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CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYST WEEK- 2 (FEBRUARY, 2021) CONTENTS 17Section - A: MAINS CURRENT AFFAIRS Area of GS Topics in News Page No. Hurricanes and typhoons moving 30km closer to GS-I GEOGRAPHY 02 coasts every decade Revival of age-old border row between GOVERNANCE 04 Maharashtra and Karnataka GS-II INTERNATIONAL Special UK BNO Visa Scheme for millions of Hong 06 RELATIONS Kong residents Budget Preparation 08 GS-III ECONOMY The future of Indian agriculture 11 GS-IV ETHICS Employee’s accountability for social media post 14 Section - B: PRELIMS CURRENT AFFAIRS Area of GS Topics in News Page No. HISTORY & GS-I ‘Chauri Chaura’ Centenary Celebrations 18 CULTURE GS-II GOVERNANCE Corruption perception index 2020 19 2021 Census to go digital 19 Air pollution in rural India: Ignored but not 20 ECONOMY absent Discovery of India’s First ever Lithium Reserves in 21 Karnataka’s Mandya Conservation of Fishing Cat 23 GS-III ENVIRONMENT Denmark approves plan for energy island in 23 North Sea Square Kilometre Array, the world’s largest radio 24 telescope SCIENCE & TECH. Silk-protein-based tumour models for testing 25 out cancer Stardust 1.0 26 SECTION: A (MAINS) CURRENT AFFAIRS CURRENT AFFAIRS WEEK - 2 (FEBRUARY, 2021) WEEKLY HURRICANES AND TYPHOONS MOVING 30KM CLOSER TO COASTS EVERY DECADE CONTEXT High-intensity tropical cyclones have been moving closer to coasts over the past 40 years, potentially causing more destruction than before, as per a study. The research is published in Science. BACKGROUND How hurricanes are categorized? The team analyzed global data from 1982- Hurricanes are categorized according to the 2018 on tropical cyclone formation, movement speed of their maximum sustained winds. and intensity mainly gathered from satellite The scale used for this purpose, called the Saffi r- observations. Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, was developed In the observation, it has been found that at in 1971 by civil engineer Herbert Saffi r and by maximum intensity, cyclones were on average meteorologist and then-director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center, Bob Simpson. getting 30km closer to coastlines per decade. The Saffi r-Simpson scale rates a hurricane’s There were also on average two more cyclones severity from 1 (very dangerous) to 5 per decade within 200 km of land. (catastrophic), based on the following wind The study emphasizes the need to understand speeds: all aspects of tropical cyclones. ! Category 1: Winds of 74-95 mph (119-153 km/h) ANALYSIS ! Category 2: Winds of 96-110 mph (154-177 km/h) Understanding the geography of ! Category 3: Winds of 111-129 mph (178- Hurricanes 208 km/h) Hurricanes are large, swirling storms with winds ! Category 4: Winds of 130-156 mph (209- of 119 kilometers per hour (74 mph) or higher. 251 km/h) ! That’s faster than a cheetah, the fastest ! Category 5: Winds exceeding 157 mph (252 animal on land. km/h) The storms form over warm ocean waters and Key-highlights of the Study sometimes strike land. Previously, studies have shown that the When a hurricane reaches land, it pushes a wall maximum intensity of tropical cyclones is found of ocean water ashore. This wall of water is called further towards the poles. However, this does a storm surge, which along with heavy rain can not necessarily mean these more poleward cause fl ooding, especially near the coast. storms are more devastating. The different terms hurricanes, typhoons, and Western ward shift: The new fi ndings show tropical cyclones all refer to tropical storms. cyclones at maximum intensity are also migrating They are named differently depending on the westward, bringing them closer to coastlines region they occur in. and increasing their potential for damage. Hurricanes are tropical storms that form Occurrence of the additional cyclone: Each over the North Atlantic Ocean and Northeast decade since the 1980s, an additional two Pacifi c. cyclones have come within 124 miles (200 km) of land. Cyclones are formed over the South Pacifi c and the Indian Ocean. Reasons behind the shift Typhoons are formed over the Northwest The exact mechanism for this enhanced Pacifi c Ocean westward steering is unknown, but it may be due 2 www.iasscore.in CURRENT AFFAIRS WEEKLY WEEK - 2 (FEBRUARY, 2021) to the same underlying mechanism for poleward So far, it’s not evident that hurricanes are migration of cyclones as rising temperatures necessarily forming more often because of cause atmospheric patterns to shift. rising temperatures, although scientists do The researchers also stated that it could be predict that hurricane activity and intensity will connected to changes in tropical atmospheric likely increase in future years. patterns possibly caused by climate change. How does it impact? Atlantic Zone, a special case? Impact on economy: Globally, 80 to 100 Cyclones across the globe are moving closer to cyclones develop over tropical oceans each year, land, except Atlantic hurricanes. impacting regions in the Pacifi c, Atlantic, and It’s mysterious that, unlike other areas, the Indian Oceans and causing billions of dollars of Atlantic hurricane basin didn’t show any damage. signifi cant westward shift. Risk to coastal communities: These storms are The reason is not sure but that could be because likely becoming more destructive as they spend the Atlantic hurricane zone is more closely more time along coastlines at their highest surrounded by continents. intensities. The risk to some coastal communities The busiest tropical cyclone basin is in the around the world may be increasing and that western Pacifi c, where there are the most will have profound implications over the coming landfalls and the shift westward is twice as big decades. as the global average. Other impacts are: A puzzling situation ! Impact on environment: Destruction to fl ora Though storms are getting closer to land, and fauna researchers still have not seen a signifi cant ! Agricultural loss increase in landfalls, which “is still a puzzle”. ! Loss of life and livelihood It is not only the landfall that causes damage. When the cyclone is close enough to land it can also cause damage like Hurricane Sandy and CONCLUSION Dorian in 2019, both of which skirted along the US coast for a considerable time before making This new research is plausible, especially since landfall. scientists have already seen a shift of storms more toward the north and south poles, but it raises Are Hurricanes impacted by climate questions that require follow up, especially why change? no corresponding increase in landfalls has been Hurricanes feed off of heat energy, so as Earth’s found. All these strange shifts are taking cyclones global temperatures continue to rise, hurricanes out of their preferred environment of warm tropical are bound to be affected. waters away from land. ********** www.iasscore.in 3 CURRENT AFFAIRS WEEK - 2 (FEBRUARY, 2021) WEEKLY REVIVAL OF AGE-OLD BORDER ROW BETWEEN MAHARASHTRA AND KARNATAKA CONTEXT Recently, a book has been published by the state government of Maharashtra, titled ‘Maharashtra-Karnataka Seemavad: Sangharsh Aani Sankalp’ (Maharashtra-Karnataka Boundary Dispute: Struggle and Pledge). The book is a collection of articles, news, and other material on the demand that Marathi-speaking areas in Karnataka should be integrated into Maharashtra. BACKGROUND speakers outnumbered Kannada-speakers in those areas. The dispute began when the erstwhile Bombay Presidency had present-day Karnataka districts Mahajan Commission of Vijayapura, Belagavi, Dharwad, and Uttara- Kannada. Eventually, the Centre formed the Mahajan Commission, comprising representatives of In 1948, the Belgaum municipality requested that both Maharashtra and then Mysore, for a the district be incorporated into the proposed resolution in 1966. Maharashtra state. The commission in 1967 recommended But with the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, handing over 264 villages to Maharashtra, Belgaum and 10 talukas of Bombay State which was formed in 1960 while leaving became a part of the then Mysore State. Belgaum and 247 other villages with the This happened because states were divided southern state. based on linguistic and administrative lines. However, Maharashtra rejected the report This long-smoldering inter-state dispute calling it illogically resurfaces from time to time. ANALYSIS What is claimed by both states? Maharashtra has for long claimed that certain What is the dispute all about? areas that are a part of Karnataka - Belagavi, Karwar, and Nippani – should be handed The genesis of the dispute lies in the over to Maharashtra. The state contends that reorganization of states along linguistic and the majority of the population in these areas is administrative lines in 1956. Marathi-speaking. The erstwhile Bombay Presidency, a multilingual Karnataka, on the other hand, maintains that province, included the present-day Karnataka Belagavi is an integral part of the state and has districts of Vijayapura, Belagavi, Dharwad, and built the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, modeled Uttara Kannada. after the Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat In 1948, the Belgaum municipality requested that in Bengaluru, where a legislative session is held the district, having a predominantly Marathi- once a year. speaking population, be incorporated into the proposed Maharashtra state. What is the present situation? However, The States Reorganisation Act of Maharashtra has continued to demand that 814 1956 made Belgaum and 10 talukas of Bombay villages from Karnataka based on the theory of State a part of the then Mysore State (which was village being the unit of calculation, contiguity, renamed Karnataka in 1973).