These current affairs are written in a easy to remember format and are useful for competitive exams like - UPSC Civil Services, UPPSC, BPSC, MPPPSC, State PSCs and other competitive examinations.
International Day for Monuments and Sites
Every year, the United Nations marks April 18 as the International Day for Monuments and Sites, in many countries also celebrated as World Heritage Day.
The theme for this year is is Complex Pasts: Diverse Futures.
Globally, the day is promoted by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).
India is home to 38 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, out of the 1121 such spots identified around the world.
In 2019, Jaipur City became the 38th addition to the India list under Culture.
Art & Culture
National climate vulnerability assessment report
The National climate vulnerability assessment report has identified Jharkhand, Mizoram, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, and West Bengal as states highly vulnerable to climate change.
Assam, Bihar, and Jharkhand have over 60% districts in the category of highly vulnerable districts.
These states require prioritization of adaptation interventions.
The report which identifies the most vulnerable states and districts in India with respect to current climate risk and key drivers of vulnerability, was released by Department of Science and Technology (DST) Secretary Professor Ashutosh Sharma.
DST would also take up Hazard and Exposure assessments in the next phase along with sectoral vulnerability assessments and assessments at sub-district levels.
The nation-wide exercise was jointly supported by the DST and the Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation (SDC).
DST has been implementing 2 national missions on climate change as part of the National Action Plan on Climate Change. These are National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) and National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change (NMSKCC).
Environment
Sulphur dioxide from Caribbean volcano reaches India
The sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions from a volcanic eruption in the Caribbean reached India, parking fear of increased pollution levels in the northern parts of the country and acid rain.
Sulphur dioxide reacts with water to form sulphuric acid which can come down with rainfall.
La Soufri're volcano on St Vincent Island in the West Indies started erupting on April 9, 2021.
Volcanic emissions reaching the stratosphere can have a cooling effect on global temperatures. Sulphur dioxide converts to sulphuric acid, which condenses rapidly in the stratosphere to form fine sulphate aerosols.
The aerosols increase the reflection of radiation from the Sun back into space, cooling the Earth's lower atmosphere or troposphere.
Science & Tech
Great Indian Bustard
Some poachers photographed themselves with two carcasses of two Great Indian Bustards (GIBs) in Pakistan's Cholistan desert.
The Great Indian Bustard, which is the State bird of Rajasthan, is considered India's most critically endangered bird.
The grassland habitat with adult grass cover in the Cholistan desert is very similar to the habitat in Rajasthan's Desert National Park (DNP), where the GIB's last remnant wild population is found.
The GIB's population of less than 100 in Rajasthan accounts for 95 percent of its total world population.
IUCN categorised the GIBs as critically endangered in 2011.
Read More: Great Indian bustard
Environment