Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2024

Notes:
Astronaut Lora O’Hara on the International Space Station captured Alpenglow near the Hindu Kush. This natural phenomenon occurs during sunrise or sunset, casting rosy, reddish, or orange hues on mountain slopes. Alpenglow’s colors vary due to the sun’s angle and atmospheric conditions. Vibrancy depends on sun location, light angle, clouds, humidity, and particulates. The phenomenon rapid changes make it a captivating spectacle during the twilight hours.

Notes:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has upgraded India’s GDP growth forecast to 6.7% for the current fiscal year, a 40 basis points rise from the previous estimate of 6.3%. This positive revision is credited to strong public investment and positive labor market trends, as outlined in the latest World Economic Outlook report.

Notes:
Sports Development and Youth Welfare Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin announced the ‘Kalaignar Sports Kit’ initiative, distributing sports equipment in 12,000 village panchayats to commemorate M. Karunanidhi’s birth centenary. The scheme begins on February 7 in Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu and aims to support young athletes. Udhayanidhi emphasized the government’s commitment to promoting sports, paralleling the provision of books for education. He praised Khelo India 2023 for identifying and nurturing over 5,400 talented athletes across various disciplines, enhancing India’s international competitiveness.

Notes:
China has imposed a ban on the import of ruminants and related products from Iraq due to a bluetongue disease outbreak. Bluetongue is a non-contagious viral disease affecting domestic and wild ruminants, transmitted by insects’ particularly biting species of Culicoides midges. The virus belongs to the Reoviridae family with 24 identified serotypes. Symptoms vary, but sheep are most severely affected. The disease is globally distributed in regions where the insect vector thrives, posing a threat to various species with transmission facilitated by the infected vector.

Notes:
Recently, Mesolithic rock paintings were unearthed at Sitamma Loddi, Gattusingaram, in Telangana’s Peddapalli district. Discovered on a hillock in a dense forest, the paintings adorned a 1,000-foot-long, 50-foot-high sandstone rock shelter. The Mesolithic, or Middle Stone Age, bridged the gap between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, spanning approximately 12,000-10,000 years ago. Notable for the transition from large chipped stone tools to microliths, small tools affixed to bone or wood handles for making implements like saws and sickles, it marked a pivotal era in human cultural development.

Notes:
A potent atmospheric river storm approached at Southern California, posing a severe threat of life-threatening floods and landslides. Atmospheric rivers, responsible for 90% of moisture movement from tropics to poles, act as Earth’s largest freshwater transport. Formed by aligned weather patterns, they include well-known ones like the Pineapple Express. The impending storm highlights the risks posed by these intense moisture channels.

Notes:
Researchers discovered a new fungus species, Trichoglossum syamviswanathii, in Kerala. Trichoglossum is a genus of fungus known as “hairy earth tongues” due to its filamentous structure. The fungus, with 55 identified genera and 21 recognized species globally, exhibits saprotrophic behavior and can be found in plant roots as endophytes. Predominantly distributed in tropical and temperate forests across five continents, these fungi play a crucial role in decomposing organic matter.

Notes:
The 7th session of the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) took place in Kochi from January 29 to February 2, 2024. Established in 2013 under the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), India has consistently hosted the committee, with the Spices Board India serving as the organizing secretariat. In this session, quality standards for small cardamom, turmeric, juniper berry, allspice, and star anise were finalized. The Codex Alimentarius Commission, jointly established by FAO and WHO, is an international body with 189 member countries, meeting annually in Geneva and Rome.

Notes:
New maps reveal a hidden hydrothermal system under Lake Rotorua, at a dormant volcano’s heart in New Zealand. Hydrothermal systems, common near convergent plate boundaries and mid-ocean ridges, need fluids, heat, and permeability. Seawater percolates through oceanic crust, heating to 350-400°C, producing chemically modified hydrothermal fluid. Ejected to the seafloor, it forms chimney-like deposits, supporting deep-sea chemosynthetic communities. This discovery highlights the dynamic geological processes beneath the lake, providing insights into hydrothermal systems’ intricate workings.

Notes:
The GRAPES-3 experiment, situated in Ooty, India and operated by the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, made a significant discovery in the cosmic-ray proton spectrum, revealing a new feature at 166 TeV. Equipped with air shower detectors and a large muon detector, GRAPES-3 aims to investigate the origin, acceleration, and propagation of cosmic rays, including the existence of the “Knee” in their energy spectrum. It also explores the production of highest-energy cosmic rays, astronomy of multi-TeV γ-rays, and the impact of the Sun on Earth.