Environment

Mito, Oct 7 (AP/PTI) Japan has proposed raising its catch quotas for Pacific bluefin tuna, a fish so highly prized for sushi and sashimi that its population is at less than 5% of historical levels.

An online meeting of countries that manage the Pacific bluefin that began Tuesday is studying the proposal to raise Japan's catch limits for both smaller and larger bluefin tuna by 20%.

New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) The national capital's air quality was recorded in the poor category for a brief period Wednesday morning, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.

Kanpur: The efforts to control air pollution in the city through various measures are a welcome move indeed. 

A Whatsapp group of experts coming from IIIT, Kanpur University and Pollution Control Board will put up their respective suggestions.

Realising the gravity of the issue, the Nagar Ayukt A Tripathi has made arrangements for the sprinkling of water on dusty roads, garbage removal punctually, pruning of trees, preparation of route map for disposal of garbage, and others.

New Delhi, Oct 5 (PTI) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday launched a mega anti-air pollution campaign, saying polluted air can be life threatening in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the campaign "Yudh Pradushan ke Virudh", separate plans have been prepared for each of the 13 pollution hotspots in the city, Kejriwal said during a digital press conference.

"Polluted air can be life threatening in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both affect lungs," he said.

New Delhi, Sep 30 (PTI) The national capital's air quality was recorded in the 'moderate' category on Wednesday morning, while a government forecasting agency said it is likely to turn 'poor' by Friday.

Delhi recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 160 at 10:30 am, which falls in the moderate category. The 24-hour average AQI on Tuesday was 177.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.

Hobart (Australia), Sep 23 (AP/PTI) More pilot whales were found stranded on an Australian coast Wednesday, raising the estimated total to almost 500 in the largest mass stranding ever recorded in the country.

Authorities had already been working to rescue survivors among an estimated 270 whales found Monday on a beach and two sand bars near the remote west coast town of Strahan on the island state of Tasmania.

16 Sep 2020; MEMO: Egypt is building two highways across the pyramids plateau outside Cairo, reviving and expanding a project that was suspended in the 1990s after an international outcry.

The Great Pyramids, Egypt’s top tourist destination, are the sole survivor of the seven wonders of the ancient world and the plateau is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Brasilia (Brazil), Sep 14 (AP/PTI) A vast swath of a vital wetlands is burning in Brazil, sweeping across several national parks and obscuring the sun behind dense smoke.

Preliminary figures from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, based on satellite images, indicate that nearly 5,800 square miles (1.5 million hectares) have burned in the Pantanal region since the start of August an expanse comparable to the area consumed by the historic blazes now afflicting California. It's also well beyond the previous fire season record from 2005.

Kanpur: Are electric vehicles really the future? Yes, it appears so. Even the report of the Bloomberg New Energy Finance approves it if we carefully read the trends in this sphere. It shows a long term contemplated chart.

It will hit 10% of the global electric passenger vehicles' sales up to the year 2025 with that number rising to 28% in the year 2030 and 58% in the year 2040, the report said.

According to another study, currently, the EVs make up 3% of the global car sales.

13 Sep 2020; MEMO: The floods in Sudan have killed 102 people, injured 46 more and affected over 550,000 people in 17 of the country’s 18 states, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported.