UTTARAKHAND

Uttarakhand to monitor air quality across all 13 districts

Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board (UEPPCB) has decided to monitor air quality across all 13 districts under its ‘State Air Quality Monitoring Programme.

Till now, air quality was monitored manually barely twice a week and 104 times annually at five locations of these three cities. The 24×7 monitoring of air quality will be done at a cost of Rs 5 crore.

The move assumes significance as forest fires deteriorate state’s air quality every year and the state fails to provide air quality data on time from the hill districts where devastation from forest fires is the maximum. Also, the number of industries is growing at a significant pace which is further contributing to air contamination. At present, air quality of only six cities – Dehradun, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Kashipur, Haldwani and Rudrapur — is monitored under National Air Quality Monitoring Programme. The air quality of these cities has gone below acceptable standards. PM 2.5 levels in these cities are more than 40 and PM 10 levels are over 60. They have been tagged “non-attainment cities” in view of air pollution.
The state pollution control board has also decided to monitor air and water quality of the industrial sites in the states.

INTERNATIONAL

World Future Energy Summit begins in Abu Dhabi

The World Future Energy Summit begins in Abu Dhabi.

33,500 participants from 170 countries and 800 specialist exhibitors are expected to attend the four-day annual event.

The theme for this year’s summit is “Rethinking Global Consumption, Production, and Investment.”

The World Future Energy Summit is the Middle East’s largest future energy and sustainability event.

Brazil to open new Antarctic research base

Brazil has announced that it is to open a new research base in Antarctica. Brazil’s original scientific outpost was destroyed by fire 8 years ago. It is expected that Vice President Hamilton Mourao and Science and Technology Minister Marcos Pontes will attend the official opening ceremony.

The Brazilian government has invested nearly $100 million in the reconstruction of the Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station.

It is a 48,500-square-foot complex on King George Island, the largest in the South Shetland archipelago.

The base was built on the site of the previous facility, Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station, King George Island, Antarctica

The new center was built by Chinese state-owned company CEIEC

The new base consists of 17 laboratories and accommodation for 64 people.

Russia to begin Gaganyaan space astronauts training by 2020 January

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh announced that the training for Gaganyaan space astronauts will start their training from the third week of January 2020.

Space Astronauts training:

The training of the Indian astronauts for India’s first human space mission will take place in Russia.

India has selected four astronauts for the human space mission.

The astronauts shortlisted for the mission will receive training for 11 months. All four astronauts selected for the mission are male candidates. Their identity was not revealed.

NATIONAL

ISRO’s communication satellite GSAT-30 to launch on Jan 17

India would launch a communication satellite GSAT-30 onboard Ariane-5 launch vehicle (VA 251) from French Guiana on January 17.

The 3,357-kg satellite is slated to blast off from the Ariane Launch Complex at Kourou, a French territory located along the northeastern coast of South America.

GSAT-30 is to serve as a replacement to INSAT-4A spacecraft services with enhanced coverage.

With a mission life of 15 years, GSAT-30 is an operational communication satellite for DTH, television uplink and VSAT services.

Amit Shah chairs sixth meeting of Island Development Agency

Union home minister Amit Shah chaired the sixth meeting of the Island Development Agency (IDA).

In the meeting chaired by Shah, the progress made under the “Holistic development of islands” program was reviewed.

For the first time in the country, an initiative of sustainable development in the identified Islands within scientifically-assessed carrying capacity has been taken-up.

Development plans with a focus on the creation of jobs for the islanders through tourism promotion as well as the export of seafood and coconut-based products.

Inscriptions confirm presence of two medieval monasteries at Moghalmari

Recently, a study of inscriptions on clay tablets excavated from Moghalmari have confirmed the presence of two monasteries.

Moghalmari is a Buddhist monastic site of the early medieval period in West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur district.

The inscriptions are in Sanskrit and the script is a transitional phase between later north Indian Brahmi and early Siddhamatrika.

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