Daily Quiz | 4 April 2024

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is incorrect: A continuous spell of abnormally hot weather is called a heatwave. 

• According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a region has a heat wave if its ambient temperature deviates by at least 4.5-6.4°C from the long-term average. 
• There is also a heat wave if the maximum temperature crosses 45°C (or 37°C at a hill-station).
• Heatwaves extend further south into peninsular India due to a north-south pressure pattern set up by the La Nina.

• Statement 2 is incorrect: La Nina is a world-affecting weather phenomenon in which a band of cool water spreads east-west across the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

• The El Nino is a complementary phenomenon in which warmer water spreads west-east across the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

• Heatwaves tend to be confined to north and northwest India in El Nino years.

Explanation:

• • Statement 1 is correct: Scientists have identified several factors driving this amplified warming in the Arctic region. 
    • Loss of sea ice 
    • Ice is more reflective and less absorbent of sunlight than land or the surface of an ocean. When ice melts, it typically reveals darker areas of land or sea, and this results in increased sunlight absorption and associated warming.

• In more technical terms, losing sea ice reduces Earth’s albedo as ice has a much higher albedo than water. 

• • Albedo is the fraction of light that is reflected by a body or surface. The lower the albedo, the more a surface absorbs heat from sunlight rather than reflecting it back to space.

• Statement 2 is correct: Absence of convection at higher latitudes: 

• One of the key reasons more warming occurs at high latitudes is the absence of convection at high latitudes. Hence, point 2 is correct.

• Convection occurs when air close to the ground is heated by the warm surface of the Earth. The warmed air is lighter than the cold air above and so starts to rise. 

• In the tropics, the ground – and the air directly above it – is always heated by the sun, hence there is a lot of convection and the atmosphere is “well mixed” with so much rising air.

• At higher latitudes, the angle of solar radiation is smaller, causing energy to be spread over a larger area of the surface causing cooler surface temperatures which also means there is much less vertical mixing. 

• The added warming from the CO2 and other greenhouse gases that humans have emitted generally heats the atmosphere most near the Earth’s surface. 

• In the tropics, this extra warmth gets spread vertically due to convection. But in the Arctic, the warming from greenhouse gases is most pronounced near the surface.

• Statement 3 is incorrect: Another key reason for amplified warming in the Arctic is the increase in transport of water vapour from the equator to the poles. 
  •  The warm moist air from the tropics gets transported to the poles by the circulation of the atmosphere, and keeps the difference in temperature between the equator and the poles relatively small.
  • As a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, we expect there to be more water vapour in the tropical atmosphere as global temperatures rise. 
  • This additional moisture gets transported to the poles, where it has a threefold impact on Arctic surface temperatures:

Explanation:

• Treaties were signed between Sri Lanka and India in 1974 and 1976, to demarcate the maritime boundary — the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
• Under these agreements, India recognized Sri Lanka’s sovereignty over Kachchatheevu whilst gaining sovereignty over Wadge Bank in return.
• On the day of signing the second agreement in March 1976, India and Sri Lanka inked another understanding regarding ownership of Wadge Bank, a 10,000-square-kilometres' undersea plateau situated nearly 50 kilometres south of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. Through this understanding, Sri Lanka recognised India's sovereignty over Wadge Bank and its rich marine resources.

• At the time of signing the agreement, Wadge Bank fell under India’s exclusive economic zone but outside its territorial waters. Traditionally, fishermen from both India and Sri Lanka carried out fishing in this area. As part of the agreement, a certain number of licensed fishers from Sri Lanka were allowed in Wadge Bank for three years.

Explanation:

• Mahatma Gandhi, in 1898, went to South Africa in connection with a case involving his client, Dada Abdullah. He witnessed the ugly face of white racism and the humiliation and contempt to which Asians were subjected. He stayed there till 1914 after which he returned to India. 
• During the early moderate phase, Gandhi relied on sending petitions to authorities. In this phase, he established Natal Indian Congress and started a paper Indian Opinion (1903) to unite different sections of Indian society. 
• The Natal Indian Ambulance Corps was created by Mahatma Gandhi for use by the British as stretcher-bearers during the Second Boer War, with expenses met by the local Indian community. Gandhi was bestowed with the 'Kaiser-i-Hind' and other medals by the British for his work in the Boer war. This was given up by Gandhi after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Explanation: 

• The Delimitation Commission is appointed by the President of India and works in collaboration with the Election Commission of India. 
• The Delimitation Commission in India is a high power body whose orders have the force of law and cannot be called in question before any court.