[Mission 2024] Current Affairs Quiz , 11 July 2023

Solution: a)

Only statement 2 is correct.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a way to catch carbon and trap it beneath the earth. It is different to carbon dioxide removal (CDR) — where carbon is sucked out of the atmosphere — although some of the technologies overlap. The key difference is that CDR brings down the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, cooling the planet, while CCS in fossil fuel plants and factories prevents the gas from getting out in the first place.

In its latest review of scientific research, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found both options will be needed for emissions that are hard to wipe out. 

Some bioethanol plants, where the gas stream is pure, already report capturing more than 95% of the carbon emissions.

Source

Solution: b)

Statement 3 is incorrect.

What are Western Disturbances?

A WD is a storm originating from the Mediterranean region, completely different from the monsoon. The WD is known for moisture usually being carried in the upper atmosphere, contrary to its tropical counterparts where the moisture is carried in the lower atmosphere. WDs are frequent, and their spells can be long or short.

In India, it is confirmed that the monsoon arrives in June and lasts till September. However, WDs have no fixed time of arrival. 

According to the weather department, the prediction of an upcoming Western Disturbance can only be made around six days before its arrival. 

Source

Solution: c)

Unlike the Earth, whose spin axis is tilted with respect to the plane of the Earth’s solar orbit by 23.5 degrees, the Moon’s axis tilts only 1.5 degrees. Because of this unique geometry, sunlight never shines on the floors of a number of craters near the lunar north and south poles. These areas are known as Permanently Shadowed Regions, or PSRs.

Source

Solution: c)

Declaration of Alma-Ata was adopted at the International Conference on Primary Health Care (PHC), Almaty (formerly Alma-Ata), Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (present day Kazakhstan), Soviet Union 6–12 September 1978. It expressed the need for urgent action by all governments, all health and development workers, and the world community to protect and promote the health of all people. It was the first international declaration underlining the importance of primary health care.

Solution: b)

Statement 2 is incorrect.

Meteors are usually fragments of comets. As they enter the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed, they burn up, creating a spectacular “shower”.

According to NASA, “Meteors come from leftover comet particles and bits from asteroids. When these objects come around the Sun, they leave a dusty trail behind them. Every year Earth passes through these debris trails, which allows the bits to collide with our atmosphere where they disintegrate to create fiery and colorful streaks in the sky.”

NASA describes the Geminids as “one of the best and most reliable annual meteor showers”.

The Geminids are unique because unlike most meteor showers, they originate not from a comet, but from an asteroid, the 3200 Phaethon. As the 3200 Phaethon moves close to the Sun while orbiting it, the rocks on its surface heat up and break off. When the Earth passes through the trail of this debris, the Geminids are caused.

And why are they called Geminids?

That comes from the constellation Gemini, from whose location in the sky the meteor shower appears to originate.