Greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere hit new record highs in 2022, with no end in sight to the rising trend, according to this new report by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). This Bulletin represents the latest analysis of observations from the WMO GAW Programme. It shows globally averaged surface …
the concentrations of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide ( co 2 ), methane and nitrogen in the atmosphere have been steadily rising over the last few decades. This is likely to go up unabated. These gases are increasing at the rate of 1.5 parts per million per year and, …
in the 1970s, western Europe, Sweden in particular, was in the grip of a severe environmental crisis: acid rain. Eastern usa faced the same phenomenon in the 1980s. Ever since, many developed nations have undertaken efforts to avert the threat of acid rain. However, a number of polluted areas around …
Turbulence in the atmosphere is a major problem with Earth-based telescopes. Most modern telescopes take care of this by using adaptive optics, a corrective process in which parts of the telescope mirror are mechanically flexed. This is done by a complex motor system in an amount typically equal to a …
swirling around Jupiter at thousands of miles an hour is a huge sheet of electically charged gas and dust that extends outward about two million miles. This plasma sheet rotates like a filmy skirt on a spinning ice-skater. The gas and dust are from volcanoes on the moon Io. Something …
The decision of the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh to cut hundreds of trees to build a conference centre for the forthcoming Non-aligned Movement summit in 2001 has been criticised by environmentalists. The 5000-seat auditorium is proposed to be built at capital Dhaka's Osmany Udyan, which is along the green …
The upper layers of the atmosphere are getting cooler, and ironically, the greenhouse effect is being blamed. The Mesosphere, the atmospheric layer between 50 to 90 km of the atmosphere, has been cooling one degree annually for the last 30 years. This is much faster than expected. Researchers say that …
Long-term exposure to atmospheric particles less than 10 microgrammes in diameter (PM10s) can increase chances of lung cancer in men, says a new study. David Abbey and his team from Loma Lind University, California, USA, monitored 6,338 non-smoking Caucasians between the ages of 27 and 95 years who lived in …
The euphoria over the growth in the diesel-powered private vehicular segment would evaporate if people were to open their eyes to the evidence on environmental and health hazards of diesel engines. Diesel engines are primarily responsible for harmful emissions of suspended particulate matter ( spm )
Recent studies show that neither using clean diesel fuel nor improving the quality of the engine help in solving the threat of particulate matter in diesel emissions. So banning the manufacture of diesel cars may be the only option to counter the threats posed by particulate matter. Fuel quality A …
Hell on wheels Dieselmania hits the Indian private automobile sector. And why not? Diesel is cheaper than petrol, and car loans are available in plenty it's sleek , it's mean, it races, it is not an aircraft. It runs on diesel. Some of them even run on petrol. The automobile …
unpredictable stormy winters in northern Europe are known to put life out of gear. Now, their uncertainty may be a thing of the past because researchers in the uk have found a link between temperatures in the Atlantic and an atmospheric effect that influences European winters. Since the 1930s, climate …
Scientists became aware of acid rain more than a century ago A cid rain is not a recent phenomenon. The term was first coined in 1852 by a chemist, Robert Angus Smith. The 35-year-old chemist, while studying the quality of air in and around his home town Manchester, England, found …
Human activities have made the sky a sewer. Subhash J Rele, writing in The Hindustan Times , estimates that each year, the global atmosphere is on the receiving end of 20 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, 130 million tonnes (mt) of sulphur dioxide, 97 mt of hydrocarbons, 53 mt of …
When it rains it burns Acid rain has already been reported in some parts of India, and the situation is likely to get worse India faces an increasing threat from acid rain
THE mid and late-1980s witnessed global tension rise when scientists discovered a hole in the ozone layer of our planet's atmosphere. This, they said, could be dangerous as ozone shields us from the Sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation that can cause skin cancer. The main culprit responsible for "punching" the hole, …
WATCH out Don Quixote. The windmills are staging a comeback in Europe. Wind energy is the best alternative to reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. By using windmills, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) believes that Europe will be able to churn out 4,000 mega watts (MW) of energy …
THE Kyoto Protocol, forged in December 1997, appears only to advocate planting and conserving forests (afforestation and reforestation) in order to create carbon sinks in trees and also in soils. Little is said about using trees and other forms of biomass as an energy source to substitute the use of …
IN NOVEMBER, the Earth will run into the worst meteor storm in 32 years. It will be the first space hurricane of the modern satellite era. While it poses no danger to people because the meteoroids will burn up as they enter the Earth's atmosphere, it poses some threat to …
A NEW ozone-destroying chemical has been found in the atmosphere, muddying repair efforts of the ozone layer. Halon-1202, a firefighting chemical suspected of being used by the Russian military, has increased five-fold in the atmosphere over the past 20 years, say Australian scientists. For the last two years, the chemical …
