Current Affairs

 

Corona is expected to be 7 times more dangerous than the epidemic 

50 million people could die, WHO calls it Disease X 

• Dame Kate Bingham, chief of Britain's vaccine taskforce, says the next pandemic could kill 50 million people. The World Health Organization (WHO) has named this anti-infected epidemic Disease X. 

• At the same time, according to the Daily Mail report, experts say that this epidemic can prove to be 7 times more dangerous than Kovid-19 and can spread soon. 

• That is, its cases can come up soon. This epidemic will spread only due to the current virus. This is because viruses are mutating rapidly. Mutation means a change in the genetic material of an organism. 

• When a virus makes millions of copies of itself and goes from one person to another or from animal to human, every copy is different. This difference in copy increases. After some time, a new strain emerges. It is a very normal process. Viruses keep changing their form. Seasonal influenza comes out in a new form every year. 

Work on making vaccines begins even before the pandemic arrives 

• British scientists have started making vaccines to fight disease X even before it arrives. For this, 25 types of viruses were studied. The focus of scientists is on viruses found in animals. 

• That is, viruses that can spread from animals to humans. This is because due to climate change, many animals and animals are coming to live in residential areas. 

Climate change is spreading diseases 

• Humans cut down forests in the name of development and built houses and industries here. Due to this, our contact with animals, mosquitoes, bacteria, fungus has increased. 

• On the other hand, all these organisms are adapting themselves to the changing climate conditions and are living in our environment. Many diseases are spreading from them, which are dangerous for our lives. 

• Neil Vora, a physician at Conservation International NGO, said, "This is not a problem of the future. Climate change is happening right now. It is affecting people.

• They are dying. Many research has revealed that diseases are spreading due to climate change. 

• Animals living in low and hot places are unable to cope with the rising temperature, so they are migrating to higher and colder places. Along with these, diseases are also reaching areas where there were no earlier ones. 

• According to Science News, the mongoose-like animal found in Possums, Australia, is spreading a disease called Buruli ulcer. 

• Possums can live in Australian temperatures, but if there is a change in temperature there, then this organism can go to another country to find favorable conditions. 

• Suppose Possums reached New Zealand in search of favorable conditions and started living there. In such a situation, buruli ulcer disease spread by possums will start spreading in Australia as well as New Zealand. 

• Direct contact with diseases is increasing Humans depend on many organisms for their lives. They eat them for survival. What happens is that humans come in direct contact with the bacteria that grow in these organisms or the diseases spread by them.

Taking note of the history and legacy of the Chittorgarh Fort, Rajasthan, the Supreme Court recently issued directions for its protection against blasting activities. 

About Chittorgarh Fort:

• Built by local Maurya rulers in the 7th century A.D., the Chittorgarh Fort in Rajasthan is one of the largest forts in India. The common belief is that Chitrangada Mori, the local Maurya ruler, developed the fort Later, the fort was captured by the Mewar rulers in 728 CE.

• It used to be the capital of the Mewar rulers. 

• It is situated on a 180-meter-high hill that rises from the banks of river Berach. 

• The Fort has been witness to several legendary warriors in Indian history, including Badal, Gora, Maharana Pratap, Rana Kumbha, Patta, and Jaimal, among others. 

• It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013. 

Features: 

• The fort is known for its seven gates, namely Padan Gate, Ganesh Gate, Hanuman Gate, Bhairon Gate, Jodla Gate, Lakshman Gate, and the main gate, which is named after Lord Ram. 

• These gates were built to protect the fort from the enemy attacks, and the arches even protect the elephants from entering. 

• Sprawling across 700 acres and a circumference of 13 km, the fort has a kilometer-long road that takes up to the rampart after passing through the seven gates. 

• The walls are made of lime mortar and rise up to 500 meters above ground level. 

• The fort houses four palaces, 19 temples, including Jain and Hindu temples, 20 water bodies, and four memorials. 

Jauhar Mela: 

• Every year, a Jauhar Mela is held in Chittorgarh. 

• This Rajput festival celebrates the anniversary of one of the jauhars. 

• Though there’s no specific name given, it is believed that the fair commemorates Rani Padmini’s jauhar and celebrates Rajputana valour.

A huge city hidden by the luxuriant vegetation of the Amazon rainforest was recently discovered in Ecuador by a LiDAR survey. 

About LiDAR:

• Lidar, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) to the Earth.

• These light pulses—combined with other data recorded by the airborne system — generate precise, three-dimensional information about the shape of the Earth and its surface characteristics. 

• A lidar instrument principally consists of a laser, a scanner, and a specialized GPS receiver. 

• Airplanes and helicopters are the most commonly used platforms for acquiring lidar data over broad areas. 

• A LiDAR system calculates how long it takes for beams of light to hit an object or surface and reflect back to the laser scanner. 

• The distance is then calculated using the velocity of light. These are known as ‘Time of Flight’ measurements. Two types of lidar are topographic and bathymetric. 

• Topographic lidar typically uses a near-infrared laser to map the land, while bathymetric lidar uses water-penetrating green light to also measure seafloor and riverbed elevations.

• Lidar systems allow scientists and mapping professionals to examine both natural and man-made environments with accuracy, precision, and flexibility. 

• It is used in a wide range of land management and planning efforts, including hazard assessment (including lava flows, landslides, tsunamis, and floods), forestry, agriculture, geologic mapping, and watershed and river surveys.

About Saqqara: 

• It is part of the necropolis (burial place) of the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis. 

• It is located on the western bank of the Nile,40 kilometers south of Cairo, the capital of Egypt. 

• Saqqara’s name derives from the name of the burial god Sokar. 

• It was an active burial ground for more than 3500 years and is Egypt’s largest archaeological site.

• It is where the transition from the use of the mastaba (ancient Egyptian tombs, in the form of a massive brick or stone mound with battered walls on a rectangular base) as a burial site to the pyramid design that is more popularly known today took place. 

• Sakkara is best known for the Step Pyramid, the oldest of Egypt's 97 pyramids. 

• It was built in 2700 BC for King Djoser (Zoser) of the 3rd Dynasty by the architect and genius Imhotep, who was the first to build stone tombs in honor of the king's majesty. 

• Today, it is considered one of the oldest stone structures built by man, and it was the first time the Ancient Egyptians would attempt to use limestone.

About India’s First Dark Sky Park: 

• The Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Maharashtra is India's first Dark Sky Park within a tiger reserve for earmarking areas around the park that restrict light pollution for stargazers to access pristine dark skies. 

• Dark Sky Place certification focuses on lighting policy, dark sky-friendly retrofits, outreach and education, and monitoring the night sky. 

• This designation positions PTR as a sanctuary where tourists can witness celestial spectacles, shielded from the intrusion of artificial light pollution. 

• PTR became the fifth such park in Asia. 

• The certification was given by the International Dark-Sky Association, a global dark-sky movement to promote astronomy. 

Key Facts about Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR): 

Location: 

• The Reserve is located in the southern reaches of the Satpura hills in the Seoni and Chhindwara districts in Madhya Pradesh and continues in Nagpur district in Maharashtra as a separate Sanctuary. 

• It is named after the Pench River, which flows from north to south through the Reserve. 

• It comprises the Indira Priyadarshini Pench National Park, the Pench Mowgli Sanctuary, and a buffer. 

• The area of the Pench Tiger Reserve and the surrounding area is the real story area of Rudyard Kipling's famous "The Jungle Book". 

Terrain: 

• It is undulating, with most of the area covered by small hills and steep slopes on the sides. 

Vegetation: 

• The undulating topography supports a mosaic of vegetation ranging from a moist sheltered valley to an open, dry deciduous forest. 

Flora: 

• The reserve boasts a diverse range of flora, including teak, saag, mahua, and various grasses and shrubs.

Fauna: 

• The area is especially famous for large herds of Chital, Sambar, Nilgai, Gaur (Indian Bison), and wild boar. • The key predator is the tiger, followed by leopard, wild dogs, and wolf. • There are over 325 species of resident and migratory birds, including the Malabar Pied Hornbill, Indian Pitta, Osprey, Grey-Headed Fishing Eagle, White-Eyed Buzzard, etc.

About Himalayan Wolf: 

• The Himalayan Wolf (Canis lupus chanco), a prominent lupine predator found across the Himalayas. 

• It is also called as Tibetan wolves, which live at more than 4,000 metres altitudes are genetically distinct from grey wolves. 

• Living at such high altitudes, these wolves have genetically adapted themselves to live in low oxygen (hypoxic) conditions. 

Distribution: 

• In China, the Himalayan wolf lives on the Tibetan Plateau in the provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Tibet, and western Sichuan. 

• In northern India, it occurs in the Union Territory of Ladakh and in the Lahaul and Spiti region in northeastern Himachal Pradesh. 

Conservation status 

Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I 

Threats: 

• It is illegally hunted for trade in its fur and body parts including paws, tongues, heads, and other parts. 

Measures to be taken to enhance the protection of Himalayan wolves

• Securing and restoring healthy wild prey populations and landscapes and setting aside wildlife habitat refuges; Improving livestock guarding methods, such as predator-proof corral pens and using sustainable livestock herding practices, including reduced livestock loads, adapted herding, and developing novel but tradition-based holistic management practices 

Management of feral dog populations 

• Trans-boundary efforts in conservation of the species in range countries through research and monitoring.