What are the findings of the 2024 Hindu Kush Himalayas snow update?

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) stated in its Hindu Kush Himalaya snow update for 2024 that the Ganga River basin, the largest in India, saw the least amount of snowfall on record.

What does the report by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development highlight?

• Record Low Snow Persistence: In 2024, the Brahmaputra, Indus, and Ganga River basins all had record low snow persistence.
• Notable Declines: The Ganga basin saw 17% less snow than the long-term historical average, the lowest level in 22 years. The Indus basin dropped 23.3% below normal, while the Brahmaputra basin plummeted 14.6% below normal.
• Wider Repercussions: The Amu Darya and Helmand river basins saw similarly poor snow persistence, much below average levels.

How important is snow persistence?

• Water Supply: Snow persistence, or the amount of time the snow remains on the ground, is important since streams and ecosystems rely heavily on the water that melts from it.
• Runoff Contribution: Approximately one-fourth of the world’s population is sustained by the 12 major river basins in the HKH region, which receive 23% of their runoff from snowmelt.
• Regional Significance: The Ganga, Brahmaputra, and Indus river systems, which provide freshwater to millions of people, depend on the HKH mountains, also referred to as the “water towers of Asia.”

How much of the low amounts of snowmelt experienced by river basins this year may be attributed to climate change?

• Weak Western Disturbances: Low-pressure systems bringing rain and snow to the HKH region are the main cause of the lower persistence in 2024.
• Impacts of Global Warming: Weather patterns become unstable due to climate change and global warming, which intensifies lengthy La Niña–El Niño events and affects the arrival and intensity of disturbances in the west.
• High temperatures at the sea surface: Reduced snowfall results from persistently high sea-surface temperatures in the areas where western disturbances originate.
• modified the meteorological system Both the record low snow persistence in 2024 and comparable previous records can be explained by the pattern of high temperatures and modified weather systems.

Way forward:

• Integrated Water Management: Create thorough plans for managing water resources that take decreased snowfall into account. To reduce the possibility of water scarcity, this entails streamlining reservoir operations, giving water distribution top priority, and putting effective irrigation techniques into place.
• Encourage transboundary collaboration amongst nations that share river basins that are impacted by a decrease in snowfall permanence. Create cooperative plans for catastrophe risk reduction, climate change adaptation, and sustainable water management. This entails executing mutual benefit agreements, coordinating emergency responses, and exchanging hydrological data.
• Cutting Emissions of Greenhouse Gases: At the local, national, and international levels, decrease greenhouse gas emissions to bolster efforts to combat climate change. Encourage the use of sustainable practices and renewable energy sources to reduce global warming and stabilize weather patterns, which are essential for snowfall.

Climate change’ is a global problem. How India will be affected by climate change? How Himalayan and coastal states of India will be affected by climate change? (2017)

PM inaugurates Nalanda University 

The new campus of Nalanda University, an international university situated next to the historic Nalanda ruins in Rajgir, Bihar, has been officially opened by the prime minister.

Revival of Nalanda University

• Former president Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam put up the notion to resurrect Nalanda University in 2006, and it was through his proposal that the Nalanda University Bill was passed in 2010.
• 2014 saw the official opening of the university’s rebirth in a temporary location.
• The permanent campus was first proposed in 2016 by former president Pranab Mukherjee. Work on the project began in 2017 and was completed in time for today’s inauguration.
• The university was founded by the Parliament in response to decisions made at the Second East Asia Summit (EAS) in 2007 and the Fourth East Asia Summit (EAS) in 2009.

International Collaboration and Courses

• 17 nations have signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to help Nalanda University, including Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Indonesia, and others.
• The ASEAN-India Fund, BIMSTEC, and the Ministry of External Affairs of Bhutan are the sponsors of this program, which provides 137 scholarships to international students.
• The institution offers short-term certificate courses in addition to postgraduate and doctorate research courses.

Historical Background

• The world’s first residential university, Nalanda University was founded in the fifth century CE in the ancient kingdom of Magadha (modern-day Bihar).

Patronage and Establishment:

• Nalanda University was founded in 427 AD by the Gupta dynasty, led by Emperor Kumaragupta I, who aimed to establish it as a leading hub for Buddhist research.
• Monarchs such as King Harsha and the Pala Empire bestowed significant endowments upon it, augmenting its stature and sway throughout Asia.
• Countries: Scholars from Southeast Asia, China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Mongolia, and Sri Lanka were drawn to it.
• Medicine, Ayurveda, Buddhism, mathematics, grammar, astronomy, and Indian philosophy were among the subjects covered in the classroom.
• During the eighth and ninth century CE, the institution flourished under the Pala dynasty’s patronage, making important contributions to astronomy and mathematics.
• One of the renowned teachers of Nalanda was Aryabhatta, the creator of zero and a pioneer in Indian mathematics.

Admission and Academic Rigor

• Nalanda’s admissions process was extremely tough, much like that of today’s elite universities like IIT, IIM, or Ivy League colleges.
• Scholars and Buddhist masters such as Dharmapala and Silabhadra coached the students and subjected them to rigorous interviews.
• The university’s library, dubbed the “Mountain of Truth” or “Dharma Gunj,” held the biggest collection of Buddhist knowledge with its nine million handwritten palm-leaf manuscripts.

Destruction and Rediscovery

• A Turko-Afghan military commander named Bakhtiyar Khilji set Nalanda University on fire in the 1190s, causing it to burn for three months and destroying priceless Buddhist writings.
• The Yarlung Museum in Tibet and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art both house some of the remaining manuscripts.
• Scottish surveyor Francis Buchanan-Hamilton made a new discovery of the university in 1812, and Sir Alexander Cunningham formally recognized it in 1861.

Pala period is the most significant phase in the history of Buddhism in India. Enumerate. [2020]

Assess the importance of the accounts of the Chinese and Arab travellers in the reconstruction of the history of India. [2018]

Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary

Animals suffering from intense heat, particularly the one-horned rhinoceros at Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, have received some respite from the monsoon.

About Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary

• The Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam is home to the second-highest concentration of one-horned rhinos in the world, behind Kaziranga National Park.
• Known as the “Mini Kaziranga,” Pobitora is comparable to its well-known counterpart in terms of vegetation and terrain.
• One-horned rhinoceroses, leopards, leopard cats, fishing cats, jungle cats, feral buffaloes, wild pigs, and Chinese pangolins are among the endangered species that the sanctuary protects.
• Waterbodies cover the remaining portion of Pobitora, with a wet savannah dominated by Arundo donax and Saccharum grasses making up approximately 72% of the region.

Consider the following statements: (2019)

1. The Asian lion is naturally found in India only
2. Double-humped camel is naturally found in India only
3. One-horned rhinoceros is naturally found in India only

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

PANTANAL WETLAND

The Pantanal wetland in Brazil is blazing, with June’s fires shattering all previous records for that month.

Background:-

• The Pantanal habitat has seen 733 fires this month, according to Brazil’s National Institute of Space Research (INPE). The previous high for June fires in the Pantanal was 435, recorded in 2005.

About PANTANAL WETLAND

• The biggest tropical wetland in the world, the Pantanal is located in the center of South America.
• Stretching over three countries—Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay—the Pantanal spans 42 million acres, an area somewhat larger than England. Brazil makes up over 80% of the Pantanal.
• With about 4,700 plant and animal species, the Pantanal is one of the planet’s most ecologically rich regions, yet not as well-known as the Amazon to the north.
• In actuality, the highest concentration of certain wildlife species in South America, such as the jaguar and caiman, may be found in the Pantanal.
• Floodwaters fill the Pantanal like a massive reservoir from October to March and gently drain out between April and September, giving millions of people downstream the perfect aquatic environment, nutrient regeneration, and flood control.
• There is a center of economic activity in the Pantanal as well, encompassing tourism, soy farming, and cattle grazing. In 2015, the states that make up the Pantanal received about $70 billion in economic contributions from their respective businesses.
• In addition, this wetland offers a number of priceless advantages that support the ecology and economic growth of the area, such as groundwater replenishment, river flow for boat navigation, and floodwater control for millions of people.