UPSC Current Affairs Quiz : 31 May 2024

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• An urban heat island is a local and temporary phenomenon experienced when certain pockets within a city experience higher heat load than surrounding or neighbouring areas on the same day. The temperature variation can range between 3 to 5 degrees Celsius.
• Rural areas have relatively larger green cover in the form of plantations, farmlands, forests and trees as compared to urban spaces. This green cover plays a major role in regulating heat in its surroundings.
• On the contrary, urban areas lack sufficient green cover or gardens and are often developed with highrise buildings, roads, parking spaces, pavements and transit routes for public transport. As a result, heat regulation is either completely absent or man-made.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/05/30/rising-heat-stress-and-its-mitigation/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Context: Major Radhika Sen, an Indian military peacekeeper serving with the United Nations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will receive the 2023 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award.
• The UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award, established by the Office of Military Affairs in the Department for Peace Operations, honours a military peacekeeper who has effectively integrated a gender perspective into peacekeeping activities. Awardees are selected from nominees recommended by Force Commanders and Heads of Mission across all peace operations. The award acknowledges individuals’ commitment to promoting the principles of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/05/30/major-radhika-sen/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• S1: A single day on Venus (one full rotation on its axis) takes about 243 Earth days, while it takes about 225 Earth days for Venus to complete one orbit around the Sun.
• S2: Venus’s atmosphere is primarily composed of carbon dioxide (about 96.5%), not nitrogen. The atmosphere is extremely dense and contributes to the planet’s intense greenhouse effect.
• S3: Venus has a retrograde rotation, meaning it rotates from east to west, opposite to the direction of most other planets in the solar system which rotate from west to east.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/05/30/volcanoes-on-venus-fresh-lava-flows-detected/

Ans: (b)

Explanation: About Magellan Mission

• Launched by NASA in 1989, the Magellan mission was the first spacecraft to image the entire surface of Venus. It used Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to create high-resolution maps, revealing signs of volcanism, tectonic activity, and turbulent surface winds on Venus.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/05/30/volcanoes-on-venus-fresh-lava-flows-detected/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• The Alma-Ata Declaration was adopted at the International Conference on Primary Health Care, which took place in Alma-Ata (now Almaty), Kazakhstan, in 1978. The declaration emphasized the importance of primary health care as the key to achieving the goal of “Health for All” by the year 2000. It called for urgent and effective national and international action to develop and implement primary health care throughout the world, particularly in developing countries. The declaration highlighted the necessity of universal access to essential health care services, community participation, and the integration of health into all aspects of development.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/05/30/health-for-all-mandate-of-who/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is true: The World Health Organization (WHO) was indeed established on April 7, 1948, and it is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health.
• Statement 2 is true: The WHO’s headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland.
• Statement 3 is true: The WHO is responsible for setting global health standards, overseeing international public health efforts, and coordinating responses to health emergencies, among other functions.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/05/30/health-for-all-mandate-of-who/

• Ans: (c)

  Explanation:

  • S1: Jumping genes, or transposable elements, have the ability to move around within the genome, which is why they are called “jumping genes.”
  • S2: When transposable elements move to new locations, they can disrupt genes or regulatory regions, leading to mutations that can affect the organism’s traits and genetic identity.
  • S3: Barbara McClintock’s pioneering work on maize led to the discovery of transposable elements, for which she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1983.

  Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/05/30/stellaria-mcclintockiae/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• S1 is True. Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are indeed brief but intense bursts of radio waves that last only a few milliseconds. They are known for their high energy and short duration.
• S2 is False. The precise origins of FRBs are not yet well understood. While there are many hypotheses, including neutron stars, black holes, and magnetars, no definitive link has been established to specific types of stars.
• S3 is True. Some FRBs have been observed to repeat, meaning they emit multiple bursts from the same source. These repeating FRBs have helped astronomers to study the phenomena more closely.
• S4 is True. FRBs have been detected from sources within our galaxy (the Milky Way) as well as from extragalactic sources, indicating that these bursts occur in a variety of cosmic environments.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/05/30/astronomical-transients-2024-shaw-prize-for-astronomy/

Ans: (b)

Explanation: What is Campi Flegrei?

• Campi Flegrei (Phlegrean Fields) is an active volcanic area near Naples, Italy, known for its complex volcanic system rather than a single volcano. The region’s caldera, formed 39,000 years ago, spans 12-15 km in diameter, with one-third under the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the largest active caldera in Europe and more active than nearby Mount Vesuvius. Campi Flegrei has been restless since 1950 due to bradyseism, a phenomenon involving surface movement from underground magma chamber activity. Its last eruption in 1538 created Monte Nuovo.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/05/30/campi-flegrei-italy/

• Sea near Rome.

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• The Gulf of Naples is a geographical feature situated in the southern part of Italy, specifically on the southwestern coast, along the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/05/30/campi-flegrei-italy/