Current Affairs 5 January 2021 – IAS Current Affairs
Current Affairs 5 January 2021 focuses on Prelims-Mains perspective. Major events are :
- 40th Indian Scientific Expedition To Antarctica
- Iran begins new breach of nuclear deal
- Climate of India during 2020
40th Indian Scientific Expedition To Antarctica
Why In News ?
40th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica (ISEA) departed for the South Pole from Mormugao Port, Goa with 43 members on board, January 5, 2021.
Key Facts
Additional Information
India has two stations on the polar continent of Antarctica — Maitri and Bharati. Operated under the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Union Ministry of Earth Sciences.
- 40th ISEA team of scientists, engineers, doctors, and technicians.
- Importance of Polar regions are crucial in answering key questions about
- Global climate change
- Its contribution towards global sea-level rise
- The background aerosol properties
- Variability in the sea ice cover
- Phenomena like Antarctic haze and ozone concentrations.
- Bharati base operations and Maitri base operations share a common goal.
- The chartered ice-class vessel MV Vasiliy Golovnin will make this journey and will reach Antarctica in 30 days.
- After leaving behind a team of 40 members, it would return to India in April 2021.
Source : Down To Earth
GS III : Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
Iran begins new breach of nuclear deal
Why In News ?
Iran resumed 20 percent uranium enrichment at its sensitive Fordow nuclear facility. This considered ti be a major step away from a 2015 nuclear deal struck with world powers.
Key Facts
- The enrichment process at Fordow is an underground facility near the holy city of Qom
- Also Iran had notified the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.
What is the breach ?
- Under the 2015 nuclear agreement, which restricted the size and purity of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile.
- Tehran is banned from enriching uranium at the Fordow site or even bringing uranium there for 15 years from the start of the accord.
- The site was revealed as a covert enrichment facility by Britain, France and the United States in 2009.
- Deal 2015 agreed between Iran and six world powers, including the United States, allows Iran to enrich uranium to a 3.67 percent concentration of uranium-235
- Uranium enriched to 20 percent U-235 is suitable for use in an old, U.S.-supplied research reactor in Tehran that began operating in 1967.
Impact of this Act
- Move could complicate the incoming Biden administration’s plans to restart nuclear talks with Tehran.
- Tensions between Iran and the United States have soared in the Persian Gulf region
- Israel, which considers Iran its greatest security threat and maintains that Tehran is seeking nuclear weapons, immediately condemned the Iranian move.
India and Iran
- Independent India and Iran established diplomatic relations on 15 March 1950 during the start of Cold War
- In 2008–09, Iranian oil accounted for nearly 16.5% of India’s crude oil imports.
- India, despite close relations and convergence of interests with Iran, voted against Iran in the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2005.
- A highway between Zaranj and Delaram (Zaranj-Delaram Highway) is being built with financial support from India.
- The Chabahar port has also been jointly financed by Iran and India.
- The North–South Transport Corridor is the ship, rail, and road route for moving freight between India, Russia, Iran, Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.
- India provides 67 scholarships every year to Iranian students under ITEC, ICCR, Colombo Plan and IOR-ARC schemes.
Source : BBC
GS III : Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora
Climate of India during 2020
Why in News ?
020 was the eighth warmest year India recorded in the last 121 years, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Key Facts
- 2020 mean land surface air temperature average was 0.29 degrees Celsius above normal, for the period average considered between 1981 and 2010.
- It was much lower than 2016 (+0.71 degrees Celsius), which remains the warmest ever year the country has recorded since 1901.
- Global mean surface temperature was 1.2 degrees Celsius above normal, making it the warmest ever decade (2011 – 2020) recorded, globally.
- Rainfall during the June to September period over the country remained 9 per cent above normal.
- Atlantic Ocean experienced one of the most active years, with over 30 tropical storms originating here.
Additional Information
* Indian Ocean region, Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, together reported five cyclones.
* Three of which were of either severe or above in intensity category.
* Five cyclones : Amphan, Nisarga, Gati, Nivar and Burevi
India Meteorological Department
- IMD was established in 1875.
- It is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India.
- It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology.
- For the convenience of administrative and technical control, there are 6 Regional Meteorological Centers.
Source : Indian Express
GS III : Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment
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