assessed are being threatened with extinction. It also warned against

mankind’s destruction of nature that is driving species to the brink of extinction at an

unprecedented rate.