Page 249 - Environment

Heavy smog, worsened by weather, raises alarm across Asia

Unusually high levels of smog worsened by weather patterns are raising alarm across Asia, with authorities in Thailand's hazy capital Bangkok handing out face masks and preparing to seed clouds for rain to clear the air. A combination of construction dust, auto exhaust and other pollutants, lingering over Bangkok due to prevailing weather patterns, has taken air quality to unhealthy levels in recent days. "I admit these are temporary solutions but we have to do it. Other long term measures will also be implemented, Police Gen. Aswin Kwanmuang told a meeting of army, police, pollution control and other officials on Monday. The city was handing out some 10,000 face masks, spraying water to help settle dust and tightening controls on when big trucks can use city streets the Thai Pollution Control Department said that about half of the high levels of PM 2.5, tiny particulate matter that can dangerously clog lungs, was due to diesel engine emissions. The Department of Royal Rainmaking and

Hindus, Sikhs in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to get cremation grounds

Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has identified sites for the construction of a cremation ground for the Hindu and Sikh community and a graveyard for Christians. Nearly 1.25 acre of land has been identified in Samarbagh near Northern bypass Peshawar of which 0.5 acre will be allocated for the construction of the cremation ground and 0.75 acre for the graveyard, sources in the Department of Auqaf & Religious Affairs, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said. The provincial government has enforced Section-IV for the procurement of land at the sites identified for the cremation ground and the graveyard in Peshawar, Nowshera and Kohat districts of the province. Efforts are on to release the funds for the construction of the cremation ground and the graveyard.

GM rice plants that produce high yields developed

Scientists have genetically engineered rice plants to boost photosynthesis and significantly increase grain yield. The approach, called GOC bypass, enriches plant cells with CO2 that would otherwise be lost through a metabolic process called photorespiration. According to a study published in the journal Molecular Plant, the genetically engineered plants were greener and larger and showed increased photosynthetic efficiency and productivity under field conditions, with particular advantages in bright light. "Food shortage related to world population growth will be a serious problem our planet will have to face," said Xin-Xiang Peng of South China Agricultural University. "Our study could have a major impact on this problem by significantly increasing rice yield, especially for areas with bright light," said Peng. Bioengineering improvement of rice, a staple food crop worldwide, has high practical importance, particularly in light of the need for increased crop productivity due to ...

Maha govt committed to double farmers' income by 2022: CM

Often under attack from the Opposition over agrarian issues, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday reached out to farmers and reaffirmed his government's commitment towards working for doubling their income by 2022. He also assured that the Prime Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme will benefit "only the farmers and not private companies". His comments came in the wake of the recent allegations of a scam in the scheme by parties like BJP's ally Shiv Sena, the AAP and renowned journalist P Sainath. "Our target is to double the income of farmers by 2022. We are implementing various schemes of the central and state governments for farmers, and we are going to do it (double their income by 2022)," Fadnavis said. He was interacting with farmers from different regions of the state through video conferencing. The government has approved Rs 24,000 crore worth loan waiver for the state's 51 lakh farmers holding bank accounts, he said. The government has also made ...

NavAlt bags Kerala government order for solar ferry boats

The Kochi-based NavAlt Solar and Electric Boats (NavAlt) has received orders for more solar boats from the Kerala government after completing a successful two-year run in the state of the country's first sun-powered ferry, the company said on Monday.

Green nod for Telangana's Rs 13,384 cr Sita Ram Irrigation project

Telangana government has been given the green nod for its Rs 13,384.80 crore Sita Rama Lift Irrigation Project that aims to divert Godavari river water to irrigate 2.72 lakh hectare in three districts, a senior central government official said Monday. The project, which is expected to be completed in three years, would lead to submergence of about 1,930 hectare area and 157 villages consisting of 9,696 families are likely to be affected, the official added. "An Expert Appraisal Committee has already given approval for the Sita Rama Lift Irrigation Project. Based on the EAC recommendation, Union Environment Ministry has given the final environment clearance (EC) for the same," the official said. The EC is valid for 10 years. After five years of the commissioning of the project, the state government should undertake a study by an independent agency to assess the impact on environment and downstream ecology, the official added. As per the proposal, the lift irrigation project will divert

Saudi energy minister says global economy, oil demand are strong

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said that oil demand remains strong and that he sees no impact from U.S.-China trade tensions.

Merkel's CDU successor laments 'crusades' against diesel

BERLIN (Reuters) - German conservative leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on Monday accused environmental organisations of mounting "crusades" against diesel vehicles and said that driving bans threaten hundreds of thousands of jobs.

BHEL wins order for setting up 129 MW Solar Photovoltaic power plants in Telangana

Significantly, valued at Rs.565 crore, this is the largest SPV power plant order won by BHEL till date.

NGT directs CPCB to launch prosecution against builder in Gurgaon for flouting norms

The National Green Tribunal has directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to launch prosecution and issue directions for closure of Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd's Sushant Lok-Phase I residential complex in Gurgaon for violation of environmental norms. The green panel also directed the apex pollution monitoring body to exercise its statutory power to determine and recover the damages from the project proponent as per the procedure prescribed under the Air Act and the Water Act. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel noted that the project has been constructed without taking consent to operate under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and without requisite environmental clearance. "Rain water harvesting system has not been provided and ground water has been extracted without requisite NOC from CGWA (Central Ground Water Authority). Sewage is meeting the storm water drain. ...

105 turtle eggs collected from Dhanushkodi: Wildlife official

: A total of 105 eggs of turtles was collected from the Dhanushkodi beach and shifted to a hatchery, wildlife ranger Satheeh said Monday Speaking to reporters here, he said 130 eggs were collected from Keelakarai in Ramanathapuram district on January 11 and 216 from Tuticorin on Sunday. "We had collected 1,071 eggs from nine nestings from Dhanushkodi last year; this year, we started the process late by one month owing to the cyclone Gaja," Satheesh said. We're expecting to collect the same number of eggs this year as well, he added. Turtles face many threats such as habitat loss and nest predation and from poachers. Therefore their eggs are collected, hatched in captivity before being released into the sea.

Germany's CDU chief: There are 'crusades' against diesel

BERLIN (Reuters) - The chairwoman of Germany's governing conservatives, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer increasingly has the impression that there was a "crusade" going on against diesel by environmental lobby groups, she told broadcaster n-tv on Monday.

Thailand to make it rain as pollution chokes Bangkok

Thailand is set to deploy rainmaking planes to seed clouds in an effort to tackle the pall of pollution that has shrouded the capital in recent weeks. The weather modification technique involves dispersing chemicals into the air to aid cloud condensation, which should in theory result in rain. "The Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation... expects the rainmaking to be done tomorrow (Tuesday) but it depends on wind and humidity levels," Pralong Dumrongthai, director-general of Thailand's Pollution Control Department, told reporters. As Thais woke up Monday morning to another day of murky air blanketing its bustling construction-filled capital, environment group Greenpeace said Bangkok was currently the 10th most polluted in the world, rivalling some cities in China. Reasons for the persistent smog include combustion exhaust from Bangkok's traffic-strewn roads, the burning of fields from farmers outside the city, and pollutants from factories. Public discontent has ...

Devotees refuse to take dip in polluted Gomti river on Makar Sankranti

Scores of devotees from across the country refused to perform sacred ablutions in Gomti river on the occasion of Makar Sankranti here on Monday due to the presence of toxins in the water.Expressing disappointment, a local resident Vishal Rastogi said: "There is a dire need for the state government to come up with a solution soon to clean Gomti river. The water of this river has turned dark. Merely giving speeches on cleanliness drive is not enough."Another resident, Shailesh Kumar, told ANI: "Earlier 7000 to 8000 people used to come every year here to perform rituals. After the river got polluted, all of us have stopped coming here. The government must do something about it. Earlier people used to come here for boating. However, the leisure activity has been stopped due to the presence of toxins in the water."The holy water of the river plays a major role in performing Hindu rituals. After offering prayers to the deities, people take a dip in the holy water to absolve themselves of ...

New mathematical model may help save endangered species

Scientists say they have developed a novel mathematical model that may help prevent extinction of endangered species such as blue whale, Bengal tiger and the green turtle. There are multiple reasons for species to die out, and climate change is among the main reasons, said researchers from the University of Southern Denmark. The risk of extinction varies from species to species depending on how individuals in its populations reproduce and how long each animal survives, according to the research published in the journal Ecology Letters. Understanding the dynamics of survival and reproduction can support management actions to improve a species' chances of surviving. Mathematical and statistical models have become powerful tools to help explain these dynamics. However, the quality of the information we use to construct such models is crucial to improve our chances of accurately predicting the fate of populations in nature. "A model that over-simplifies survival and reproduction can give .

Pak to shelve major CPEC power project

The cash-strapped Pakistan government will shelve a major coal-based power plant project under the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, citing sufficient generation capacity already lined up for the next few years. The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Balochistan with China's Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of Chinese President Xi Jinping's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government had pushed for the construction of the 1,320 MW Rahim Yar Khan power project by China.

Seven-point plan to help tackle growing threat of climate change: Report

A seven-point plan may help policy-makers devise new, coherent and collaborative strategies to fight the greatest global environmental threats, according to a report. A team of international researchers, including experts from the University of Exeter in the UK, examined how politicians and legislators can develop a new way to tackle the growing threat of climate change. The report, published in the journal Nature Sustainability, comes in response to advice from leading scientists, suggesting that the human impacts on the environment are already tipping the world into a new geologically significant era. Called the Anthropocene, this new era is defined by the effect human-kind has already caused on Earth, from mass extinctions of plant and animal species to polluted oceans and altered atmosphere. In the report, the scientists argue that while policies are available, there also needs to be a new way to tackle the geographical, boundary, spatial, ecological and socio-political ...

Smog hits flight services in Chennai

Air traffic here Monday suffered delays due to smog following the Bhogi festival where old items are burnt, officials said. According to airport officials, arrival and departure of ten flights to and from various destinations including Pune and Bengaluru suffered delay of about an hour due to the smog. Bhogi is celebrated in Tamil Nadu a day ahead of the harvest festival of 'Pongal', where old items like mats are put to fire in a symbolic gesture of doing away with the old and ushering in the new. Incidentally, 'Pongal,' marks the birth of the auspicious Tamil month 'Thai'. The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has also been carrying out awareness campaigns for a 'smoke-free' Bhogi and has been particularly warning against burning plastic material and tyres.

Major ports traffic rises 3.8% in April-December 2018

Ports traffic rises to 518.6 million tonnes in April to December 2018

Carcasses of crows found in two places in Patna

Carcasses of crows found in two places here have been sent to a laboratory for test for bird flu, officials said Monday. Patna District Animal Husbandry Officer, Dr R K Gautam said carcasses of crows were found in the premises of the Patna police lines and high court premises on Friday. The samples of the carcasses of the crows have been sent for laboratory for bird flu test, he said. Samples sent earlier from two places in Munger and one each from Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, Patna and one in Banka district have so far tested positive for bird flu, Animal and Fish Resources department secretary, N Vijayalakshmi had told reporters on Friday. The Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, popularly known as Patna zoo, has been closed since December 25 last year following death of six peafowls due to H5N1 virus which was confirmed by the experts of Regional Diseases Diagnotic Laboratory (RDDL), Kolkata and National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal, zoo ...