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Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 01 November 2016

:: National ::

Several cities, including Agra, Ahmedabad, Patna, Delhi and Varanasi, were choked by particulate matter pollution, when the northern parts of the country celebrated Deepavali.
Fireworks and stagnant air led to a precipitous dip in air quality in a third of the 29 cities monitored by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Concentrations of fine particulate matter rose to levels that harm respiratory health in normal people and severely debilitate those with illnesses.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) reading for Agra was 384, Ahmedabad 385, and Faridabad and Delhi the worst, at 428 and 445.
An AQI of 100 is the limit for good air quality. Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai were in the ‘moderate’ to ‘satisfactory’ category, similar to last year’s Deepavali. Hyderabad improved from ‘poor’ to ‘satisfactory.’
AQI has deteriorated from October 27 in northern cities, primarily due to an ‘anticyclone’ effect – a shift in wind-patterns that prevents dust and particulate matter from being flushed out.
Deepavali and dipping temperature raised concentrations of PM2.5 (particulate matter 2.5 micrometres and smaller) and PM10 unlike in 2015, when winds swept pollutants away.
Deepavali pollution could not strictly be compared year-on-year because it varied over the months and was influenced by changing weather. It was too early to assess relative impact of firecracker smoke on Delhi’s air.

Nepal has successfully drained part of a giant glacial lake near Mount Everest, averting risk of a disastrous flood that could have threatened thousands of lives.
Scientists say climate change is causing Himalayan glaciers to melt at an alarming rate, creating huge glacial lakes which could burst their banks and devastate mountain communities.
ImjaTsho, located at an altitude of 16,437 feet, just 10 km south of the world's highest peak, is the fastest-growing glacial lake in Nepal.
The Himalayan nation was devastated by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake last year, raising alarm about about the risks of flash flooding from glacial lakes.

Nearly half of Russians fear that Moscow’s bombing campaign in Syria could spark World War III, a poll showed.
Moscow, an ally of Syrian leader Bashar Al-Assad, has been staging bombing raids in Syria since September 2015.
Forty-eight per cent of Russians were concerned that “heightened tensions in relations between Russia and the West could grow into World War III”, according to a poll conducted by independent pollster Levada Centre last week.
That figure was up from 29 per cent in July this year. Moscow’s air strikes have negatively affected the way Russia is perceived internationally, 32 per cent said, up from 16 per cent in November.
Nevertheless, 52 per cent of Russians said they back Moscow’s air strikes, while 26 per cent said they opposed them.
Asked whether Russia should continue “intervening in what is going on in Syria”, 49 per cent of the respondents said yes, while 28 per cent said no.

India’s core sector grew by 5 per cent overall in September driven mainly by strong growth in steel and petroleum products sectors, data released by the government showed.
Growth in the Index of Eight Core Industries in September was much stronger than the 3.2 per cent growth seen in August.
Growth seen in these two sectors can be linked to the government’s push in roads and railways. With steel, earlier there was dumping by China that was affecting the sector.
Steel sector grew by 16.3 per cent in September, down from the 17 per cent seen in August which was the highest growth rate it saw in more than three years.
The refinery products sector also contributed strongly to the overall growth of the index, growing at a robust 9.3 per cent in September compared with 3.5 per cent in August.
The cement sector grew by 5.5 per cent in September, faster than the 3.1 per cent seen in August. Similarly, the electricity sector grew by 2.2 per cent in September compared with 0.1 per cent in August.
The fertiliser sector grew only 2 per cent in September, drastically slower than the 5.7 per cent seen in August.
The overall energy component of the Index of Eight Core Industries—represented by the coal, crude oil, and natural gas sectors—contracted in September.
The coal sector contracted 6 per cent in September compared with a contraction of 9.2 per cent in August. The natural gas sector grew by 5.5 per cent in September compared to 5.7 per cent in August.