1. American Mathematician Dennis Parnell Sullivan wins Abel Prize 2022
Tags: Awards Person in news
American Mathematician Dennis Parnell Sullivan is awarded the Abel Prize for the year 2022, by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.
Mr Sullivan is affiliated with the Graduate School and University Centre of the City University of New York and the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
He is awarded for his groundbreaking contributions to topology in its broadest sense, and in particular its algebraic, geometric and dynamical aspect.
Topology is a field of mathematics which was born in the 19th century and has to do with properties of surfaces that do not change when they are deformed.
His another key breakthrough is in developing a new way of understanding rational homotopy theory
About Abel Prize
The Abel Prize is a prize awarded annually by the King of Norway to one or more outstanding mathematicians. It is named after Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802–1829) and directly modelled after the Nobel Prizes. It comes with a monetary award of 7.5 million Norwegian kroner (NOK).
First Awarded - 2003
Indian American mathematician SR Srinivasa Varadhan, who is known for his fundamental contributions to probability theory and in particular for creating a unified theory of large deviations, was awarded the Abel Prize in 2007.
2. International Days of Forest
Tags: Important Days
Every year 21 March is celebrated as the International Days of Forest. It has been observed since 2012. The International Day of Forests was established in 2012 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The Theme of the International Forest Days 2022: “Forests and sustainable production and consumption”.
For details about forests in India see 13 January 2022 Post.
Important for Exam
Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO)
- It is a specialised agency of the United Nations .
- It was set up on 16 October 1945.
- Its Headquarters : Rome,Italy
- It was conferred with the Nobel Peace Prize 2020
3. IPCC warns of irreversible impact of global climate change
Tags: Popular Science and Technology
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned of a grim future for earth if global warming continues and the global temperatures continue to increase beyond 1.5% .
The latest warnings have come in the second part of IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report which talks about climate change impacts, risks and vulnerabilities, and adaptation options. The first part of the report was released in August last year.
The Assessment Reports, the first of which had come out in 1990, are the most comprehensive evaluations of the state of the earth’s climate. Later reports were released in 1995,2001,2007 and 2015.
The report highlights the increasing impacts that are expected as the rise in global temperatures, currently around 1.1C, heads to 1.5Cabove the 1850s level.
Highlights of the report
South Asia is the most vulnerable to severe climate change impacts due to its inequality and poverty .
The Ganga, Indus, Amu Darya river basins in Asia will face severe water scarcity by 2050.It will adversely affect agriculture and drinking water scarcity in the region .
Ahmedabad city faces a risk of urban heat island effect . It means that the average temperature in the city will be higher than the surrounding areas.
Mumbai is at a high risk of rising sea level and consequent flooding
If the temperature increases by 1-4 degree centigrade then rice production in the world can fall by 10-30% and maize production can fall by 25-70%.
If temperatures rise to between 1.7 and 1.8C above the 1850s level, then the report states that half the human population could be exposed to periods of life-threatening climatic conditions arising from heat and humidity.
Rising Sea Level
According to the IPCC report, global sea levels will likely rise 44-76 cm this century if governments meet their current emission-cutting pledges. With faster emission cuts, the increase could be limited to 28-55 cm.
But with higher emissions, and if ice sheets collapse more quickly than expected, sea levels could rise as much as 2 m this century and 5 m by 2150.
Wet Bulb Temperature
Lucknow and Patna ,Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Mumbai, Indore, and Ahmedabad , are among the cities predicted to reach wet-bulb temperature of 35°C if emissions continue to rise.
Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab will be the most severely affected, but if emissions keep rising, all States will have regions that experience wet-bulb temperature of 30°C or more by the end of the century.
IPCC
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was set up by the World Meteorological Organisation and the United Nation Environment Programme in 1988.
Aim of IPCC
It was set up to prepare a comprehensive review and recommendations with respect to
- the state of knowledge of the science of climate change;
- social and economic impact of climate change,
- potential response strategies and elements for inclusion in a possible future international convention on climate.
Its Headquarters : Geneva, Switzerland
Current Chairman : Hoesung Lee
It shared Nobel Peace Prize with the former American Vice-President Al Gore in 2007
Concept Clearing
What is Wet Bulb Temperature
Human body regulates our body temperature depending upon the external environment of heat and humidity. If the temperature is high then our body tries to lower down our body temperature by sweating. The more we sweat the faster the cooling. However if humidity (water vapour in air ) is high then the ability of our body to cool also reduces . That’s why dry heat feels more tolerable than extreme humidity.
Wet-bulb temperature accounts for both heat and humidity, and reflects what that combination means for the human body’s ability to cool down.
The term wet bulb comes from a way the measurement can be taken, by wrapping a piece of wet cloth around the end of a thermometer to see how much evaporation can decrease the temperature.
35 degree centigrade is considered to be the maximum limit for a wet bulb temperature.
If the wet bulb temperature reaches 35 degree centigrade then a normal healthy human being cannot lose its body heat by sweating and will suffer heat stroke leading to death if they remain outdoors for a considerable period of time.
With the continuous rise in earth temperature the risk of wet bulb temperature phenomena is expected to become common.
4. National Science Day
Tags: Important Days
Every year February 28 is celebrated as National Science Day in India .
- On this day, in 1928, Indian Physicist Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman made an important discovery in the field of spectroscopy, which was later named after him – the Raman Effect.
- For his work, CV Raman was awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930.
- Theme of this year's National Science Day : 'Integrated Approach in Science and Technology for Sustainable Future'.
5. World Radio Days
Tags: Important Days
13 February is celebrated around the world as “World Radio Days”.
The United Nation General Assembly declared 13 February as “World Radio Days” in 2012.
The theme of the 2022 edition of World Radio Day is "Radio and Trust".
Facts
In the 1860s ,Scottish Physicist James Clerk Maxwell predicted the existence of radio waves.
In 1886, German Physicist Heinrich Hertz demonstrated the existence of electromagnetic waves as predicted by Maxwell.
American dentist and inventor Mahlon Loomis in 1866 successfully demonstrated wireless telegraphy .
- Guglielmo Marconi: An Italian inventor who proved radio communication. He sent and received the first radio signal in Italy in 1895. He is credited as the inventor of Radio in the world . He received the Nobel prize of Physics in 1909 with Karl Braun "in recognition of their contributions to the development of wireless telegraphy".
6. WFP will handle Indian wheats in Afghanistan
Tags: International News
The Indian Government has signed an agreement with the United Nations World Food Programme((WFP)) for the distribution of 50,000 tonnes of wheat ,which will be supplied by India to Afghanistan as a humanitarian assistance .
India has committed to supply 50,000 tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan free of cost through Pakistan’s land route.
Last year on October 7, India proposed to supply wheat to Afghanistan through the Pakistan road route and Pakistan agreed to it .
India has also committed to provide Rs 200 crore for development assistance to Afghanistan.
Earlier, India has also supplied six tonnes of medicine and 5 lakh doses of Covid vaccine out of the total 10 lakh vaccines promised by India to Afghanistan.
India does not recognise the Taliban government in Afghanistan which came to power after the Ashraf Ghani government fled from Kabul on 5 August 2020. Whatever assistance is provided by the Indian government to Afghanistan is through a neutral partylike the UN or its agencies.
WFP
The World Food Programme(WFP) is the largest humanitarian agency of the United Nation.
It provides food to people displaced by conflicts and made destitute by disasters.
It provides food to children in poor countries through school feeding programmes
It helps countries and communities to prepare and cope with climate related changes.
It helps the small farmers in improving productivity.
WFP headquarters : Rome
It was founded in 1961
It won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020.
Chairman : David Beasley
7. Father of Mindfulness and the influential Zen Buddhist Monk “Thich Nhat Hanh” passed away
Tags: Person in news
After dedicating a lifetime to promote peace and compassion in the world, author, activist and Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh left the planet for his heavenly abode, on 22nd January 2022.
- Known as the Father of Mindfulness, he was born as Nguyen Xuan Bao in 1926.
- Ordained as a monk at the age of 16, he is now remembered fondly as one who introduced the concept of mindfulness to the West.
- Hanh also authored more than a hundred books, including “The Miracle of Mindfulness” and “Peace Is Every Step”.
- During the Vietnam War in the 1960s, Hanh had met civil rights leader Martin Luther King in the US, and also persuaded him to speak against the conflict. Subsequently, King nominated the monk for Nobel Peace Prize, describing him as, “an apostle of peace and non-violence.”
8. FCRA license of Missionaries of Charity not renewed by the Government of India
Tags: National News
- According to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs the license of the Mother Teresa founded Non-Governmental Oragnisation (NGO) Missionaries of Charity license has not been under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) 2010, renewed due to certain adverse input received by the ministry against the NGO.
- A First Information Report (FIR) was filed on 12 December 2021 against one of its children’s homes in Vadodara following allegations of religious conversions made by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
- The license of the NGO is set to lapse on 31 December 2021.
- The NGO has clarified that its bank account has not been frozen.
- Under the FCRA NGO, in India has to open account in the New Delhi Main Branch (NDMB) of the State Bank of India (SBI).
What is FCRA
- The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act 2010 regulates the receipts of foreign contribution foreign contribution received by certain Individuals, companies, Political Parties, association or NGO resident in India .
- The government can ban receipt of foreign contributions if it feels that it harms the national interest.
- It can also cancel the license of the Associations, NGO if they do not follow the procedure mentioned in the law.
- The law is administered by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
Mother Teresa
Mother Mary Teresa born as Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in Skopje now in North Macedonia. She was a Roman Catholic nun who came to India and founded Missionaries of Charity in 1950 in Kolkata.
The Missionaries of Charity was formed to serve the poor and destitute.
She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
9. Desmond Tutu no more
Tags: Person in news
- South African anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu, described as the country’s moral compass, died on 26th December 2021 aged 90.
- A tireless activist, Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for combating white-minority rule in his country.
- He coined the term “Rainbow Nation” to describe South Africa when Nelson Mandela became the country’s first black President in 1994.
10. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla’s 2-day visit to Myanmar
Tags: International News
- Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla flew for a two day visit to Naypyitaw and Yangon, in Myanmar to meet the State Administration Council (SAC) chaired by General Min Aung Hlaing.
- Shringla is expected to speak to the Tatmadaw (military) about India’s growing security concerns over insurgent groups based along the 1,600km India-Myanmar border which have carried out attacks in recent months
- This visit along with appointment of Mr. Vinay Kumar as the new Ambassador to Myanmar last November is an official acknowledgment of India’s recognition of the coup in Myanmar.
- State Administration Council”, is an 11 member group of military officials and civilians set up by Min Aung Hlaing, who toppled the elected National Unity Government of Aung San Suu Kyi last February and subsequently named himself “Prime Minister”.
Myanmar (Burma)
Capital - Naypyidaw
Currency - Kyat
Legislature - Assembly of the Union
Prime Minister - Min Aung Hlaing
Nobel Laureate - Aung San Suu Kyi of the National League of Democracy (NLD) party, was awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights.
