QUIZ – 2020: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 22 October 2020

Solution: c)

High-pressure circulation in the atmosphere acts like a dome or cap, trapping heat at the surface and favouring the formation of a heat wave.

A heat dome occurs when the atmosphere traps hot ocean air like a lid or cap.

A team of scientists investigated what triggers heat domes and found the main cause was a strong change (or gradient) in ocean temperatures from west to east in the tropical Pacific Ocean during the preceding winter.

Recently the high temperature recorded at the west coast of USA was the result of heat dome.

California’s Death Valley registered a temperature of 54.4 degrees Celsius or 129.9 degrees Fahrenheit on August 16, 2020, which, once verified, could be the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth.

Source  Source

Solution: a)

Thailand is bordered to the north by Myanmar and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by  Malaysia. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest.

Kra Canal or Kra Isthmus Canal, refers to proposals for a canal that would connect the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea across the Kra Isthmus in southern Thailand.

Solution: b)

Miyawaki method originated in Japan, and is now increasingly adopted in other parts of the world, including Indian urban spaces. It has revolutionised the concept of urban afforestation by turning backyards into mini-forests.

Named after the Japanese botanist and plant ecologist Akira Miyawaki. Using this, it’s possible to grow a variety of native species in as little a space as 600 sq.ft.

By promoting natural vegetation on land destroyed by natural calamities and man-induced mistakes, Miyawaki managed to raise mini forests along the coastline of Japan.

In contrast to conventional planting techniques, this method allows for planting more number of trees in small spaces. The trees grow faster too and are free of chemicals and fertilisers. The advantage of Miyawaki method is that the saplings need minimum maintenance.

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Solution: c)

The TX2 goal is a global commitment to double the world’s wild tigers by 2022. TX2 stands for ‘Tigers times two’, signalling the goal to double wild tigers.

It was launched by World Wide Fund For Nature (formerly World Wildlife Fund) at the 2010 St Petersburg Tiger Summit held in Russia. Under it, 13 tiger range countries had agreed to double the world tiger population by 2022

The GTF is the only intergovernmental international body established with members from willing countries to embark on a global campaign to protect the Tiger.

Solution: d)

In the Antarctic floats a massive glacier, roughly the size of Britain, whose melting has been a cause of alarm for scientists over the years.

Called the Thwaites Glacier, it is 120 km wide at its broadest, fast-moving and melting fast over the years. Because of its size (1.9 lakh square km), it contains enough water to raise the world sea level by more than half a metre.

Thwaites is important for Antarctica as it slows the ice behind it from freely flowing into the ocean. Because of the risk it faces — and poses — Thwaites is often called the Doomsday Glacier.