2019 2nd Hottest Year – Economics – Free PDF Download

CURRENT AFFAIR  

• According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the year 2019 was the second-hottest year since records began in 1880
• It has also warned that heat is likely to lead to more extreme weather events like the Australian bushfires in 2020 and beyond

 RELEVANCE  

• GS Paper 3- Environmental pollution and degradation

Highlights  

• Hottest Decade
• United States government agencies has said that the decade 2010 – 2019 was the hottest on record.
• Trend: Since the 1960s, each decade has been significantly warmer than the previous one. This trend continued in the 2010s, and five of the hottest years ever were experienced in the second half of the decade.
• Reason: The warming is caused to a large extent by the emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases emitted from the burning of fossil fuels.
• Implication: This pace of warming means the world will almost certainly fail to meet the goals set to combat catastrophic climate change.
• Hottest Years
• The hottest year on record was in 2016 due to the warming impact of a strong El Nino event
• The global average surface temperatures in 2019 were nearly 1 degree Celsius higher than the average from the middle of last century, making 2019 the second hottest year

 Climate hotspots  

• Climate hotspots of 2019 include Australia, Alaska and southern Africa whereas Central Canada and the northern US were among the few places that experienced cooler-than-average conditions

 AUSTRALIA  

• In Australia, 2019 was the hottest year on record, with the average temperature 1.5 degrees Celsius higher than the mid-20th century average
• 2019 was also the driest (in terms of rainfall difference from average) ever
• Most of the country has been in the grip of a severe drought since 2017, and New South Wales (southeastern Australian state) is currently seeing its most devastating bushfire season in at least 20 years.

 Major initiatives of the Government towards combating climate change  

• National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC): The Action plan covers eight major missions on Solar, Enhanced Energy Efficiency, Sustainable Habitat, Water, Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem, Green India, Sustainable Agriculture and Strategic Knowledge on Climate Change
• International Solar Alliance (ISA): ISA was jointly launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the then President of France, Francois Hollande in Paris on the sidelines of CoP 21 in 2015. The vision and mission of the alliance is to provide a dedicated platform for cooperation among solar resource rich countries that lie completely or partial between the Tropics of Capricorn & Cancer
• State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC): State governments have drafted climate strategies aligned with the eight National Missions under the NAPCC The strategies focus on issues ranging from climate mitigation, energy efficiency, and resource conservation to climate adaptation
• FAME Scheme for E-mobility: Union Government in April 2015 launched Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME) – India Scheme with an aim to boost sales of eco-friendly vehicles in the country. It is a part of the National Mission for Electric Mobility
• Atal Mission for Rejuvenation & Urban Transformation (AMRUT) for Smart Cities
• Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana: The scheme provides LPG connections to five crore below-poverty-line beneficiaries The connections are given in the name of women beneficiaries to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and conventional fuel like cow dung for cooking food, thus reducing air pollution
• UJALA scheme: The scheme was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2015 with a target of replacing 77 crore incandescent lamps with LED bulbs. The usage of LED bulbs will not only result in reducing electricity bills but also help in environment protection
• Swachh Bharat Mission: Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Movement) is a campaign that was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 2, 2014. The campaign seeks to clean the streets, roads and infrastructure of the country’s 4041 statutory cities and towns

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