Environment

PARIS (AP) — U.S. President-elect Joe Biden pledged Saturday to rejoin the Paris climate accord on the first day of his presidency, as world leaders staged a virtual gathering to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the international pact aimed at curbing global warming.

Heads of state and government from over 70 countries took part in the event — hosted by Britain, France, Italy, Chile and the United Nations — to announce greater efforts in cutting the greenhouse gas emissions that fuel global warming.

New Delhi, Dec 5 (PTI) Delhi's air quality turned "severe" on Saturday with slow wind speed allowing the accumulation of "locally generated" pollutants, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials.

However, it is expected to improve by Monday as the wind speed is likely to pick up.

Juneau, Dec 4 (AP-PTI) The US Bureau of Land Management plans to hold an oil and gas lease sale in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge next month, weeks before President-elect Joe Biden, who has opposed drilling in the region, is set to take office.

Conservation groups criticized Thursday's announcement as rushed and based on environmental reviews that are being challenged in court as flawed.

Andimeshk, Dec 3, IRNA – President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated five solar power stations and four power distribution projects in Khuzestan Province, southwestern Iran, through video-conferencing.

President Rouhani officially inaugurated 25 energy projects in three Iranian provinces through video-conferencing Thursday.

The government has opened the projects all over the country in line with the guidelines of Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Surge in Production for the current Iranian year (started March 20, 2020).

Wellington, Dec 2 (AP-PTI) Joining more than 30 countries, New Zealand on Wednesday took the symbolic step of declaring a climate emergency.

Lawmakers voted 76-43 in favour of the motion, in a split that followed party lines.

New Delhi, Dec 1 (PTI) Cyclone Burevi is very likely to hit Tamil Nadu on December 4, the Cyclone Warning Division of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday.

This is the second cyclone that is predicted to hit the state in a week. Last week, a very severe cyclonic storm, Nivar, had battered the southern state.

Burevi is unlikely to be as intense as Nivar, IMD director general Mrutunjay Mohapatra said.

It is expected to first hit Sri Lanka on December 2 and then Tamil Nadu on December 4.

New Delhi, Nov 24 (PTI) At a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said the high severity of the third wave of COVID-19 in the national capital is due to many factors, pollution being an important one, sources said

Kejriwal told the prime minister that Delhi saw the peak of 8,600 coronavirus cases on November 10 during the third wave and since then, the number of cases as well as the positivity rate are steadily decreasing, the sources said

Washington, Nov 24 (AP-PTI) John Kerry, one of the leading architects of the Paris climate agreement, is getting one more chance to lead the fight against climate change after President-elect Joe Biden named the longtime senator and former secretary of state as climate envoy for national security.

Biden's team gave little immediate detail on Monday about how he envisioned Kerry shaping the new job, which many on social media and on all sides of the climate-action spectrum were quick to dub climate czar.

18 Nov 2020; AA: Kuyucuk Lake in eastern Turkey, known as a major ecotourism spot and bird paradise, is hosting up to 110 bird species this year.

The lake, located in Arpacay district in Kars province, is protected by the Ramsar Convention but completely dried up last year. However, thanks to specialized drilling work in the area carried out by the provincial governorship, its condition has been restored.

New Delhi, Nov 14 (PTI) Delhi's air quality turned "severe" on Diwali with stubble burning accounting for 32 per cent of the city's PM2.5 pollution and calm winds worsening the situation as they allowed accumulation of pollutants, weather officials said.

The Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality monitor, SAFAR, said, "Even a small increase in local additional emissions is likely to have significant deterioration impact on Sunday and Monday."

It said peak levels of PM10 and PM2.5 are expected between 1 am and 6 am in case of additional internal emissions.