PM IAS JULY 21 CURRENET EVENTS

Heat Wave In Europe

Context:

Large swathes of Europe, the U.K. and the U.S. are sweltering under extreme heat wave conditions.

• Devastation due to extreme weather has been particularly acute in western Europe, which has been hit by raging wildfires, drought, and hundreds of heat-related deaths, ringing alarm bells about a looming climate emergency.

Relevance:

GS III- Environment and Ecology

Dimensions of the Article:

1. About Heat Wave
2. What is behind the extreme heat waves?
3. Criteria for Heat Waves
4. Health Impacts

About Heat Wave

• A heat wave is a period of abnormally high temperatures, more than the normal maximum temperature that occurs during the summer season in the North-Western and South Central parts of India.
• Heat waves typically occur between March and June, and in some rare cases even extend till July.
• Higher daily peak temperatures and longer, more intense heat waves are becoming increasingly frequent globally due to climate change.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=_eqBptIsHaE%3Ffeature%3Doembed

What is behind the extreme heat waves?

• Scientists are near-unanimous that the heat waves are a result of climate change caused by human activity.
• Global temperatures have already risen by more than 1°C , and studies in the U.K. had shown that a one degree rise in temperature raises the probability of the country witnessing 40°C by ten times.
• The rising global temperature, which this year led to deviations above the normal by as much as 15 degrees in Antarctica, and by more than 3 degrees in the north pole, have also induced changes in old wind patterns.
• These changes turned western Europe into what has been described as a “heat dome” — a low pressure area that began to attract hot air from northern Africa.
• In the case of the U.S., the record temperatures are being linked to changes in the jet stream — a narrow band of westerly air currents that circulate several kilometers above the earth’s surface.
• While a conventionally strong jet stream would bring cooler air from the northern Atlantic, in recent years the jet stream has weakened and split into two, leading to intense and more frequent heat waves over parts of the American continent.

Criteria for Heat Waves

• The heat wave is considered when the maximum temperature of a station reaches at least 40°C for Plains and at least 30°C for Hilly regions.
• If the normal maximum temperature of a station is less than or equal to 40°C, then an increase of 5°C to 6°C from the normal temperature is considered to be heat wave condition.
• Further, an increase of 7°C or more from the normal temperature is considered as severe heat wave condition.
• If the normal maximum temperature of a station is more than 40°C, then an increase of 4°C to 5°C from the normal temperature is considered to be heat wave condition. Further, an increase of 6°C or more is considered as severe heat wave condition.
• Additionally, if the actual maximum temperature remains 45°C or more irrespective of normal maximum temperature, a heat wave is declared.

Health Impacts

• The health impacts of Heat Waves typically involve dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and/or heat stroke.
• It also causes heat cramps, fatigue, weakness, dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps and sweating.
• The extreme temperatures and resultant atmospheric conditions adversely affect people living in these regions as they cause physiological stress, sometimes resulting in death.

Re Introduction of Cheetahs

Context:

India came one step closer to bringing back the world’s fastest animal to the country with an agreement signed in Delhi on Wednesday between the Union government and the visiting Namibian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations

Relevance:

GS III- Environment and Ecology

Dimensions of the Article:

1. What was the distribution of cheetahs in India?
2. What caused the extinction of cheetahs in India?
3. What is the current status of this project?
4. About Cheetah

What was the distribution of cheetahs in India?

• Historically, Asiatic cheetahs had a very wide distribution in India.
• There are authentic reports of their occurrence from as far north as Punjab to Tirunelveli district in southern Tamil Nadu, from Gujarat and Rajasthan in the west to Bengal in the east.
• Most of the records are from a belt extending from Gujarat passing through Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha.
• There is also a cluster of reports from southern Maharashtra extending to parts of Karnataka, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
• The distribution range of the cheetah was wide and spread all over the subcontinent.
• They occurred in substantial numbers.
• Habitats:
  • Scrub forests
  • Dry grasslands
  • Savannas
  • Other arid and semi-arid open habitats
• Some of the last reports of cheetahs in India prior to their local extinction are from edge habitats of sal forests in east-central India, not necessarily their preferred habitat.
• In Iran, the last surviving population of wild Asiatic cheetahs are found in hilly terrain, foothills and rocky valleys within a desert ecosystem

What caused the extinction of cheetahs in India?

• The cheetah in India has been recorded in history from before the Common Era. It was taken from the wild for coursing blackbuck for centuries, which is a major contributor to the depletion of its numbers through the ages.
• However, the final phase of its extinction coincided with British colonial rule. The British added to the woes of the species by declaring a bounty for killing it in 1871.
• Major reasons for the extinction of the Asiatic cheetah in India.
  • The consistent and widespread capture of cheetahs from the wild (both male and female) over centuries
  • Its reduced levels of genetic heterogeneity due to a historical genetic bottleneck resulting in reduced fecundity and high infant mortality in the wild.
  • Its inability to breed in captivity.
  • Sport hunting.
  • Bounty killings.
• It is reported that the Mughal Emperor Akbar had kept 1,000 cheetahs in his menagerie and collected as many as 9,000 cats during his half century reign from 1556 to 1605.
• As late as 1799, Tipu Sultan of Mysore is reported to have had 16 cheetahs as part of his menagerie.
• It is recorded that the last cheetahs were shot in India in 1947, but there are credible reports of sightings of the cat till about 1967.

Issues with Re introduction

• Experts are divided on whether the reserve would provide a favourable climate for African cheetahs in terms of prey abundance.
• Cheetah habitat was required to sustain a genetically viable population.

About Cheetah:

• The cheetah is one of the oldest of the big cat species, with ancestors that can be traced back more than five million years to the Miocene era.
• The cheetah is also the world’s fastest land mammal that lives in Africa and Asia.

African Cheetah

• IUCN status – Vulnerable
• CITES status – Appendix-I of the List. This List comprises of migratory species that have been assessed as being in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of their range.
• Habitat – Around 6,500-7,000 African cheetahs present in the wild.
• Physical Characteristics – Bigger in size as compared to Asiatic Cheetah.

Asian Cheetah

• IUCN Status – Critically Endangered.
• CITES – Appendix 1 of the list
• Habitat – 40-50 found only in Iran.
• Physical Characteristics – Smaller and paler than the African cheetah. Has more fur, a smaller head and a longer neck. Usually have red eyes and they have a more cat-like appearance.

India’s Law On Abortion

Context:

Recently, A 25-year-old pregnant woman moved the Supreme Court seeking an abortion after the Delhi High Court declined her plea last week.

• The woman has also challenged Rule 3B of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Rules, 2003, which allows only some categories of women to seek termination of pregnancy between 20 and 24 weeks.

Relevance:

GS II- Polity and Governance

Dimensions of the Article:

1. What is the case about?
2. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971
3. Medical Termination of Pregnancy Amendment Act, 2021

What is the case about?

• Recently, a 25-year-old woman sought the Delhi High Court’s permission for termination of a pregnancy of 23 weeks and 5 days.
• The woman, a permanent resident of Manipur who currently resides in Delhi, told the court that the pregnancy was a result of a consensual relationship, and that she wanted to terminate the pregnancy because her partner had refused to marry her.
• She also told the court that she feared stigmatisation as a single, unmarried woman.

Delhi HC’s decision:

• A two-judge Bench of the Delhi High Court refused to allow the termination of the pregnancy.
• In oral observations, the judges coaxed the woman to carry her pregnancy to term, and to give up the newborn for adoption — even offering to personally pay for the process.

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971

• The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971 provides the legal framework for making CAC services available in India.
• Termination of pregnancy is permitted for a broad range of conditions up to 20 weeks of gestation as detailed below:
  • When continuation of pregnancy is a risk to the life of a pregnant woman or could cause grave injury to her physical or mental health;
  • When there is substantial risk that the child, if born, would be seriously handicapped due to physical or mental abnormalities;
  • When pregnancy is caused due to rape (presumed to cause grave injury to the mental health of the woman);
  • When pregnancy is caused due to failure of contraceptives used by a married woman or her husband (presumed to constitute grave injury to mental health of the woman).

The MTP Act specifies

• who can terminate a pregnancy;
• till when a pregnancy can be terminated; and
• where can a pregnancy be terminated.

Medical Termination of Pregnancy Amendment Act, 2021

• The Act increases the gestation period of women seeking abortion up from 20 weeks to 24 weeks – It allows abortion to be done on the advice of one doctor up to 20 weeks, and two doctors in the case of certain special categories of women between 20 and 24 weeks.
• The “special categories of women” include rape survivors, victims of incest, the differently-abled and minors.
• In case of the gestational period beyond 24 weeks, pregnancy may be terminated only in cases of substantial foetal abnormalities diagnosed by the Medical Board or if there is a threat to the life of the mother.
• Opinion of only one provider will be required up to 20 weeks of gestation and two providers for termination of pregnancy of 20-24 weeks of gestation. (Opinion of only one doctor will be required up to 20 weeks of gestation and two doctors for termination of pregnancy of 20-24 weeks of gestation.)
• Under the Act, a pregnancy may be terminated up to 20 weeks by a married woman in the case of failure of contraceptive method or device. It allows unmarried women to also terminate a pregnancy for this reason.
• All state and union territory governments will constitute a Medical Board. The Board will decide if pregnancy may be terminated after 24 weeks due to substantial foetal abnormalities. 

Significance of the amendment

• It will provide greater reproductive rights and dignity to women as abortion is considered an important aspect of the reproductive health of women.
• Deaths and injuries from unsafe abortions are largely preventable provided services are performed legally by trained practitioners.
• The rape victims and vulnerable victims will also be benefitted from Privacy Clause.
• Many cases which were filed in High Courts to seek permission for abortion beyond 20 weeks will be reduced. Also, often 20 weeks were spent in completing the legal procedures and formalities – hence, there was a need to increase the upper limit of time.

Criticisms of the 2021 amendment to the MTP act

• One opinion is that terminating a pregnancy is the choice of the pregnant woman and a part of her reproductive rights. Another is that the state should protect life and hence should provide for the protection of the foetus.
• It enhances the gestational limit for legal abortion from 20 to 24 weeks only for specific categories of women. A woman who does not fall into these categories would not be able to seek an abortion beyond 20 weeks.
• The Act does not provide a time frame within which the Board must make its decision. Also, the shortage of specialised doctors will further delay the case.
• There may be cases where persons who identify as transgender (and not women) can become pregnant even after receiving hormone therapy to transition from female to male, and may require termination services. The Act is silent over this.
• The boards are unnecessary and an invasion of privacy of the pregnant women which pushes the laborious process a woman had to undergo in order to get an abortion.
• Many are still not aware of their reproductive rights and the amendment does not show concerns towards the need for awareness.

Micronesia’s Geography

Context:

The Federated States of Micronesia, a small island country in the Pacific that is home to around 110,000 people, is one of the latest places on Earth to experience an outbreak of Covid-19, after two and a half years of successfully protecting itself from the virus.

Relevance:

GS I- Geography (Places in News)

Micronesia’s geography

• Located in the Western Pacific, in the Micronesia sub-region of Oceania, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) consists of four island states, Yap, Chuuk, Kosrae and Pohnpei (where the capital Palikir is located), all in the Caroline Islands.
• Also known as the Carolines, it is a scattered archipelago of small islands that are divided between Micronesia and the Republic of Palau.
• FSM is composed of 607 islands and islets with a total land area of 702 square km.
• While this area is rather small, the islands stretch across an estimated 2,900 sq km of sea, giving the nation the 14th largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the world.
• EEZs grant countries special right over marine resources up to 370 km from their coasts.
• The Federated States of Micronesia shares its sea borders with other small island nations and territories in the Micronesia region like Guam, the Republic of Marshall Islands, Palau, Kiribati, and the Mariana Islands.
• Its larger neighbouring states — separated by large swathes of the Pacific Ocean — include the Philippines in the west, Hawaii in the east, Papua New Guinea and Australia to the south, Japan to the north.