• The latest Emissions Gap Report was released by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
• The emissions gap is defined as the difference between the estimated total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from the full implementation of the nationally determined contributions (NDCs), and the total global GHG emissions from least-cost pathways consistent with the Paris Agreement long-term goal of limiting global average temperature increase to well below 2°C, and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C relative to pre-industrial levels.

 MAJOR FINDINGS

• GHG emissions increased by 2 per cent from 2021 to 2022 to reach a new record of 57.4 Gigatonnes of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (GtCO2e).
• At current pledges under the Paris Agreement, the world is on track for a 2.5-2.9°C temperature rise above pre-industrial levels this century.
• Until the beginning of October this year, 86 days were recorded with temperatures over 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
• September was the hottest recorded month ever, with global average temperatures 1.8°C above pre-industrial levels.
• Global low-carbon transformations are needed to deliver cuts to predicted 2030 greenhouse gas emissions of 28 per cent for a 2°C pathway and 42 per cent for a 1.5°C pathway.

 ABOUT UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME

• It is a leading global environmental authority established on 5^th June 1972 after Stockholm Conference on Human Environment.
• It sets the global environmental agenda, promotes sustainable development within the United Nations system, and serves as an authoritative advocate for global environment protection.
• UN Environment Assembly is the governing body.
• Membership encompasses all 193 UN Member States.
• It is part of the UN Secretariat and responds to the UN General Assembly.
• Headquarters- Nairobi, Kenya.
• Other Reports– Adaptation Gap Report, Global Environment Outlook, Frontiers, Invest into Healthy Planet, Environmental Rule of Law Report etc.

• Sheynnis Palcios, from Nicaragua, was crowned Miss Universe 2023.
• The 72^nd Miss Universe event was held in San Salvador, EI Slvador.
• The 23-year-old TV host and model, is the first Nicaraguan woman to win the crown.
• Anntonia Porslid of Thailand was first runner-up while Australia’s Moraya Wilson was crowned the second runner-up.

• International Men’s Day is observed annually on 19^th
• The theme for International Men’s Day 2023 is “Zero Male Suicide”
• It underscores the need to address mental health issues among men and boys.

• The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development 2022 was, jointly awarded to the Indian Medical Association and the Trained Nurses Association of India as representatives of the COVID-19 warriors in the country.

ABOUT THE PRIZE

• The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development was instituted in the memory of the former prime minister by a trust in her name in 1986.
• It consists of a monetary award of Rs 25 lakh along with a citation.
• It is given to individuals or organizations who work towards ensuring international peace and development, ensuring that scientific discoveries are used to further the scope of freedom and better humanity, and creating a new international economic order.

• The 2^nd Voice of Global South Summit was hosted by India.
• It focused on condemning the Hamas attacks of October 7 and called for restraint, dialogue, and diplomacy to resolve the Israel-Hamas conflict.
• PM of Indi unveiled DAKSHIN (Global South Centre of Excellence) and called for 5 ‘Cs’ for the Global South- Consultation, Cooperation, Communication, Creativity, and Capacity building.

ABOUT VOGSS

• The term ‘global South’ was first used by Carl Oglesky, a leftist American author and political activist in 1969.
• Through his famous 1980 report entitled ‘North-South: A Programme for Survival’, former West German Chancellor Willy Brandt invented the ‘Brandt Line’ that divided the world roughly at the latitude of 30 degrees North, placing North America, Europe, Japan, and Australia in the North and showing the southern part of the hemisphere as the South.
• Voice of Global South Summit is a platform where countries from the Global South, often described as developing or less developed, come together to share perspectives and priorities.
• The summit focuses on sustaining momentum toward a more inclusive, representative, and progressive world order.

• European Union has allowed use of controversial weedkiller glyphosate for 10 more years.
• However, renewal of the licence is “subject to certain new conditions and restrictions”.
• These include
  • a ban on the use of the chemical to dry crops before harvest, and “the need for certain measures to protect non-target organisms”.
  • Governments can still restrict the use of glyphosate in their own countries if they consider the risks too high, particularly in regard to the need to protect biodiversity.

ABOUT GLYPHOSATE

• Molecular formula- C₃H₈NO₅
• Glyphosate is a phosphonic acid and odourless white powder.
• Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup, the world’s most widely used herbicide.
• It is a non-selective systemic herbicide that is applied directly to plant foliage.
• Issues-
  • Health impacts of glyphosate range from cancer, reproductive and developmental toxicity to neurotoxicity and immunotoxicity.
  • Symptoms include irritation, swelling, burning of the skin, oral and nasal discomfort, unpleasant taste and blurred vision.

IN INDIA

• Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in October, 2022 allowed for only restricted use of glyphosate citing health hazards for humans and animals.
• Only authorised Pest Control Operators are allowed to use it.

• NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment, aboard the Psyche spacecraft, has accomplished a groundbreaking “first light” moment.

• The DSOC experiment, which has the potential to revolutionize spacecraft communication, successfully transmitted data via laser to and from beyond the moon for the first time, marking a significant milestone in deep space communication.
• DSOC system that consists of a flight laser transceiver, a ground laser transmitter, and a ground laser receiver.
• DSOC’s primary goal is to demonstrate data transmission rates 10 to 100 times greater than current state-of-the-art radio frequency systems used by spacecraft.
  • This advancement holds promise for transmitting scientific information, high-definition imagery, and streaming video, significantly contributing to future human missions to Mars.
• The achievement was realized as the near-infrared laser, encoded with test data, traversed nearly 16 million kilometers, a distance approximately 40 times farther than the Earth-Moon separation, to reach the Hale Telescope at Caltech’s Palomar Observatory in San Diego County.

ABOUT PSYCHE MISSION

• NASA had launched a spacecraft called ‘Psyche’ on a six-year mission to study a unique metal-rich asteroid also named ‘Psyche.’
• It orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter.
• The primary goal of the Psyche mission is to explore the iron core, a previously unexplored aspect of planet formation.
• Asteroid Psyche is unique as it appears to be the exposed nickel-iron core of an early planet, one of the building blocks of our solar system.
  • For the first time, the mission will examine a celestial body primarily composed of metal rather than rock and ice.

Through this it aims to gain insights into the internal structure of terrestrial planets, including Earth.

• The number of measles deaths globally increased by 43% from 2021-2022, following years of declining vaccination rates, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• The report noted that in 2022, 37 countries experienced large or disruptive measles outbreaks compared with 22 countries in 2021.
• Of these, 28 were in the WHO Region for Africa, six in the Eastern Mediterranean, two in the South-East Asia, and one in the European Region, WHO said.
  • According to the report, an estimated 11 lakh children in India missed their crucial first dose of measles vaccine in 2022.

ABOUT MEASLES

• Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus.
• It spreads easily when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes.
• It can affect anyone but is most common in children.
• It infects the respiratory tract and then spreads throughout the body.
• Symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose, and a rash all over the body.
  • Complications such as brain swelling, pneumonia and breathing problems, and severe diarrhoea may lead to death.
• It can cause severe complications, and even death.
• Measles is preventable with two doses of MR (measles rubella) vaccine.
• Two doses of the measles vaccine offers 97% protection for life.
  • The protection is likely to be weaker with a single dose.

• NASA’s James Webb space telescope has revealed a planet called Wasp-107b where specks of sand fall as rain.

• The planet, Wasp-107b, lies 200 light years away in the Virgo constellation.
• It is very large but very light, earning it the nickname the “candy floss” planet.
• It features silicate sand clouds and rain, scorching temperatures, raging winds and the distinct burnt-matches scent of sulphur dioxide.
• The planet was discovered in 2017.
• Wasp-107b is similar in mass to Neptune but almost the size of Jupiter, and its vast, diffuse nature allows the James Webb telescope to peer deep into its atmosphere.
• The latest observations reveal evidence of water vapour and sulphur dioxide, which would give the atmosphere a smell of burnt matches.
• It is also the first time the chemical composition of clouds on another planet has been identified – in this case, silicate sand.
• The planet’s atmosphere would feature something akin to Earth’s water cycle, but instead with sand cycling between solid and gaseous states.

• In Ladakh, after GI Tag for Apricot (Raktsey Karpo), Pashmina, and Ladakhi Wood Carving, the Geographical Indication Registry has officially granted the GI tag for ‘Ladakh Sea Buckthorn’.
• GIR is operating under the DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
• Sea Buckthorn is one of the most profitable crop of UT Ladakh having 90 % production from Ladakh in India.

ABOUT SEA BUCKTHORN

• Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae L) is a wonder plant of Ladakh and named ‘Leh Berry’ produces small orange or yellow coloured berries which are sour in taste but rich in vitamins, especially Vitamin C.
• It is naturally distributed over 11,500 hectares in the Ladakh region.
• The shrub can withstand extreme temperatures from minus 43 degrees Celsius to 40 degrees Celsius and is considered drought-resistant.
• Sea Buckthorn berries have a unique characteristic of remaining intact on the shrub throughout the winter months despite of the subzero temperature.
• Many bird species feed on the berries when other source of food is limited in the region.
• The leaves serve as protein-rich fodder for cold desert animals like sheep, goats, donkeys, cattle, and double-hump camels.
• The thorny and bushy growth of the shrub provides a protective shelter for flora and fauna thereby maintaining the fragile ecosystem of the cold arid region.
• Every part of the plant – fruit, leaf, twig, root, and thorns has been traditionally used as medicine, nutritional supplement, fuel and fence, and therefore, Sea Buckthorn is popularly known as ‘Wonder Plant’, ‘Ladakh Gold’, ‘Golden Bush’ or ‘Gold Mine’ of cold deserts.