Environment

An algal bloom is a sudden increase in the population of algae in a freshwater or marine habitat. The bloom generally looks like a scum on the surface of the water and may colour it blue-green, red, or yellow, depending upon the species of algae involved. An algal bloom is caused by enrichment in the … Read more

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) was conceived as a coalition of solar-resource-rich countries (which lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn) to address their special energy needs. The ISA will provide a dedicated platform for cooperation among solar-resource-rich countries, through which the global community, including governments, bilateral … Read more

The special characteristics that enable plants and animals to be successful in a particular environment are called adaptations. Epiphytes are plants that live on the surface of other plants, especially the trunk and branches. They grow on trees to take advantage of the sunlight in the canopy. Most are orchids, bromeliads, ferns, and Philodendron relatives. … Read more

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has launched the Angikaar Campaign. The campaign was officially rolled out in all cities with PMAY (U) on October 2, 2019. It has been launched for social behaviour change, focusing on issues such as water & energy conservation, waste management, health, tree plantation, sanitation and hygiene. The campaign … Read more

Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF 2.0) and Streets for People Challenge is for providing Roadmap for cities towards Combating Climate Change while planning / implementing their actions including investments CSCAF initiative intends to inculcate Climate-Sensitive Approach to Urban Planning and Development Framework with 28 indicators across five categories developed after review of Global Frameworks/ … Read more

Edge effect: Edge effects refer to the changes in population or community structures that occur at the boundary of two habitats. Trophic cascade: A trophic cascade is an ecological phenomenon triggered by the addition or removal of top predators and involving reciprocal changes in the relative population of Predator and prey through a food chain … Read more

Forest fires are a regular phenomenon in our country often observed during the fire season. A number of 37,059 fires were detected in year 2018 using MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer) sensor data. Every year large areas of forests are affected by fires of varying intensity and extent. Based on the forest inventory records, 54.40% … Read more

It is a Central Sector Scheme and is being implemented with the objective: To provide clean cooking fuel for kitchens, lighting and meeting other thermal and small power needs of farmers/dairy farmers /users including individual households and to improve organic manure system (not eliminate chemical fertilizer) based on bio-slurry from biogas plants in rural and … Read more

Air Quality Early Warning Systemis designed to predict extreme air pollution events and give alerts to take necessary steps as per Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) of the Government of India. The air pollution system has been developed jointly by the scientists at Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, India Meteorological Department and National … Read more

. National Ambient Air Quality Standards envisaging 12 pollutants have been notified under the EPA, 1986 along with 115 emission/effluent standards for 104 different sectors of industries, besides 32 general standards. Government is executing a nation-wide programme of ambient air quality monitoring known as National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP). The network consists of six … Read more