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ISRO reschedules CARTOSAT 3 launch to November 27
Indian space research agency ISRO has rescheduled the launch of its third-generation earth observation satellite CARTOSAT 3 to November 27 this month. The launch was originally slated for Monday next week. On its Twitter page, the space agency said: "The launch of PSLV-C47 carrying Cartosat-3 scheduled on November 25, 2019 at 0928 hrs is rescheduled to launch on November 27, 2019 at 0928 hrs from Second launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota."
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/science/isro-reschedules-cartosat-3-launch-to-november-27/articleshow/72155935.cms

‘ISRO in Images’ gives a peek into the space agency’s past
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch the CartoSAT-3 earth observation satellite from India, along with thirteen commercial nanosatellites from the US, on November 25. Created by Vikram Sarabhai in 1969, ISRO is celebrating the scientist’s birth centenary this year, alongside commemorating the organisation’s 50th anniversary. To celebrate the dual anniversary, authors PV Manoranjan Rao, BN Suresh and VP Balagangadharan launched Ever Upwards: ISRO in Images, a book with over 370 photographs picked from a collection of 2,000. A sequel to From Fishing Hamlet to the Red Planet, the latest book was in the works for nearly five years before being launched in July 2019 and has a series of never-seen-before images.
https://www.thehindu.com/books/isro-in-images-gives-a-peek-into-the-space-agencys-past/article30050578.ece/photo/1/

ISRO’s navigation system NavIC accepted by 3GPP, to be commercially used
IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system being developed by ISRO. India’s indigenous navigation satellite system termed as Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) is already established by ISRO and is functional since April 2018. NavIC consists of Space Segment (constellation of seven IRNSS satellites) and Ground Segment (spread across India). The system is providing Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) service and one satellite (IRNSS-1A) is providing messaging service. Use of AIS-140 compliant NavIC based vehicle trackers system has been made compulsory to all commercial vehicles. More than 75 companies are now manufacturing NavIC based vehicle trackers, and several thousand vehicles are now plying on the roads equipped with these devices. The updated version of new mobile models will have NavIC based positioning systems. NavIC has been accepted by 3GPP (Third Generation Project Partnership) thereby enabling incorporation of NavIC as part of assisted GNSS. NavIC is also useful for applications like timing solution, drones, surveying, weather radiosondes, forestry, and precision agriculture.
https://indusdictum.com/2019/11/20/isros-navigation-system-navic-accepted-by-3gpp-to-be-commercially-used/

Orion Spacecraft Arrives in Ohio Aboard the Super Guppy
The nose of the Guppy was opened at sunrise on Monday, November 25 revealing the packaged Orion spacecraft inside. It has been removed from the aircraft and is loaded onto a large flatbed trailer so it can be transported to NASA’s Plum Brook Station for testing. Completed in two phases inside the world’s largest vacuum chamber, testing will begin with a thermal test, which will last approximately 60 days, while Orion’s systems are powered-on under vacuum conditions that simulate the space environment. During this phase, the spacecraft will be subjected to extreme temperatures, ranging from -250 to 300-degrees Fahrenheit, to replicate flying in-and-out of sunlight and shadow in space. The second phase is an electromagnetic interference and compatibility test, lasting about 14 days. This testing will ensure the spacecraft’s electronics work properly when operated at the same time
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/glenn/2019/orion-spacecraft-arrives-in-ohio-aboard-the-super-guppy\\

NASA Shares Mid-Sized Robotic Lunar Lander Concept with Industry
As NASA presses forward with the agency's mission to the Moon, Mars and beyond, the development of top-tier technology is critical to success. With emphasis on lunar exploration and scientific investigation, the desire to deliver a wide variety of payloads to the Moon has increased. For NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative -- which is leading the effort -- this is no new concept. NASA has already awarded commercial contracts for payload delivery to the lunar surface, and expects to establish additional partnerships to support upcoming lunar ventures.
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/news/releases/2019/nasa-shares-mid-sized-robotic-lunar-lander-concept-with-industry.html

Boeing CST-100 Starliner Takes Next Step for Orbital Flight Test
The Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft that will launch to the International Space Station on the company’s uncrewed Orbital Flight Test for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP) has taken a significant step toward launch. Starliner rolled out of Boeing’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 21, making the trek on a transport vehicle to Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. “This is critical to our future as a nation,” said Kennedy’s center director Bob Cabana. “We’ve got to get astronauts flying on U.S rockets from U.S. soil, and this is just a huge step forward.” Cabana was joined by CCP and Boeing leaders in a gathering of employees and families to watch Starliner roll out of the fact.
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/boeing-cst-100-starliner-takes-next-step-for-orbital-flight-test

Shimmering skies signal space weather
The Aurora, seen here dancing above Svalbard in Norway, is the most beautiful result of space weather on Earth. The lights, most commonly found at polar regions, are totally benign, but they signify something serious happening at Earth. Space weather describes the ever-changing conditions in space, caused by intense radiation and colossal amounts of energetic material that the Sun blasts in every direction. When solar storms reach Earth, they intefere with our planet's magnetic field, creating geomagnetic storms with the potential to disrupt and even destroy infrastructure in space and on the ground.
http://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2019/11/Shimmering_skies_signal_space_weather

Luca aces telerobotic lunar geology test drive
ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano took command of a rover in the Netherlands on Monday and expertly drove it over an obstacle course to collect a rock from a sampling site– all while circling our planet at 28 800 km/h on the International Space Station.
http://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Luca_aces_telerobotic_lunar_geology_test_drive

Earth’s magnetic song recorded for the first time during a solar storm
The song comes from waves that are generated in the Earth’s magnetic field by the collision of the storm. The storm itself is the eruption of electrically charged particles from the Sun’s atmosphere. A team led by Lucile Turc, a former ESA research fellow who is now based at the University of Helsinki, Finland, made the discovery after analysing data from the Cluster Science Archive. The archive provides access to all data obtained during Cluster’s ongoing mission over almost two decades. Cluster consists of four spacecraft that orbit Earth in formation, investigating our planet’s magnetic environment and its interaction with the solar wind – a constant flow of particles released by the Sun into the Solar System. As part of their orbits, the Cluster spacecraft repeatedly fly through the foreshock, which is the first region that particles encounter when a solar storm hits our planet. The team found that in the early part of the mission, from 2001 to 2005, the spacecraft flew through six such collisions, recording the waves that were generated.
http://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Earth_s_magnetic_song_recorded_for_the_first_time_during_a_solar_storm

Human Missions to Mars
People visiting and living on Mars have been the subjects of science fiction stories, engineering studies and tourist proposals since Gustavus Pope's adventure story, "Journey to Mars" in 1894. Mission plans have included landing humans on Mars for exploration at a minimum, and with the possibility of sending settlers and terraforming the planet. Serious mission design activities have been ongoing for the past 70 years. The list of crewed mission plans is extensive. For example, scientific expeditions which involve small groups might visit Mars for a period of up to a year, and this might later lead to permanent colonies. Most recently, space agencies in the US, Europe and Asia have been developing comprehensive proposals that might lead to Martian visits sometime within the next two decades.
http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Human_Missions_to_Mars_999.html

Glaciers as landscape sculptors - the mesas of Deuteronilus Mensae
During ice ages on Earth, the retreating ice sheets greatly altered the landscape of the continents. Over the past two-and-a-half million years, Central Europe alone has experienced five massive glaciations. Ice from the Arctic spread as far south as Central Europe while at the same time, the kilometre-thick glaciers of the Alps pushed their way north as far as today's Danube. When the glaciers retreated during 'warm' (interglacial) periods, they typically left behind landscapes with moraines or ice age lakes. The U-shaped valleys of the Alps are evidence of this, as are the glacial erratics - rocks and stones from Scandinavia or the Alps that were carried for hundreds of kilometres on the glacial conveyor belts.
http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Glaciers_as_landscape_sculptors___the_mesas_of_Deuteronilus_Mensae_999.html

NASA updates Mars 2020 Mission Environmental Review
As NASA continues preparations for the summer 2020 Florida launch of its Mars 2020 rover, including the recent completion of testing the spacecraft in Mars-like conditions, public safety remains a top priority. Detailed analysis of the potential radiological risks associated with launching a spacecraft powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator is part of standard operating procedures for NASA missions like Mars Curiosity and Pluto New Horizons. These missions use this type of power system to explore where solar power alone is not enough to get the job done. For Mars 2020 that analysis started years ago, resulting in NASA's 2015 decision to use a radioisotope power system to provide electrical power for the rover, given that the risks were small. NASA and the Department of Energy (DOE) have continued to evaluate the potential radiological impacts of the launch and have completed a more detailed risk analysis.
http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/NASA_updates_Mars_2020_Mission_Environmental_Review_999.html

China's Microsatellite Crash Site on the Moon Spotted by NASA Lunar Orbiter
A NASA spacecraft circling the moon has spotted the scar left by a Chinese satellite's impact. China's Longjiang-2 spacecraft — also known as the Discovering the Sky at Longest Wavelengths Pathfinder, or DSLWP-B — crashed onto the lunar far side on July 31 after completing its orbital mission. On Nov. 14, a scientist on NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission announced that the spacecraft had spotted Longjiang-2's apparent impact site.
https://www.space.com/china-moon-impact-site-nasa-lunar-orbiter.html?utm_source=Selligent&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=10466&utm_content=20191125_SDC_Newsletter+-+adhoc+&utm_term=3456590&m_i=%2B9RYY0eRLibWEkz6Xrj1pdt%2Bs49nW1TOCTdiqDESM6Qo9x8XtLZiaMfoJRXgHKLvpExLOQyv6l9ky7WG7nRf1BVrdZGTEpE2%2Bv

Building a Planet B for Humanity Isn't a Good Enough Reason to Explore Space
Listen to would-be space explorers for long enough, and eventually they will likely argue that humans must develop outposts on other worlds in case of disaster here on Earth, as a so-called Planet B. But that's a dangerous narrative, said Kathryn Denning, an anthropologist at York University in Canada who focuses on the intersection of space exploration, humanity and ethics. It's not particularly feasible, either, by her calculation. "The reality is, what would be needed to create a sustainable human civilization in the solar system that could effectively be a backup for humanity?" Denning said to Space.com. "That, for every kind of foreseeable future for, say, the next hundred years, requires a functioning and sustainable civilization here."
https://www.space.com/planet-b-for-earth-not-good-space-exploration-reason.html

SpaceX Will Launch Mighty Mice, Wild Physics and More to Space Station Next Month
The next SpaceX resupply launch to the International Space Station, scheduled for Dec. 4, will bring a host of science material to astronauts living and working on the orbiting laboratory. This flight, called CRS-19, marks the 19th mission for SpaceX under its commercial cargo resupply services contract with NASA, with launch scheduled for 12:51 p.m. EST (1751 GMT). Perched atop a Falcon 9 rocket will sit a cargo Dragon capsule filled with more than 5,700 lbs. (2,585 kilograms) of supplies, including more than 2,100 lbs. (952 kg) of science equipment. "The Dragon spacecraft is an important component of space station delivery," Bryan Dansberry, an associate administrator of science at NASA, said during a news conference held Nov. 20. The scientific cargo will support a host of experiments across Expeditions 61 and 62 about topics including seed germination, combating muscle wasting and a new way of stowing tools on the station.
https://www.space.com/spacex-space-station-science-crs19-cargo.html

Earth-Like Planets with Giant 'Wrecking Ball' Neighbors Can Host Life After All
A giant planet wildly careening around a star may not prevent an Earth-size planet from staying in a stable orbit friendly to life as we know it, a new study finds. The view from such an Earth-like planet as its gigantic neighbor zooms past would prove unlike anything we might see here, shining as bright as the brightest supernova ever seen in recorded history, researchers said. Scientists investigated a sun-like yellow dwarf star named HR 5183, located about 103 light-years away in the constellation Virgo. Earlier this year, astronomers discovered the star possessed a giant planet named HR 5183b more than 3.2 times the mass of Jupiter in a highly oval or "eccentric" orbit around it.
https://www.space.com/exoplanet-with-giant-neighbors-can-host-life.html

NASA scientists confirm water vapor on Europa
Forty years ago, a Voyager spacecraft snapped the first closeup images of Europa, one of Jupiter's 79 moons. These revealed brownish cracks slicing the moon's icy surface, which give Europa the look of a veiny eyeball. Missions to the outer solar system in the decades since have amassed enough additional information about Europa to make it a high-priority target of investigation in NASA's search for life.
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/NASA_scientists_confirm_water_vapor_on_Europa_999.html

China's Chang'e-4 probe resumes work for 12th lunar day
The lander and rover of the Chang'e-4 probe have resumed work for the 12th lunar day on the far side of the moon after "sleeping" during the extremely cold night. The lander woke up at 5:03 p.m. Thursday (Beijing Time), and the rover, Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit-2), awoke at 0:51 a.m. the same day. Both are in normal working order, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration.
http://www.moondaily.com/reports/Chinas_Change_4_probe_resumes_work_for_12th_lunar_day_999.html

What if the Moon disappeared tomorrow?
The closest object to our planet, the Moon, may seem like Earth’s little sibling. Since its birth, the satellite has mostly just hung around, playing gravitational tug-of-war. But what would happen if the Moon vanished tomorrow? “Three billion years ago, when the Moon was closer to Earth, a lot of things would have changed pretty dramatically,” says Matthew Siegler, lunar research scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Dallas, Texas. “Right now, the Moon is far enough away that most of the things it does for us are very long term, like stabilizing our orbit over hundreds of thousands of years.”
http://www.astronomy.com/news/2019/11/what-if-the-moon-disappeared-tomorrow

China launches two more BeiDou satellites for GPS system
China launched two satellites of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) into space from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province at 8:55 a.m. Saturday. Launched on a Long March-3B carrier rocket and the Yuanzheng-1 (Expedition-1) upper stage attached to the carrier rocket, the two satellites have entered their planned orbits. They are the 50th and 51st satellites of the BDS satellite family. The two medium earth orbit satellites are also network satellites of the BeiDou-3 system. The launch was the 319th mission for the Long March series carrier rockets.
http://www.gpsdaily.com/reports/China_launches_two_more_BeiDou_satellites_for_GPS_system_999.html

Volty IoT plans Rs 50 crore GPS devices plant in Andhra Pradesh
Hyderabad headquartered GPS trackers and IoT devices manufacturer Volty IoT Solutions has announced setting up a new manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh at Mangalagiri with a capacity to produce 2,000 devices a day, involving an initial investment of Rs 50 crore. In a statement, the company said the proposed manufacturing facility will cater to the growing need for GPS trackers in sand and mineral mining and public transport vehicles in the region. Claiming to currently enjoy a market share of over two-thirds in Andhra Pradesh, chief executive officer Konark Chukkapally said the Andhra government has made it mandatory for all the vehicles involved in the transportation of sand to have GPS trackers.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/volty-iot-plans-rs-50-crore-gps-devices-plant-in-andhra-pradesh/articleshow/72228370.cms

Northeast Frontier Railway to use GPS tech to tackle fog
In an effort to ensure that trains do not go late because of fog during winter, the Northeast Frontier (NF) Railway have brought in a a GPS-based alert system that will help train driver navigate in low-visibility scenarios. "An equipment called FogPASS (Fog Pilot Assistance System for Safety) - consisting of an inbuilt battery and GPS antenna with magnetic base - has been added to all locomotives in the NF Railway network," Subhanan Chanda, chief public relations officer of NF Railway, said on Monday. "The device, which weighs around 1.5 kg, is placed on the consul of the pilot. As the train moves, it displays short description and remaining distance of next two landmarks - which includes signals of various types, level crossing gate etc - in geographical order on screen. Whenever a train approaches a station, the device flashes the distance left for the home signal of that station. Thus, even if the pilot is unable to physically see the signal, he would be aware of how far the train is from the signal and would be alerted accordingly," Chanda added. The device also has a provision of voice announcements through speakers attached to the device. The device has been provided to all crew lobbies under NF Railways so as to cover all locomotives of mail, express, passenger and goods trains, where drivers carry the device while assuming their duty. "Railways have also provided sufficient walkie-talkies for use by drivers and station staff apart from arranging counselling sessions on foggy days," Chanda said.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/northeast-frontier-railway-to-use-gps-tech-to-tackle-fog/articleshow/72238735.cms

Technology topography: Mapping India through drones
What has Ramanagara, the location of the fictional Ramgarh of Bollywood superhit Sholay, got to do with drones? During the past few weeks, the unmanned aerial vehicles have been hovering over the skies of the town, about 50 km from Bengaluru, flying at regular intervals to quietly capture images of the land below. From buildings to farm land, roads and lakes – the drones are mapping the area as part of a joint initiative by the Karnataka government and the Centre to digitally map the country. The project, starting with Karnataka, Maharashtra and Haryana, is an ambitious initiative to carry out a drone survey across India to create high resolution digital maps of the country. The Survey of India, the country’s oldest scientific agency, has been tasked with doing this. Karnataka’s revenue department, in turn, is using the images captured by these drones to create digital maps and ownership records of every piece of property. Last year, the revenue department and the Survey of India successfully completed a pilot project in Jayanagar, the city’s first planned suburb. Its accuracy level has now prompted the department to expand work in other districts
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/technology-topography-mapping-india-through-drones/articleshow/72179542.cms

Land pooling policy: DDA received over 6000 applications, says govt.
Over 6,000 applications for nearly 6,409 hectare of land have been received by DDA through its registration portal for its land pooling policy, Lok Sabha was informed on November 21.In a written reply to a question, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said these applications were being scrutinised and mapping of pooled land on geographic information system (GIS) platform had been undertaken by the DDA to ascertain the eligibility of sectors. The Delhi Development Authority had launched the online portal in February to ease application and verification processes for stakeholders of the land pooling policy. The policy, notified by DDA in September last year, is aimed at allowing the city to get 17 lakh housing units capable of accommodating 76 lakh people. It covers urbanizable areas of urban extensions at 95 villages in the national capital.
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/land-pooling-policy-dda-received-over-6000-applications-says-govt-4663091.html

In a first, Kochi gets a biodiversity map
In what is a first for an Indian city, a natural assets map that delineates Kochi’s biodiversity, detailing species of plants, animals, insects, and natural features has been prepared. Besides marking features such as marshlands, mangroves, backwaters and ponds, the map also identifies areas used as playgrounds, open spaces, and wetlands used for prawn culture.An illustrated version of the map by cartoonist and illustrator Rohan Chakravarty representing key animal and plant species and landmarks was readied recently to communicate the richness of the city's biodiversity to its inhabitants. “Biodiversity conservation is largely forest-oriented. The map will draw attention to the fact that even urban landscapes have their own biodiversity,” said Alex Jose, city associate, ICLEI-South Asia, a network of local governments working towards sustainable development.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/in-a-first-kochi-gets-a-biodiversity-map/article30023478.ece

'No one trusted students with satellites'
An earth imaging company. Pixxel is developing microsatellites, which will provide realtime remote sensing data, and supporting artificial intelligence, which will give analytics for improving performance of agriculture, mining and other sectors. It has completed one satellite and is working on two more. The company will soon have an image of the entire earth within 24 hours.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/people/no-one-trusted-students-with-satellites/articleshow/72216883.cms

Roscosmos May Delay Progress MS-13 Cargo Spacecraft ISS Launch Due to Revealed Problems
Technical problems have been revealed in Russia's Progress MS-13 cargo spacecraft, scheduled to be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on December 1, and although they have already been rectified, the date of the launch remains uncertain, the Russian State Space Corporation Roscosmos said on Monday. "Critical observations have been made during works at the Baikonur spaceport on preparing the launch of the Progress MS-13 cargo spacecraft within the 74th ISS supply mission. As of now, the problems have been eliminated, and all the on-board systems are being checked," Roscosmos said.
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Roscosmos_May_Delay_Progress_MS_13_Cargo_Spacecraft_ISS_Launch_Due_to_Revealed_Problems_999.html

Ethiopia to launch Chinese backed first-ever satellite next month: Chinese Ambassador
Ethiopia will launch its first ever satellite next month with the support from the Chinese government, a Chinese official said on Monday. Tan Jian, Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia, said Ethiopia will launch its first ever satellite in December 2019, with support from the Chinese government. Tan was speaking at an event co-organized by the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and the Ethiopian government in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa that aimed to promote the digital transformation of Ethiopia. "In these times we need to capitalize on modern technology to catch up, catch up quickly, running may not be enough. We need to leapfrog by riding the tide of technologies like e-commerce, digital technology and space technology," said Tan. Ethiopia is presently developing the country's first-ever satellite, a 70kg Multi-Spectral Remote Sensing Satellite, known as ETRSS-1, through support from the Chinese government.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-11/25/c_138582597.htm

Most Americans now see signs of climate change where they live
Amid deadly wildfires in California and increased flooding along the U.S. East Coast in 2019, most Americans say the effects of climate change are already upon us — and that the U.S. government isn’t doing enough to stop it, according to a new public opinion survey. In the nationwide poll, 62 percent of U.S. adults said climate change is affecting their local community to some extent or a great deal, bringing more flooding and unusually warm weather, altering ecosystems, driving wildfires or exacerbating drought, the nonpartisan Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C., reports November 25. That’s slightly up from the 59 percent who said the same in Pew’s 2018 poll.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/most-americans-now-see-signs-climate-change-where-they-live

El Niño Weather Events Are Looking Increasingly Dangerous as The Climate Changes
If El Niños were dangerous before, they are looking to become especially destructive in the near future. Already severe and unpredictable, recent research indicates these natural weather events are now swinging to even greater extremes. Since humans started burning fossil fuels on an industrial scale, coral records from the past 7,000 years indicate that heat waves, wildfires, droughts, flooding and violent storms associated with El Niño have grown markedly worse. It's still unclear whether this is due to climate change directly, but from the limited history we have, the pattern of both looks suspicious. "What we're seeing in the last 50 years is outside any natural variability," says earth and atmospheric scientist Kim Cobb from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
https://www.sciencealert.com/el-nino-and-la-nina-weather-events-look-increasingly-dangerous-with-climate-changes

Forests face climate change tug of war
In a world of rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, plants should be happy, right? Experiments have shown that, yes, increased carbon dioxide does allow plants to photosynthesize more and use less water. But the other side of the coin is that warmer temperatures drive plants to use more water and photosynthesize less. So, which force, CO2 fertilization or heat stress, wins this climate tug of war? The answer, University of Utah researchers write in a new study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is that it depends on whether forests and trees are able to adapt to their new environment. The study, they say, incorporates aspects of a tree's physiology to explore how trees and forests respond to a changing climate.
https://phys.org/news/2019-11-forests-climate-war.html

Revised disaster management plan to be ready by December
The district administration aims at formulating a revised comprehensive district disaster management plan by December. The revised plan is being prepared by incorporating the suggestions put forward by public and non-government organizations. The revised plan, which will replace the three-year-old existing plan, will have four volumes. Each volume will detail about the preparedness of varied departments and mitigation plan. The meeting convened by district collector S Suhas on Saturday said public will be given awareness on disaster management after giving training to village and panchayat officials. “The district faces rain fury, fire and chemical accidents necessitating proper awareness and preparedness,” he said. A 10-member committee, headed by deputy collector of disaster management, has been constituted to revise the plan, which will include details of flood-hit areas. The committee will oversee the planning process, provide inputs to various planning procedures and implement the plans put forward by various stakeholders. As many as 46 departments will be part of the revised plan and each department will have to prepare their own disaster management plans and mitigation methods.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/revised-disaster-mgmt-plan-to-be-ready-by-dec/articleshow/72203510.cms

13 cities in India at high level of earthquake risk
City-based IIIT H (International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad) has collaborated with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and developed an earthquake disaster risk index (EDRI) for 50 cities in the country by considering housing typologies. “Earthquakes don’t kill, buildings do. A large part of the losses incurred during earthquakes is because of the type of housing that’s prevalent. This is especially true in case of India,” said Pradeep Ramancharla from Earthquake Engineering Research Centre (EERC), IIIT H, adding that as all 50 cities were selected from high seismic zones, no city had a low hazard level. “The vulnerability of each city depends only on the construction typology adopted,” said Ramancharla, who has been working on assessing the risk of earthquakes on buildings since 2006. About 56% of Indian land was prone to moderate to severe earthquakes and about 82% of the population in the country lived on such land. Researchers said that one of the aims of the group was to increase awareness among public on earthquake and to make homes earthquake resilient. The risk assessment index created by IIIT H includes three components — earthquake hazard, exposure and vulnerability of a particular city. “Earthquake hazard refers to the amount of ground shaking that an area will experience, exposure refers to the number of buildings in that area, and vulnerability is the strength of a building to withstand an earthquake,” said Ramancharla.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/13-cities-in-india-at-high-level-of-earthquake-risk/articleshow/72231169.cms

Smart initiative: Public address systems to ease traffic, parking
City neighbourhoods are likely to have a dedicated Public Address System (PAS), which is one of the various initiatives proposed by the administration under the Smart City project. With the installation of speakers at 186 locations across the city, the large network of PAS will help disseminate important information instantly. From ensuring smooth traffic and parking management to conveying messages about route diversion and accidents, the system can prove to be a boon for both residents and the administration. These speakers are to be installed at all traffic intersections, market places, and other strategic locations. The PAS will be connected to the Integrated Command and Control Center (ICCC) in Police Lines and the Magh Mela area. The IT manager of the Smart City project Mani Shanker Tripathi said, “Apart from live broadcast of urgent information, pre-recorded and scheduled messages will also be delivered through the PAS.” “The system will improve law and order management, traffic control and at times, disaster management. Besides, information pertaining to any suspicious activity noticed, will help save commuters from untoward situations,” he added.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/allahabad/smart-initiative-public-address-systems-to-ease-traffic-parking/articleshow/72214764.cms

Dangerous levels of warming locked in by planned jump in fossil fuels output
Global governments plan to produce 120 percent more fossil fuels by 2030, drastically at odds with the 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) warming limit they all agreed to under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. All major fossil fuel-producing nations—including the United States, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, India, Canada, and Australia—have ambitious plans to increase production, according to a new report by leading research organizations and the United Nations.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/11/world-fossil-fuel-production-rise-guarantees-missing-paris-climate-goals/

International team of scientists complete the largest global assessment of ocean warming impacts
Climate change is reorganizing the life in our oceans in a big way: as waters warm, cold-loving species, from plankton to fish, leave the area and warm water species become more successful. So say an international group of scientists in the most comprehensive assessment of the effects of ocean warming on the distribution fish communities. "We've known for a while that marine species tend to track ocean temperature, but this is the first time we've seen how entire communities respond, and that the redistribution of species is so predictable by temperature alone," said UC Santa Barbara marine ecologist Ben Halpern, an author on a paper in the journal Nature Climate Change. "The implications are very large for the ecology of the oceans and for the benefits—like food from fishing—people get from the oceans."
https://phys.org/news/2019-11-marine-composition-shifts-ways-oceans.html

World must cut annual emissions by 7.6% till 2030 to meet 1.5°C target: UNEP
Even as nations are set to meet next year to strengthen their Paris climate pledges, a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report warns that the world has to cut its emissions by 7.6 per cent each year between 2020 and 2030 to get on track towards the 1.5°C temperature goal of the Paris Agreement. In 2018, the world emitted a record high of 55.3 gigatonnes of CO2-equivalent of greenhouse gases (GHG), up from the previous record of 54 gigatonnes set in 2017, highlights the UN Environment’s annual Emissions Gap. The report analyses the gap between the current emissions pathway and the pathway needed to limit warming over the coming century. CO2 emissions from fossil fuel use in the energy and industry sectors, which dominate total GHG emissions, grew 2 per cent in 2018, reaching a record 37.5 gigatonnes per year.
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/climate-change/world-must-cut-emissions-by-7-6-for-next-decade-to-meet-1-5-c-target-unep-67940

UN agency sounds alarm: Dwindling agrobiodiversity ‘severe threat’ to food security
The Voluntary Guidelines for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Farmers Varieties, spotlights the need for food systems to be sustainable, but the lack of variety and increasing uniformity of crops may render them unsuitable for the changing conditions under which they grow. “It is worrisome that humans rely on only three crops - maize, wheat and rice - for 51 per cent of all plant-based food”, Assistant Director-General of the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department at FAO, Bukar Tijani, said in the publication’s foreword, highlighting that plants account for more than 80 per cent of the human diet. FAO documented the decline in agrobiodiversity 20 years ago, noting the “genetic erosion” in crops reported by almost all countries, and highlighting that diversity within species is at least as important as diversity between species.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/11/1051411

Santa Cruz County faces significant gap in food security, study finds
As the season of holiday feasting approaches, a new study reveals that Santa Cruz County residents who are most at risk of food insecurity may be missing an average of five meals a week. The findings were issued in a report, Tracking the Meal Gap in Santa Cruz County: An Index of Food Insecurity, 2014-2018, that was released Nov. 13 at a gathering of nonprofit, government, and community stakeholders.
https://news.ucsc.edu/2019/11/blum-foodinsecurity.html

Photosynthesis discovery could help meet rising food security demands
Scientists say they have "unlocked key" to photosynthesis, a discovery that could help us meet food security demands. With this information, the food industry might be able to create a more sustainable supply chain, claims the study. According to a study by the University of Sheffield, the structure of one of the components of photosynthesis has been found. This finding could lead to potentially redesigning the process in order to achieve higher yields. Researchers say that this could be a breakthrough for solving some of our most urgent food security needs. By redesigning photosynthesis, which creates energy for plants and makes them grow, more crops could grow faster.
https://www.freshfruitportal.com/news/2019/11/25/photosynthesis-discovery-could-help-meet-rising-food-security-demands/

Agriculture rapidly depleting India’s water resources: Jal Shakti minister
Almost 22% of the groundwater (assessed units) in the country has either dried up or is in the ‘critical’ and ‘over-exploited’ categories, said Union Jal Shakti (water resources) minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Friday as he emphasised the need to focus on efficient use of water resources. With annual extraction of groundwater in these units exceeding annual replenishment, Shekhawat told TOI that it’s time the country acts to improve 'demand side’ management by taking multiple measures instead of only managing ‘supply side’ of resources. While quoting figures from the ‘Dynamic Ground Water Resources of India’ report which shows 1,499 out of 6,881 assessed units (blocks/mandals/taluks) in 2017 came under ‘over-exploited’ and ‘critical’ categories taken together, Shekhawat said, “Agriculture sector consumes nearly 89% of available water resources in India.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/agriculture-rapidly-depleting-indias-water-resources-jal-shakti-minister/articleshow/72189679.cms

In Water Lies the Lay of the Land
Today, India’s agriculture is undergoing a crisis that, if not addressed, could result in a catastrophe. What is the problem ailing Indian agriculture? Is it limited to dryland farming, or can it also be located in the ‘Green Revolution’ states? Is the phenomenon of farmers’ suicides a manifestation of the deeper malaise in India’s agriculture? First, one must contextualise the issues. The average farm size is reduced to almost 1.13 hectares, and almost 80% of farming households consist of marginal and small farmers. To top it all, low capital formation, starved of credit and investments, depressed prices and fragmented holdings are turning agrarian fields into a lunar landscape. These problems are compounded by a new reality that is now dawning on policymakers and have further complicated an already complex situation. India is fast running out of water. In fact, it was living off on borrowed time all these years.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/blogs/et-commentary/in-water-lies-the-lay-of-the-land/

Farmers need info in climate fight: Bill Gates
“We can help the world’s two billion smallholders (farmers) adapt to climate change much quicker if everybody in the agriculture sector has access to quality information,” Microsoft founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates said on Monday. Delivering the inaugural address at the 8th International Conference on Agricultural Statistics (ICAS) here, Gates said, “Climate change is complicated and requires learning different interventions, including the development of new seeds suiting the changed climatic conditions and make them more available to the poorest farmers. “Small land holding farmers are over two billion people out of the whole seven billion of the planet. This is a huge group requiring support. The small holding farmers’ agricultural output is diminishing because of climate change effects... The good news is that there are lots of innovations to face these challenges.”
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/farmers-need-info-in-climate-fight-bill-gates/articleshow/72117761.cms

Develop technologies for farmers, minister tells scientists
Union Minister Kailash Choudhary on November 23 urged scientists to come up with innovative technologies to help farmers and emphasised on developing the organic farming in the north-east region. He also said the agriculture sector will have to play a "very important role" to achieve $5-trillion economy target by 2024-25. Addressing the two-day ICAR-24th Regional Committee Meeting for Zone-III here, Choudhary, who is union minister of state for agriculture and farmers' welfare, said, "Scientists should come up with innovative technologies which benefit the farmers." He emphasised on developing the organic farming in the north-east region, eliminating harmful fertilisers and pesticide usages which have alarmingly increased the health hazards among people of the country. He also urged researchers to focus on developing technologies to empower farmers for organic farming.
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/develop-technologies-for-farmers-minister-tells-scientists-4667991.html

SC says govts have failed to provide clean air, water to citizens, must now compensate for pollution
Governments that fail to provide clean air and water to their citizens must compensate them for the adverse impact of pollution, the Supreme Court said on Monday while issuing notices to all state governments and UTs to explain why citizens should not have such a remedy. The order came on a petition that highlighted the high air pollution levels in the Delhi-NCR region. “We have become a laughing stock. The government cannot provide clean air and water to the citizens in its capital city. What is the point of all this development? What is the point of being a world power?” “Delhi has become ‘narak’ (hell). People are living in a gas chamber and are dying due to cancer and other lung ailments. Their life spans are getting shorter,” Justice Arun Mishra, who was sitting alongside Justice Deepak Gupta, said.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/delhi-ncr-pollution-sc-pulls-up-punjab-haryana-for-stubble-burning-despite-its-orders/articleshow/72222311.cms

Coal India, ISRO tie up to develop satellite-based air pollution system
Coal India has tied up with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to develop a satellite-based system to provide air pollution data online to the company and the government. In the recent past, five Coal India subsidiaries were slapped a total fine of Rs 53,331 crore by states for producing in excess of available environmental clearance limits in at least 60 mines. If Coal India has to pay the levies, its finances will be critically hit as the penalty far exceeds its reserves of Rs 38,000 crore. Coal India has used services of satellites for monitoring land reclamation and reforestation. Satellite-based pollution monitoring system exists only at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the US.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/indl-goods/svs/metals-mining/coal-india-isro-tie-up-to-develop-satellite-based-air-pollution-system/articleshow/72240847.cms