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Gs-1 : Geography- Impact of climate change- greening of the Antarctic Peninsula

🅾️How Does Greening Affect Climate?

⚜️1. Temperature changes affect ecosystems by altering the conditions in which species thrive.

⚜️2. Darker surfaces (like vegetation) absorb more solar radiation, increasing surface temperatures.

⚜️3. Invasive species can disrupt local ecosystems by competing with native species for resources, potentially leading to ecological imbalance.

🅾️The rapid greening of the Antarctic Peninsula due to rising temperatures is a concerning sign of climate change. It points to potential ecological disruptions and further global warming as darker vegetation replaces reflective ice, contributing to rising sea levels and ecosystem imbalances. Scientists warn that this transformation could have far-reaching consequences, not only for the Antarctic region but for the planet as a whole.

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Gs-1 : Geography-

Gs-3 : Disaster Management-
Role of IMD

🅾️Why do we need advanced radar systems like the X-band? The starting point is recognizing the unpredictable and destructive nature of extreme weather events such as floods and landslides, which pose significant risks to life and property. The conventional methods of predicting weather patterns rely heavily on past data and general models, which may not be effective in real-time, especially in disaster-prone regions like Wayanad.

🅾️ Wayanad’s geography (hilly terrain, heavy monsoon rains) necessitates highly localized, high-resolution weather data. X-band radar, with its ability to detect minute particles (like raindrops or soil) and provide short-term, precise readings, directly addresses this need.

🅾️Prelims :
Mission Mausam

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Gs-1 : Geography- Lake-Effect Snow

🅾️What?- Areas near the Great Lakes (New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan) often see heavy snowfalls due to this effect, sometimes reaching over 1.2 metres in just a few da
ys.

🅾️How?- The key driver behind "lake-effect snow" is the difference in temperature between a cold air mass (often from Canada) and the warmer water of the Great Lakes.As the cold air passes over, the lake's relatively warmer surface heats the lower layer of this air.

🅾️What happens?- The warm water evaporates, adding moisture to the air above it.This moisture-laden air rises and cools, leading to the formation of snow clouds. Then the newly-formed snow clouds move with the wind and dump heavy snowfall on areas downwind of the lakes.

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Gs-1 : Geography

Gs-2 : IR- India- China- Mega Dam

🅾️The Brahmaputra is a transboundary river originating from the Angsi Glacier in Tibet (as the Yarlung Tsangpo), flowing through China, India, and Bangladesh. At the Great Bend, the river makes a sharp U-turn and descends into India, significantly increasing its velocity and hydropower potential.

⚠️The Great Bend offers one of the highest hydropower potentials in the world due to its steep gradient.
China's planned mega-dam at this location is expected to generate immense energy but will significantly disrupt the river's natural flow.

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Gs-1 : Geography-

🛑What is polar vortex?- Polar vortices are classified into two types based on the layers of the atmosphere they occupy

⚜️1. Tropospheric Polar Vortex:Occurs in the troposphere-Directly influences surface weather patterns, including storms and temperature shifts.

⚜️2. Stratospheric Polar Vortex:Unlike the tropospheric vortex, the stratospheric vortex is seasonal:
Peaks in autumn and weakens during summer due to changes in solar radiation and atmospheric circulation-Seasonal in nature and indirectly impacts the tropospheric vortex through stratosphere-troposphere coupling, which can amplify extreme weather patterns.

🛑Bomb Cyclone-
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#Geography #Minerals

Gs1- Geography- Mineral resources- Deep sea Exploration-
Mines and Minerals- Rare Earths- Why are they called critical minerals?- Ex: Read this

⚠️Indian Initiatives Underway:

⚜️
Deep Ocean Mission : Conducted by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, focusing on exploring seabed resources and enhancing scientific research.

⚜️
Maritime Vision 2030: A blueprint to develop the blue economy, focusing on sustainable use of ocean resources.

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#Geography #Placesinnews #IR

What is happening in DRC?

🅾️Hutu-Tutsi Conflict: Longstanding ethnic struggle dating back to colonial rule under Germany & Belgium, where Tutsis were given administrative dominance.

🅾️1959 Revolution: Hutus revolted against Tutsi rule, leading to longstanding tensions.

🅾️1994 Rwandan Genocide: Triggered by the assassination of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana (a Hutu); led to mass killings of Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

🅾️M23 Origins: Named after March 23, 2009 peace deal, which they claim was violated by the DRC government.

🔰Great Barrier Border: Strategic location for cross-border insurgency.

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#Geography #Placesinnews #Environment

Gs-1 : Geography

Gs-3 : Environment - Wallace line


⚠️What is it? - The Wallace Line is an invisible boundary in Southeast Asia that separates two vastly different sets of animal species—Asian species (tigers, orangutans) on one side and Australian species (kangaroos, cockatoos) on the other. This happens despite the islands being close to each other.

🅾️The reason? = Continental Drift + Evolution + Climate + Ocean Currents.

⚜️Millions of years ago, Australia broke away from Antarctica and developed its unique species.

⚜️Meanwhile, Asia pushed into Indonesia, forming new volcanic islands.

⚜️The deep ocean between these regions acted as a natural barrier, stopping animals from crossing.

⚜️Over time, species on either side evolved separately, leading to completely different biodiversity.


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Gs-2 : IR- Kurdistan issue

🅾️Background : Kurdish people's long-standing struggle to establish a nation-state of Kurdistan, a homeland for Kurds spread across Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Armenia( 5 Countries)

🅾️Why didn’t it happen?=Western betrayal: After WWI, Western powers promised a homeland (Treaty of Sèvres, 1920), but later backed off (Treaty of Lausanne, 1923), prioritizing other geopolitical interests.

📍 Places in News (Important for UPSC Prelims)

⚜️1. Zagros Range- Geographical heartland of Kurdish-populated areas.

⚜️2. Mosul & Kirkuk-Oil-rich contested areas in Iraq significant to Kurds.

⚜️3. Mount Ararat- Symbolic mountain near Armenian-Turkish border, Kurdish aspiration.

⚜️4. Rojava- Kurdish autonomous region in Syria governed by PYD/YPG.

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Gs-3 : Environment- Climate change

🅾️Basic funda-Energy balance of the Earth = Climate stability. So What happens in mountain regions when temperatures rise?

⚜️1. Glacial melting
⚜️2. Permafrost Thawing
⚜️3. Decline in Snow Cover
⚜️4. Erratic Snowfall Patterns


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Gs-1 : Geography

Gs-3 : Disaster management - Heatwaves

🅾️Nothing new- We covered many times-
Click here

🅾️What is a heatwave?- A climate shock + a governance failure + a design problem

🅾️Root Cause: Cities are built like ovens-asphalt, glass, lack of trees = heat island effect-Water isn't accessible, Medical alerts don’t reach slum areas, Labour laws don’t pause outdoor work, Buildings aren’t ventilated—> No Early warning-> No action -> Death.
🚫 Civic systems fail to translate alerts into behavioral change.

⚠️What not to do: Stop saying “climate change is to blame” without naming who is accountable -> Don’t rely on centralised plans; the heat kills hyper-locally-> Don’t wait for 2024’s death toll to issue a 2025 budget allocation

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Gs-1 : Geography/Gs-3 : Environment

Rejosari Senik- Case study- example of how slow-onset events (like sea-level rise) trigger climate-induced displacement and transform land use patterns.

🅾️Many residents migrated for better jobs and homes, leaving behind what resembled a ghost town.

🅾️Mangroves act as bio-shields, reducing tidal wave impact.They stabilize the coast, reduce erosion, and store carbon.Indonesian government plans to build a 700-km sea wall to hold back the rising sea.

⚠️Gs-4 : Ethics point- Environmental Ethics- Pasijah represents the emotional and cultural bonds people share with their land. Dont think that when we speak about Adaptation it is not only technical but also about dignity, memory, and identity of people.

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#Environment

Gs-1 : Geography/Gs-3 : Environment

🅾️Aral Sea is a is a landlocked sea
-Shrinkage-began in the 1960s due to Soviet-era diversion of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers for irrigation.

🅾️Geological Uplift: Loss of water weight has caused the Earth's crust in the Aral Sea basin to rise — about 1.6 inches (4 cm) between 2016–2020.

🅾️Desert Formation: Drying of the Aral Sea led to the creation of the Aralkum Desert.

🅾️Dust emissions from Aralkum doubled between 1985 and 2015, carrying toxins and salts.Dust affects air quality and public health in nearby countries (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan).


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Gs-1 : Geography

Gs-2 : IR- USA eyes Africa's great lake region for mines and minerals.

🅾️The U.S. is diversifying supply chains to reduce China dependency and Use resource diplomacy as peace diplomacy- This is part of the broader “friend-shoring” strategy: supply security through allied or strategic partnerships.

🅾️But issue is - Minerals fund wars in Congo just like oil in the Middle East — making control over resources a cause of and solution to violence.We discussed about the Africa's Great lake Region in this video on Mapping. V. IMP for mapping-
https://youtu.be/1P0Fmh9HXv4

🅾️Bisie mine was a model of ethical mining — modernised, regulated, global export supply

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UPSC Prelims 2025- Key.pdf
30 MB
How Relevant was VK IAS in prelims 2025?- ☝️Check this document. 🙂

This is also the official key from my end

- VK (
@hinduhighlights and @upschighlights)
#Placesinnews #Geography

Gs-2 : IR- India- China Relations

Gs-1 : Geography- Indian Geography- Passes

🅾️Importance of Shipki La Pass-Could cut Delhi–Mansarovar journey by 14 days-Strong religious and ethnic links with Tibetan plateau communities-Shared surnames (e.g., Namgyal) reflect cross-border kinship-Festivals, pilgrimages (e.g., Mansarovar) reinforce civilisational unity.

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Gs-1 : Geography- Strait of Hormuz

Gs-2 : IR- India- Gulf Relations- Energy Security


🔰India’s Oil & Gas Dependency on the Region (2023 data):
⚜️~60% of India’s crude oil imports come from West Asia (Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Iran).
⚜️~40% of global seaborne oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

⚠️A sustained disruption in the Strait of Hormuz could lead to:

🅾️Oil prices doubling= India’s fiscal and current account balance deteriorating by 1–2% of GDP->Inflationary pressures worsening by ~2 percentage points->Rupee weakening by ~5–7%

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2025/06/28 13:39:13
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