Climate change - GS questions based on daily current affairs

1)   The rise in sea level is due to

a. Melting of glaciers and ice-sheets
b. Oceans expand as they get warmer
c. Both a & b
d. None
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Both a & b

Explanation:
The two major causes of global sea-level rise are thermal expansion caused by the warming of the oceans (since water expands as it warms) and the loss of land-based ice (such as glaciers and polar ice caps) due to increased melting.


2)   Which of the following is/are true?

1) Paris agreement though adopted has not yet been ratified by India
2) The Paris agreement is for post-2020 period only and not pre-2020.


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:

  • Paris Agreement pertains to post-2020 climate actions. In the pre-2020 period, developed countries are to act as per Kyoto Protocol and some developing countries have taken voluntary pledges.
  • The Union Cabinet has given its approval to ratify the Paris Agreement (on Climate Change) on 2nd October 2016, the day of Gandhi Jayanti.
  • Paris Agreement was adopted by 185 nations last year on 12th December 2015 and India signed the Paris Agreement in New York early this year on 22nd April 2016.
  • A total of 191 countries have signed to the Paris Agreement so far. As per the provisions of the Paris Agreement, the treaty will come into force as and when 55 countries contributing to 55 % of total global emission ratify the agreement.
  • So far, 61 countries have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval accounting in total for 47.79% of the total global greenhouse gas emissions.
  • India’s decision to ratify the agreement will take the number of cumulative level of emission of countries that have ratified the agreement so far to 51.89%.


3)   Which of the following statements is/are correct about Frontier of knowledge awards?

1. Indian climatologist Veerabhadran Ramanathan has won Frontiers of Knowledge Award.
2. He estimated that by acting on short-lived gases from here to 2030, we can cut in half projected global warming over the next 35 years.


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Both

Explanation:
- Veerabhadran Ramanathan discovered that human-produced gases and pollutants other than CO2 have a huge power to alter the Earth's climate.
- By acting on them it is possible to make a short-term dent on the rate of global warming.
- Ramanathan found that one tonne of CFCs traps as much heat in the atmosphere as 10 tonnes of CO2.
- Scientists at the time believed carbon dioxide to be the only human-produced greenhouse gas.
- But after Ramanathan's work, it was revealed that other gases such as methane and HFCs were also potent greenhouse gases.


4)   Which of the following is/are correctly matched?

1. First world climate conference - 1992
2. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - 1988


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:
- The First World Climate Conference was held in 1979 in Geneva and sponsored by the WMO. It was one of the first major international meetings on climate change.
- IPCC was first established in 1988 by two United Nations organizations, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).


5)   Which of the following statements is/are correct about National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA)?

1. It is funded by Ministry of Environment.
2. Improving livestock is aim of NICRA.


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:
- National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) was launched during February 2011 by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) with the funding from Ministry of Agriculture.
- Under the program manually operated weather station to record daily rainfall, minimum and maximum temperature, relative humidity and wind speed.
- The four modules of NICRA – natural resource management, improving soil health, crop production and livestock – is aimed making the farmers self-reliant.


6)   Clean Development Mechanism are defined by

a. G8 Climate Change Roundtable
b. European Climate Change Programme
c. Nairobi convention
d. Kyoto Protocol
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Kyoto Protocol

Explanation:
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is one of the Flexible Mechanisms defined in the Kyoto Protocol (IPCC, 2007) that provides for emissions reduction projects which generate Certified Emission Reduction units which may be traded in emissions trading schemes.


7)   The Aletsch Glacier is the largest glacier in -

a. Caucasus Mountains
b. Alps
c. Himalayas
d. Antartica
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Alps

Explanation:
- The whole area, including other glaciers is part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch Protected Area, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001.
- It is located in Switzerland.
- It is under threat from the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
- Aletsch Glacier could almost vanish by 2100 due to global warming


8)   Which of the following are missions under the Nation Action Plan on Climate Change?

1) National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture
2) National Mission for Sustainable Development
3) National Mission on Sustainable Habitat
4) National Water Mission
5) National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency


a. Only 1 and 2
b. Only 1, 2, 3 and 5
c. Only 1, 3, 4 and 5
d. All of the above
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Only 1, 3, 4 and 5

Explanation:
There are Eight National Missions - National Solar Mission, National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency, National Mission on Sustainable Habitat, National Water Mission, National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem, National Mission for a "Green India", National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture, and National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change.


9)   Which of the following is / are mitigation strategies proposed against climate change?

1) Carbon Sequestration
2) Cap and Trade
3) Green Carbon
4) Yellow Carbon
5) Carbon Tax


a. Only 1, 3, 4 and 5
b. Only 1, 2, 3 and 4
c. Only 1, 2, 3 and 5
d. All of the above
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Only 1, 2, 3 and 5

Explanation:
Green Carbon refers to carbon removed and stored in plants and soil by processes like photosynthesis. Cap and Trade method is used by Kyoto protocol.


10)   Which of the following statements are correct?

1. Carbon sequestration is the process of capture and long-term storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide(CO2)
2. The aim is to either mitigate or defer global warming and avoid dangerous climate change.
3. Blue carbon is the carbon captured by the world's oceans and coastal ecosystems.


a. 1,2
b. 2,3
c. 1,3
d. All of the above
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
No explanation is available for this question!


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