Daily Current Capsules

12-13 June 2023

Cyclone Biparjoy

• As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the extremely severe cyclonic storm Biparjoy is likely to make landfall near Jakhau port on June 15
• The National Disaster Management Authority classifies cyclones broadly into two categories: extratropical cyclones and tropical cyclones

Know! about cyclone

• A cyclone is a large-scale system of air that rotates around the center of a low-pressure area. It is usually accompanied by violent storms and bad weather.
• As per NDMA, a cyclone is characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

There are 4 types of cyclones

• Tropical cyclone
• Polar cyclone
• Mesocyclone
• Extratropical cyclone

There are 6 factors that can be held responsible for the formation of the cyclone:

• Ample amount of warm temperature at the surface of the sea.
• Instability in the atmosphere.
• How the Coriolis force is impacting the area so that a low-pressure area can be created.
• When the humidity is high in the lower to middle levels of the troposphere.
• Disturbance in the pre-existing low-level area.
• When the vertical wind shear is low.

Know! about extratropical cyclones

• Also known as mid-latitude cyclones, extratropical cyclones are those which occur outside of the tropic.
• They have “cold air at their core, and derive their energy from the release of potential energy when cold and warm air masses interact”
• Such cyclones always have one or more fronts — a weather system that is the boundary between two different types of air masses.
• One is represented by warm air and the other by cold air — connected to them, and can occur over land or ocean.

Know! about tropical cyclones

• Tropical cyclones are those which develop in the regions between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer.
• They are the most devastating storms on Earth.
• Such cyclones develop when “thunderstorm activity starts building close to the center of circulation, and the strongest winds and rain are no longer in a band far from the center
• The core of the storm turns warm, and the cyclone gets most of its energy from the “latent heat” released when water vapor that has evaporated from warm ocean waters condenses into liquid water
• Warm fronts or cold fronts aren’t associated with tropical cyclones.

What is Cyclone Biparjoy and how was it named?

• ‘Biparjoy’ was suggested by Bangladesh and the word means ‘disaster’ or ‘calamity’ in Bengali.
• The naming of cyclones is done by countries on a rotational basis, following certain existing guidelines.
• Worldwide, there are six regional specialized meteorological centers (RSMCs) and five regional Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWCs) mandated for issuing advisories and naming of tropical cyclones.
• IMD is one of the six RSMCs to provide tropical cyclone and storm surge advisories to 13 member countries under the WMO/Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (ESCAP) Panel including Bangladesh, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
• RSMC, New Delhi is also mandated to name the Tropical Cyclones developing over the north Indian Ocean (NIO), including the Bay of Bengal (BoB) and the Arabian Sea (AS).
• Tropical cyclones forming over different Ocean basins are named by the concerned RSMCs & TCWCs.
• The WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones in 2000 agreed in principle to assign names to the tropical cyclones in these seas.
• After deliberations, the naming began in September 2004.
• This list contained names proposed by the eight member countries of WMO/ESCAP PTC, viz., Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. It was expanded to include five more countries in 2018 — Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
• The list of 169 cyclone names released by IMD in 2020 was provided by these countries — 13 suggestions from each of the 13 countries.
• After Bangladesh, the next cyclone will be named ‘Tej’ based on India’s suggestion

Some rules are to be followed while naming cyclones, such as:

• The proposed name should be neutral to (a) politics and political figures (b) religious believes, (c) cultures, and (d) gender
• The name should be chosen in such a way that it does not hurt the sentiments of any group of the population over the globe
• It should not be very rude and cruel in nature
• It should be short, easy to pronounce, and should not be offensive to any member
• The maximum length of the name will be eight letters

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Cyclones in the Arabian Sea v/s cyclone in the Bay of Bengal

• There are fewer number of cyclones in the Arabian Sea than in the Bay of Bengal
• A cyclone is a low-pressure system that forms over warm waters.
• Usually, a high temperature anywhere means the existence of low-pressure air, and a low temperature means high-pressure wind.
• In fact, that is one of the main reasons why we see a greater number of cyclones in the Bay of Bengal compared to the Arabian Sea.
• The Bay of Bengal is slightly warmer. Because of climate change, the Arabian Sea side is also getting warmer, and as a result, the number of cyclones in the Arabian Sea is showing an increasing trend in the recent trend.
• As air warms over hotter regions, it ascends, leading to low pressure at the surface it is covering.
• When air cools in colder areas it descends, leading to high pressure at the surface. In a depression or low-pressure situation, the air is rising and blows in an anticlockwise direction around the low in the northern hemisphere and in a clockwise direction in the southern hemisphere. This is because of the Coriolis effect, a result of the earth’s rotation on its axis.
• As warm air rises and cools, water vapor condenses to form clouds and this can lead to rain.
• Weather systems formed over the Bay of Bengal in the peak of summer in May are among the strongest in the North Indian Ocean region.
• Warm seas present ripe conditions for the development and strengthening of cyclones and fuel these systems over the water
• Historically, the Bay of Bengal has been known for tropical cyclones. But over the years there has been an increase in cyclones forming in the Arabian Sea, as well.

Other Names of Cyclone

• Caribbean Sea – Hurricanes
• China Sea – Typhoons
• Indian Ocean – Tropical cyclones
• Japan – Taifu
• Northern Australia – Wily Willies
• Philippines- Baguio
• USA – Tornadoes

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana

• The Prime Minister has lauded the new initiative of celebrating ‘Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana’ as a ‘God Bharai’ ceremony in Dausa, Rajasthan.
• They are celebrating the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana scheme as a ‘God Bharai’ ceremony where all the pregnant women come together and they give them a ‘Poshan Kit’ for the health of their babies.

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY)

• It is a maternity benefit program run by the government of India.
• It was originally launched in 2010 and renamed in 2017.
• The scheme is implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
• The maternity benefits program being implemented in all districts of the country with effect from 1st January 2017.
• It is a conditional cash transfer scheme for pregnant and lactating women of 19 years of age or above for the first live birth.
• It provides a partial wage compensation to women for wage loss during childbirth and childcare and to provide conditions for safe delivery and good nutrition and feeding practices.

Beneficiaries receive a cash benefit of Rs. 5,000 in three installments on fulfilling the following conditions:

1. Early registration of pregnancy
2. Ante-natal check-up
3. Registration of the birth of the child and completion of the first cycle of vaccination for the first living child of the family.

• The eligible beneficiaries would receive the incentive given under the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) for Institutional delivery and the incentive received under JSY would be accounted towards maternity benefits so that on an average a woman gets ₹6,000
• Implementation of the scheme is closely monitored by the central and state governments through the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana – Common Application Software (PMMVY-CAS).
• PMMVY-CAS is a web based software application that enables tracking the status of each beneficiary under the scheme, resulting in expedited, accountable and better grievance redressal.

Homo naledi

• Researchers have uncovered evidence that members of a mysterious archaic human species buried their dead and carved symbols on cave walls long before the earliest evidence of burials by modern humans.
• The brains belonging to the extinct species, known as Homo naledi, were around one-third the size of a modern human brain.
• The revelations could change the understanding of human evolution because until now such behaviors only have been associated with larger-brained Homo sapiens and Neanderthals.

Homo naledi – background

• Fossils belonging to Homo naledi were first discovered in the Rising Star cave system in South Africa during excavations in 2013.
• The cave system is part of South Africa’s Cradle of Humankind, a UNESCO World Heritage Site encompassing an area where scientists have found fossils of multiple ancient human ancestor species — remains that are helping to unlock the story of human evolution.
• The research team has discovered the remains of Homo naledi adults and children that were laid to rest in the fetal position within cave depressions and covered with soil.
• The burials are older than any known Homo sapiens burials by at least 100,000 years.

Rising Star cave system

• The Rising Star cave system (also known as Westminster or Empire cave) is located in the Malmani dolomites, in Bloubank River valley
• It is a part of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site in South Africa.

Vigyan -Vidushi – 2023

• Vigyan -Vidushi – 2023, an initiative to address the gender balance in the discipline of Physics at the doctorate level, has commenced at the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), in Mumbai

Know! about Vigyan Vidushi

• Vigyan Vidushi, a program dedicated only to girl-students at the postgraduate level
• 40 women students from forty different institutes all over India, who have just completed their first year MSc in Physics, are attending this programme that will give them an exposure to advanced physics courses and encourage them to perform innovative experiments.
• Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), through its Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), has started the three-week summer programme “Vigyan Vidushi” for girl students pursuing Physics at M.Sc. level, since 2020.
• The programme, which had started during the COVID pandemic, will be held completely in the residential mode, at HBSCE, for the first time from 12 June to 1 July, 2023.

Gender gap in STEM

• Gender gap in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is a matter of global concern. Globally, female students’ enrolment is particularly low in natural science, mathematics, and statistics at ~5%.

EKUVERIN

• The 12^th edition of joint military exercise “Ex Ekuverin” between the Indian Army & the Maldives National Defence Force has commenced at Chaubatia, Uttarakhand from 11 to 24 June 2023.
• Ekuverin meaning ‘Friends’ is a bilateral annual exercise conducted alternatively in India and Maldives.
• The exercise is aimed at enhancing interoperability in Counter Insurgency/ Counter Terrorism Operations under the UN mandate and carry out joint Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operations.
• The 11^th edition of the exercise was held in Maldives in December 2021.

Community horticulture production and marketing associations (CHPMAs)

• The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank signed a $130 million loan to increase agricultural productivity, improve access to irrigation and promote horticulture agribusinesses to raise farmers’ income in the state of Himachal Pradesh.
• The project will help create an ecosystem to enhance farmers’ access to markets of subtropical horticulture.
• The farmers will be organised into cluster-wide community horticulture production and marketing associations (CHPMAs) and district-wide CHPMA cooperative societies.

Know! about CHPMAs

• CHPMA apex institution, a farmer producer company (FPC), will lead state-wide agribusiness development with the aim of ensuring profitability and access to markets of subtropical horticulture.
• The FPC will handle business plan development; agribusiness promotion; and designing value-addition facilities such as sorting and packaging facilities, and storage and collection centres. It will also assist CHPMAs in managing these facilities.

KEEP Learning KEEP Evolving

TEAM CL/GKP