State of the Climate in Asia

According to the World Meteorological Organization’s 2023 “State of the Climate in Asia” report, Asia has warmed more quickly than the world average since 1960.

Context:

• The research, which was published on April 23, states that record-breaking temperatures and precipitation have been documented throughout the Asian continent, and that the continent is currently experiencing extreme climate events such as heatwaves and floods.

Key Takeaways from the report

• In 2023, extreme weather events in Asia claimed over 2,000 lives and impacted over nine million more. Storms and floods were the cause of more than 80% of these occurrences.
• The report acknowledged that heat-related mortality is significantly underreported but noted that severe heat waves occurred in various locations, resulting in multiple fatalities.
• Approximately 110 people in India perished from heat stroke—a disease in which the body temperature rises above 40 degrees Celsius—during extreme heat waves that occurred in April and June.
• In August 2023, floods and landslides in India, mostly in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, claimed at least 25 lives and severely damaged a great deal of infrastructure. 1,200 deaths in India were caused by lightning alone this year.
• The ability of Asian countries to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change was found to be “alarmingly gapped” from estimates of the climate.

How well can Asia spot a coming disaster?

• An integrated process that tracks, anticipates, and forecasts dangers is known as an early-warning system.
• In order to enable people, communities, governments, businesses, etc. to take prompt action to reduce risks, it also comprises activities linked to risk assessment, communication, and readiness.
• For instance, because of these technologies, authorities in Bangladesh were able to plan ahead and take proactive measures in Cox’s Bazar ahead of Cyclone Mocha, giving the local population a higher chance of surviving its landfall.
• The U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction reports that the average composite score for response readiness (0.58), observation and forecasting (0.55), and availability and accessibility to multihazard early warning systems was 0.46 out of 1 across Asia. In contrast, the average score for the world was 0.35, 0.78, and 0.33 on these counts.

What do these findings mean for India?

• Although India deserves praise for its early cyclone preparedness, there is always room for improvement in the way lightning-related fatalities and damage are handled.
• Lightning has a very short reaction time. India has developed tools and mobile applications, yet marginalized populations are unable to use them.
• India must provide communities and local governments with the tools and policies they need to successfully tackle these changing climate-related challenges.

BIOHACKING

The Biohacking India 2.0 conference was held in New Delhi recently.

Context:

• This conference offered a forum for debates, information exchange, and creative suggestions for improving human health and performance with state-of-the-art technology and lifestyle adjustments.

About BIOHACKING

• The term “biohacking” describes the process of maximizing and enhancing the health and performance of the human body through science and technology.
• It’s a general word that covers a wide range of activities, from basic dietary and lifestyle adjustments to the application of cutting-edge technologies and biometrics.
• It encompasses methods for enhancing longevity, general well-being, and mental and physical performance.
• As of right now, biohacking is not specifically covered by any laws in India.

Techniques:

• Dietary Modifications: Increasing energy and well-being by using diets like ketogenic or intermittent fasting.
• Supplementation: The use of vitamins, minerals, or nootropics to improve physical and mental health.
• Physical training: Tailored workout regimens to increase stamina and strength.
• Methods to increase the quantity and quality of your sleep.
• Deep breathing exercises and meditation are examples of mindfulness practices that promote mental health.
• Biometric monitoring is the practice of tracking health measurements with sensors to gain understanding of performance and health.
• Devices to train the body’s physiological reactions are known as biofeedback devices.

GROUP OF SEVEN (G7)

The Group of Seven (G7) energy ministers agreed to phase out their coal-fired power stations by 2035.

Context:

• The coal deal is a major step toward the phase-out of fossil fuels, of which coal is the most polluting, as suggested by the United Nations climate summit at COP28 last year.

About G7 :

• Bringing together seven of the most developed economies in the world, the Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political and economic conference.
• Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom are some of these nations.
• Furthermore, the European Union (EU) is regarded as a G7 “non-enumerated member.”
• The forum is structured around three common ideals: representative government, pluralism, and liberal democracy.

Key points :

• Origins: In 1973, ad hoc meeting of finance ministers gave rise to the G7. It has developed into a formal, well-known forum for debating and organizing solutions to significant worldwide problems over time. These concerns include matters of trade, economics, security, and climate change.
• Annual Summit: The heads of state and government of all members of the EU, as well as the presidents of the European Council and Commission, get together once a year. Other senior representatives from the EU and the G7 participate in talks and activities all year long.
• Membership in the G7 and G8: From 1997 until its expulsion in 2014 as a result of the invasion of Crimea, Russia was a recognized member of the G7 (as part of the G8). The G7 has proceeded without Russia’s participation ever since.
• Rotating Presidency: There is no institutional or legal foundation for the G7’s operations. It is run by member states taking turns serving as presidents. The state in charge determines the group’s priorities and organizes the yearly summit. Italy will be the president in 2024.

Mpox

According to a study, the Mpox virus has developed a novel adaptation mechanism that has improved its capacity to infect people during previous outbreaks. The term “mpox” was adopted in place of “monkeypox” to represent the virus’s direct human contagiousness and prevent stigma against monkeys.

Context:

• In the 1950s, mpox was initially identified in lab monkeys. In the DRC, the first human case was documented in 1970. Since then, there have only been a few tiny mpox outbreaks that can be linked to a single person, usually someone who has just returned from an endemic country like west and central Africa.

Mpox:

• It is a DNA virus that is also referred to as monkeypox. It is a member of the big, double-stranded DNA virus family Poxviridae.
• Animals, especially rodents and monkeys, are the main carriers of the virus to humans, either by direct touch or contaminated things.
• Human infections usually manifest as fever, headache, aches in the muscles, and a distinctive rash that develops from macules to papules to vesicles and pustules.
• Although there is a vaccination for mpox, it is not widely available and does not work well, which emphasizes the need for better preventive and control methods.
• A massive outbreak of mpox in 2022–2023 that impacted over 100,000 persons across over 118 nations brought the disease international attention.
• High rates of human-to-human transmission, especially via intimate touch and sexual interaction, were a defining feature of the outbreak.
• Coordinated measures were made to stop the spread of the mpox outbreak after the World Health Organization (WHO) designated it a public health emergency.

Genomic Features:

• Clades I and II make up the mpox genomes, and data indicates that clade I has a greater death rate. Clade IIb, a novel lineage better suited for human-to-human transmission, was implicated in the epidemic of 2022.
• Evidence of a unique clade I lineage linked to human-to-human transmission was discovered by researchers, pointing to a recent zoonotic spillover event.
• In order to adapt to various hosts and circumstances, mpox viruses can undergo genomic accordion through gene duplication or deletion.
• The genome of the mpox virus from the 2022 outbreak was sequenced, and the results were published in Nature Communications. These regions of the genome are known to be the genomic accordions of the virus and have a significant impact on human-to-human transmission.