Page 248 - Environment

China approves large new upstream dam project on the Yangtze river

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China has approved construction of one of its tallest dams, a 239-metre (784-foot) hydroelectric structure on the upstream section of its longest river, the Yangtze, the state planning agency said on Tuesday.

Antarctica ice melting increased by 280 per cent in last 16 years

Yearly loss of ice from Antarctica has increased by an alarming rate of 280 per cent between 2001 and 2017, according to a study which showed that accelerated melting caused global sea levels to rise more than half an inch in the last four decades. The researchers, including those from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Utrecht University in the Netherlands, were able to discern that between 1979 and 1990, Antarctica shed an average of 40 gigatonnes of ice mass annually. From 2009 to 2017, about 252 gigatonnes per year were lost. The pace of melting rose dramatically over the four-decade period. From 1979 to 2001, it was an average of 48 gigatonnes annually per decade. The rate jumped 280 per cent to 134 gigatonnes for 2001 to 2017. For the study published in journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers conducted the longest-ever assessment of remaining Antarctic ice mass. Spanning four decades, the project was also geographically comprehensive; the ...

Misty Tuesday morning in Delhi

Residents in the national capital woke up to a misty morning on Tuesday as the minimum temperature settled for 6 degreeS Celsius, a notch below the season's average.

L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering wins two projects from Saudi Aramco

In consortium with Subsea 7

Alaska officials probing BP oil, gas wells at Prudhoe Bay after spill

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Regulators in the U.S. state of Alaska will investigate all of the oil and natural gas wells operated by BP Plc at its Prudhoe Bay oil field after the release of a small amount of crude oil and gas from a well that had earlier been shut.

Antarctica melting away at alarming rate: Study

A new study has revealed that melting of the ice and snow from the entire continent of Antarctica has accelerated by 280 per cent in the last four decades.

Sewage to beat agri as biggest source of nitrogen pollution: Top scientist

The contribution of untreated sewage, which is the second-largest source of nitrogen pollution, is growing almost 10 times faster than agriculture, says Nandula Raghuram

Antarctica is losing ice 6 times faster today than in 1980s

Antarctica is melting more than six times faster than it did in the 1980s, a new study shows. Scientists used aerial photographs, satellite measurements and computer models to track how fast the southern-most continent has been melting since 1979 in 176 individual basins. They found the ice loss to be accelerating dramatically a key indicator of human-caused climate change. Since 2009, Antarctica has lost almost 278 billion tons (252 billion metric tons) of ice per year, the new study found. In the 1980s, it was losing 44 billion tons (40 billion metric tons) a year. The recent melting rate is 15 per cent higher than what a study found last year. Eric Rignot, a University of California, Irvine, ice scientist, was the lead author on the new study in Monday's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He said the big difference is that his satellite-based study found East Antarctica, which used to be considered stable, is losing 56 billion tons (51 billion metric tons) of ice a ..

France to cull wild boar after swine virus cases in Belgium

France will start culling thousands of wild boar near the Belgian border to prevent the African swine fever virus from spreading, the agriculture ministry said Monday. It said the operation would be held in the coming weeks and involve large number of hunters and forest officials. The virus was first reported in Belgium on September 13 near the borders with Luxembourg and France. "The spread of the illness into France would be a catastrophe for pig farmers and hunters," Thierry Coste, who works for the national hunting federation (FNC), told AFP. The virus was first spotted in Poland in 2014 when infected wild boar entered from neighbouring Belarus. Last week, Polish authorities denied any plans to wipe out nearly all wild boar as petitions against a mass cull drew hundreds of thousands of signatures. "No order was given to eliminate wild boar," Environment Minister Henryk Kowalczyk told the commercial broadcaster TVN, adding that hunting quotas for boar were set as has been done ...

Assam govt forms GoM on ST reservation

Assam Government on Monday set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma to recommend measures for protection of rights of existing tribal communities as well as to decide on the benefits to be given to new Scheduled Tribes, official sources said. The GoM was formed on the direction of the Centre following introduction of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment in Rajya Sabha on January 9. The bill proposes to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six communities of the state - Koch Rajbongshi, Tai Ahom, Chutia, Moran, Matak and tea tribes of Assam who form a sizeable chunk of the population of the state. After examining the ethnic communities' status, the committee will submit its report to the Centre within 15 to 20 days with modalities for granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the six communities, but without harming the rights of the tribes that are currently enjoying the status, the sources said. Other ministers in the GoM are ...

Agra skies depict hues of polluted Yamuna before Makar Sankranti

The skies in Agra depicted hues of polluted Yamuna as hundreds of activists flew kites inked with the message of "Save Yamuna", a day before Makar Sankranti. The activists of the Taj city reminded the Union and the state governments of the "pathetic condition" of the river. The kite fliers gathered on the river bed opposite the Etmaddaula Tomb to send their message to the government. River activist Anand Rai said, "The Yamuna river was not just the lifeline of the city but also a heritage entity along whose banks were sited architectural marvels like the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort." Environmentalist Devashish Bhattacharya said the successive governments have failed to save the river. "Till date nothing concrete had been done to save the river," he said.

No humans infected with bird flu in Bihar so far

No case of humans getting infected with the bird flu virus has been detected in Bihar so far, a senior state government official said. "Among the reported cases of suspected or confirmed bird flu, we have not come across with any such incident (of humans getting infected with the virus) so far," Health department Principal Secretary Sanjay Kumar told reporters here. The first incident of suspected avian influenza was reported from six villages of Asarganj block of Munger district in December. The state has, so far, found samples positive for bird flu from four places - two places in Munger and one each in Banka and in the zoo in Patna. "There are chances that the animal husbandry department employees may get affected (with bird flu) as they come in contact with dead birds, but no such incidents have come to our notice," he said. The officer said it is the responsibility of health department to get one "affected" person tested to ensure whether he or she actually ...

Winds improve Delhi air to 'poor'

Delhi's air quality saw a sudden improvement on Monday as the wind speed turned the air from 'very poor' to 'poor'. Officials, however, said this improvement is unlikely to last and the air quality would again turn 'severe'.

Desalination plants creating salty dilemma, globally: UN

The fast-rising number of desalination plants worldwide -- now almost 16,000, with capacity concentrated in the Middle East and North Africa -- quench a growing thirst for freshwater but create a salty dilemma as well - how to deal with all the chemical-laden leftover brine.

Amazon France under fire for destroying unsold goods

US online retailer Amazon faced new French government pressure Monday after a TV report over the weekend showed it destroying thousands of new diapers, toys and other unsold or returned items in perfect condition. Brune Poirson, a secretary of state for France's ecological transition, said after the broadcast late Sunday that she was "shocked" by the allegations and would render businesses "responsible" for such practices. "In the coming months a law will be passed in parliament that will outlaw this type of activity. Companies like Amazon will no longer be able to throw away products that can still be used," Poirson said. The "Capital" programme on M6 television showed footage from a journalist who got himself hired recently at Amazon's distribution centre in Saran, outside Orleans in central France. He was able to film workers throwing dozens of coffee makers, unopened Lego boxes and brand-name packs of diapers into huge garbage containers, instead of recycling or donating them to ..

Police foil bid to smuggle cattle in Jammu and Kashmir, arrest 1

Police Monday rescued 16 cattle from being smuggled and arrested an alleged smuggler in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district, officials said. Acting on a tip-off, four vehicles were intercepted on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Chenani area, they said. On seeing the police team, drivers of all the four vehicles sped up, broke the police barriers and tried to flee, police said. Police chased the vehicles and nabbed one of the drivers, Talib Hussain, while the other three accused fled leaving their vehicles behind, they said. Police found 16 cattle loaded in the vehicles, officials said, adding all the animals were rescued and the vehicles were seized. Four separate cases have been registered against the drivers of the vehicles in Chenani police station and further investigation is underway, they said.

Trash skimmers clean river surface at popular Ganga ghats

Millions of pilgrims flock to the ghats of the river Ganges every year to take a dip in its holy waters, which Hindus believe absolves them from all sins. It is believed that people are cleansed physically, mentally and spiritually at the ghats of the river in Varanasi, Prayagraj and Haridwar.Unfortunately, the pilgrims leave behind a ton of waste, including old clothes, worshipping materials and other garbage on the river banks. Under the Namami Gange programme, the National Mission for clean Ganga has been using trash skimmer machines, equipment which helps remove floating waste from the river surface, at the prominent ghats.At present, such machines have been deployed at 11 locations including Haridwar, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Kanpur and Vrindavan.Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, the Director General of the National Mission for Clean Ganga, said: "We have put these machines where lots of pilgrims come; where the ghats are popular, very iconic in terms of culture and religion. It is very difficult

Man trampled to death by elephant

A 62-year-old person was trampled to death by an elephant in Jharkhand's Gumla district on Monday.

Touring Exhibition featuring key milestones from Indo-German Development Cooperation travels to Bengaluru

Celebrating 60 years of Indo-German Development Cooperation, a Touring Exhibition was launched in Delhi in November 2018. As part of the plan the next touring exhibition will be organized in Bengaluru.The Touring Exhibition will be exhibited in Bengaluru at the Auditorium, Goethe Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan on 16-17 January 2019.The exhibition will be inaugurated by Mr. S Selvakumar, Secretary to Chief minister. Govt of Karnataka and Ms. Margit Hellwig-Botte, German Consulate General, Bengaluru on 17th January 2019.Indo-German Development Cooperation laid the roots of its long-standing relationship in 1958. The goal was to achieve sustainable global development and to foster a spirit of progressive partnership and trust. During the course, we've hit several milestones like the launch of Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in 1959, the launch and success of the Polio Immunisation Programme in 1996 and the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna in 2008 and setting up a 125-MW solar power ...

Rare sight of European robin in Beijing causes stir and Brexit jokes

The rare appearance of a European robin in here in the Chinese capital has caused a stir among nature fans, with some calling the bird a "Brexit refugee". Nearly 200 bird-watching photographers flocked to the popular Beijing Zoo last Friday after word spread that a European robin had been spotted there, the BBC reported on Monday. The red-breasted bird is common across Europe but is rarely seen in Beijing - it's only the third time one has been recorded in the capital. Some birdwatchers have joked the robin might be a "Brexit refugee", the report said. "It's very rare to see [the European robin] in Beijing," Terry Townshend, founder of Birding Beijing told the BBC. "Almost 200 photographers camped out for it. I think a lot of people want to [capture it] because it's a very photogenic bird and it has that sort of exotic feel." Townshend said he found out about the sighting through bird watching groups on WeChat - a messaging app in China. "A lot of people associate the bird with ...