Reports and Indices Current Affairs MCQs

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According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Global Methane Tracker 2025, the energy sector emitted about 145 million tonnes of methane in 2024. The Global Methane Tracker 2025 is released by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Oil and gas facilities alone contributed over 80 million tonnes. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas responsible for around 30% of global warming since the Industrial Revolution. Its current level in the atmosphere is 2.5 times higher than in preindustrial times and is increasing faster than other gases. The main human sources of methane are agriculture, energy, and waste sectors. The energy sector alone contributes over 35% of human-caused methane emissions.

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Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) released the State of the World’s Nursing (SoWN) 2025 report on International Nurses Day (IND). The global nursing workforce grew from 27.9 million in 2018 to 29.8 million in 2023, but 78% of nurses are in countries covering only 49% of the global population. The global nurse-to-population ratio is 37.1 per 10,000, with Europe having five times more nurses than Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean. High-Income Countries (HICs) have ten times more nurses than Low-Income Countries (LICs). In India, there are only 1.9 nurses per 1,000 people, below the WHO’s recommendation of 3 per 1,000. India has over 3.3 million registered nurses under the Indian Nursing Council (INC), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. India plans to open 157 new nursing colleges by mid-2025, adding 15,700 Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.Sc. Nursing) seats nationwide.

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The Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2025 shows that over 295 million people in 53 countries faced acute hunger. This marks an increase of 13.7 million people compared to 2023, showing a worsening food crisis. The report was published by the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC) with the Food Security Information Network (FSIN). The GRFC is released every year to track and analyse global food insecurity and malnutrition. It highlights that conflicts, extreme climate events, economic troubles, and forced displacement are the main causes. The report warns of a deepening global hunger and nutrition emergency.

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In 2024, India lost 18,200 hectares of primary forest, up from 17,700 hectares in 2023, as per Global Forest Watch (GFW) report. Global Forest Watch (GFW) is released by the World Resources Institute (WRI). It’s an open-source web application that monitors global forests in near real-time using satellite data and other sources. Between 2002 and 2024, India lost 3,48,000 hectares of humid primary forest, about 5.4% of its total, making up 15% of all tree cover loss. Humid primary forests are mature tropical forests identified using Landsat satellite images and special algorithms. From 2019 to 2024, India lost 1,03,000 hectares of such forests, or 1.6% of what remained, causing 14% of total tree cover loss. Since 2001, India has lost 2.31 million hectares of tree cover, a 7.1% drop, releasing 1.29 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. Assam saw the highest tree cover loss (3,40,000 ha), followed by Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, and Meghalaya.

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The Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report 2024-25 was released by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The Global Education Monitoring Report 2024–25 shows that gender gaps in education still exist across the world, including India. Globally, boys lag behind girls in reading, with only 87 boys reaching minimum proficiency for every 100 girls. In middle-income countries, the gap is wider, with just 72 boys achieving reading standards for every 100 girls. Women are still under-represented in educational leadership roles, especially in India. The report stresses that urgent action is needed to close gender gaps in learning outcomes and leadership.

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On June 5, 2025, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the 8th edition of “EnviStats India 2025: Environment Statistics” during a national workshop in New Delhi. The report follows the Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES) 2013 and compiles data from various ministries and departments. Inland fish production rose from 61.36 lakh tonnes to 139.07 lakh tonnes, showing strong aquaculture growth. The publication includes data on Ramsar sites, population access to electricity, transport, sanitation, and environmental temperature changes. The highest government expenditure was on the Environment Sustainability Sector with Rs. 2433.24 crore in 2021-22.

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The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently released the 2025 Review of the State of World Marine Fishery Resources. The report highlights that deep-sea species are hard to manage due to their slow growth, late maturity, long lifespans, low natural death rates, and rare spawning. Only 29% of deep-sea fish stocks are being fished sustainably, making them highly vulnerable. It raises concern over overfishing and Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. Globally, 64.5% of all fishery stocks are within sustainable levels, but 35.5% are overfished.

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India ranked 131 out of 148 countries in the Global Gender Gap Report 2025 released by the World Economic Forum (WEF), slipping two places from 129 in 2024. The Global Gender Gap Index measures gender parity in Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment. India scored 64.1% in overall gender parity, among the lowest in South Asia.

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As per the 2025 yearbook of Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), nine countries possess 12,241 nuclear weapons as of January 1, 2025. These countries are the United States (US), Russia, United Kingdom (UK), France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea. Russia has 5,459 and the US has 5,177 nuclear warheads, together holding around 90% of the global stockpile. China has 600, France 290, UK 225, India 180, Pakistan 170, Israel 90, and North Korea 50 warheads. Of the total, 9,614 warheads are in military stockpiles, and 3,912 are deployed on missiles or aircraft.

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The Global Drought Outlook 2025 was recently released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It warns that 40% of the world’s land area now faces more frequent and severe drought. Recent major droughts occurred in Europe (2022), California (2021), and the Horn of Africa including Somalia. The economic cost of an average drought is rising by 3% to 7.5% annually. Countries like India and Australia may face disruptions in hydroelectric power generation due to water shortages.