Prelims Focus 9th August 2024

09/08/2024

294 3 minutes read

Clouded Leopard

In News: During a recent event celebrating International Clouded Leopard Day, the Governor of Mizoram underscored the pressing challenges facing wildlife conservation, particularly regarding the clouded leopard, a species that has become emblematic of the broader conservation crisis in Southeast Asia.

Clouded leopards, known for their distinctive coat patterns and arboreal lifestyle, are classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Their populations are declining due to habitat loss, poaching, and the illegal wildlife trade.
The IUCN estimates that fewer than 10,000 clouded leopards remain in the wild, with significant threats exacerbated by deforestation for agriculture and logging.
The clouded leopard plays a crucial role in its ecosystem, serving as a keystone species that helps maintain the balance of its habitat.
Their decline can lead to cascading effects on biodiversity, making their conservation vital not just for the species itself but for the health of the entire ecosystem.

Zojila tunnel Project

In News: The Zojila Tunnel Project includes the construction of a 13.153 km tunnel and 17.030 km of approach roads, totaling 30.18 km. With a total project cost of Rs. 6,809.69 crore, the project has achieved 52.13% of its physical progress so far.

The Zojila Tunnel project is a monumental infrastructure endeavor aimed at enhancing connectivity between the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh. Inaugurated in May 2018 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, this ambitious project is being implemented by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL).

Designed to provide year-round access to one of India’s most strategically significant regions, the tunnel is expected to transform travel and logistics in the area.

The Zojila Tunnel will be approximately 14.15 kilometers long, making it one of the longest tunnels in India. It is designed as a two-lane highway, with a width of 9.5 meters and a height of 7.57 meters, shaped in a horseshoe configuration.
The project also includes the construction of approach roads totaling 17.03 kilometers, two twin-tube tunnels, four bridges, two snow galleries, and a 2.3-kilometer cut-and-cover structure.
The tunnel will be situated at an altitude of over 11,500 feet, making it a remarkable engineering feat.
The Zojila Tunnel is primarily designed to ensure uninterrupted access for the Indian Armed Forces to the strategically vital region of Ladakh, especially during harsh winter conditions when the Zojila Pass is often closed due to heavy snowfall and avalanches.

Flying Rivers

In News:

The warming of the Indian Ocean is giving rise to flying or atmospheric rivers which are causing devastating floods in India

Flying Rivers are the storms that tour as huge, invisible ribbons of water vapor and unload heavy rains.
An average atmospheric river is 2,000 km long, 500 km extensive and almost 3 km deep.
These “rivers within the sky” supply a few 90% of the total water vapor that moves across the Earth’s mid-latitudes.
The water vapor forms a band or a column inside the lower part of the ecosystem which moves from the tropics to the cooler latitudes and springs down as rain or snow, devastating enough to cause floods or deadly avalanches.
As the earth warms up faster, scientists say these atmospheric rivers have ended up longer, wider and more extreme, placing hundreds of hundreds of thousands of people globally at risk from flooding.

Pyrocumulonimbus Clouds

In News: Wildfires in the U.S. and Canada have become so intense that they are generating ‘pyrocumulonimbus’ clouds, which can produce thunderstorms and ignite additional fires.

They are formed from extremely warm wildfires or volcanic eruptions.
Rising worldwide temperatures can also cause extra excessive and frequent wildfires that may increase the prevalence of pyrocumulonimbus clouds.
Process: Intense heat from the hearth warms surrounding air, which then rises, expands, and cools. Water vapour condenses on ash to form a pyrocumulus cloud.
- With sufficient water vapor and excessive upward movement, these clouds can turn into pyrocumulonimbus clouds, accomplishing up to 50,000 feet and developing their own thunderstorms.
Impact: They can produce lighting, they do not generate a lot of rain.
- They can spark new wildfires far from the principal blaze and trigger strong winds that spread fires quickly.
Data: Before 2023, about 102 pyrocumulonimbus clouds were recorded globally per yr, with 50 in Canada.
- In 2023, 140 pyrocumulonimbus clouds have been recorded in Canada alone.