New Fish Species Discovered in Kerala
- According to the latest issue of ‘International Journal of Pure and Applied Zoology’ on July 19, 2015, a new cyprinid fish named Puntius Dolichopterus has been discovered in Kerala’s Kayamkulam city.
- The new fish is characterized by the longer pectoral fin, shorter dorsal fin, unusually elongated dorsal spine, longer head, lesser number of lateral line scales, pre-dorsal scales and having 3-4 longitudinal lines present below lateral line.
- The new fish species has been discovered, named and described by Mathews Plamoottil, head of the department of zoology, Baby John Memorial Government College, Kollam city, Kerala.
Two New Plant Species Discovered in Western Ghats
- A team of researchers led by CN Sunil, Associate Professor, SNM College, Maliankara, Kerala have reported the discovery of two new plant species from the Pooyamkutty-Adamalayar and Neriamangalam forest regions.
- The discovered species have been named as Vellithumpa and Eriocaulon manoharanii. The findings were published in the June, 2015 issue of the international journal Webbia : Journal of Plant Taxonomy and Phytogeography.
- Vellithumpa is a very rare species of shrub plant belonging to the mint family. It was discovered growing on steep wet rocks on Shoolamudy peak in deep inside the Edmalayalar forest range.
Japan Pledges 26% Emissions Cut by 2030
- Japan, the world’s sixth biggest greenhouse gas polluter, has pledged to cut emissions 26% from 2013 levels by 2030 to avert calamitous global warming. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe submitted its target to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on July 17, 2015.
- Japan became the 19th party, including the 28-member EU bloc, to submit a carbon-cutting pledge to the United Nations ahead of a November 30 to December 11, 2015 conference in Paris that must finalise a world climate pact.
- According to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a 2°C pathway requires greenhouse gas cuts of 40-70% by 2050 compared to levels in 2010 and to zero or below by 2100.
Read Also –Â Economy and Banking Current Affairs September 2015 (Part 1).
Volcanic Eruptions Slow Down Global Warming Study
- According to a study published in the journal Nature Communications in the month of July, 2015, Volcanic eruptions may have slowed down global warming by injecting particulates into the atmosphere. The study uses data from the tropopause region up to 35 km altitude.
- Volcanic aerosols have acted during the last 10 years as a natural umbrella to slow down global temperature increase from greenhouse gases. The study was based upon the research of an international team, including Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) scientists.
- However, according to the study led by the University of Lund, Sweden, the cooling effect due to volcanic eruptions was clearly underestimated by climate models used for the last Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.
Six States Discussed about Conservation of Western Ghats and Livelihood
- Environment and Forest Ministers of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu met at New Delhi on July 7, 2015.
- They discussed conservation of biodiversity of the Western Ghats and ways to provide adequate livelihood security to the local residents and the progress made by them in physically demarcating Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) along 1500 km of the Western cost.
- Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, Chairman at that meeting will review the progress of physical demarcation of ecologically sensitive area in Western Ghats. The identified ecologically sensitive area represents a continuous band of natural vegetation, extending over a horizontal distance of about 1500 km along the west coast of the country.
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