Question

Write notes.

Meteorology, Climatic factors, Monsoon model, Industrial waste, Plastic waste, Principles of first aid.

Answer 1

a. Meteorology: The branch of science that deals with the study of earth's atmosphere and majorly focus on the weather processes and forecasting is known as meteorology. Weather forecasting is made depending on the various variables like temperature, air pressure, winds etc. as they vary with time. Storms, lightning, rainfall etc. are also studied under meteorology. Predictions made by the meteorological department is important to citizens, aviation services, farmers and various other organisations. There are various models which are used weather prediction:

• Mathematical Model: In this model, supercomputers are used to analyse complex data collected from observations and to find the optimal solution.
• Holistic Model: In this model, the output from other models are also taken into consideration and then collectively final prediction is made.

b. Climatic factors: Climate is defined as the average conditions that are expected at a certain place over a number of years. Climate remains constant for a region and does not change continuously. It influences our lives in terms of our basic needs like food, clothing and shelter as well as our occupations. Climatic factors are factors which affect the climate of a region for example, direction and speed of wind, temperature, atmospheric pressure, clouds, rainfall, humidity, visibility etc. These climatic factors are important in development of infrastructures like high scrapers, bridges, airport runways etc.

c. Monsoon model: For the first time, a model predicting monsoon was developed in 1877 by H. F. Blanford, the then founder of IMD. This was the first prediction of its kind and the parameter which was chosen to for this prediction was the snowfall in Himalayas. In 1930's, the then director of IMD, Sir Gilbert Walker established a relationship between Indian monsoon and the various worldwide climatic factors. It was Dr Vasantrao Govarikar who finally developed the monsoon model based upon 16 worldwide climatic parameters and this model was in use from 1990 to 2002.

d. Industrial waste: Industrial waste is the waste that is produced from industries during the manufacturing process. For example pieces of metals, plastic, chemicals, etc. Industrial wastes are also a major source of environmental pollution. They lead to air and water pollution. The fumes which are generated from industries are highly poisinous and directly effect the respiratory systems of animals, humans and birds. The industrial waste materials are rich in toxic substances and heavy metals such as mercury, lead, copper, and cadmium. Mercury is a toxic substance, which exhibits the phenomenon of biomagnification when it enters the ecosystem via food chain. Since these chemicals cannot be decomposed, they keep on accumulating at each trophic level. The maximum concentration is accumulated at the top carnivore’s level. This increase in the concentration of pollutants or harmful chemicals with the increase in trophic level is called biological magnification.

e. Plastic waste: Plastic is something which we use on our daily basis and has become an inseparable part of our lives. Despite its various uses, one of the major disadvantages of plastic is that it is an environmental pollutant. Plastic is considered non-biodegradable because it is made of very long polymer chains, which take quite a long time to degrade. Moreover, none of the saprophytes contain enzymes to digest plastic and obtain its nutrients. Since, plastic is non biodegradable, its proper disposal is also important or it may lead to problems like choking of sewage system, resulting in overflow of drains and death of animal by consuming plastic bags.

f. Principles of first aid: First aids are the emergency measures to be followed at the time of disaster before the medical help arrives. Basic Principles of First-Aid are:

• Airway: If a person faces difficulty in breathing, raise the chin or hold the head in backward sloping position, so as to keep the respiratory passage open.
• Breathing: If the person has stopped breathing, give artificial respiration mouth to mouth.
• Circulation: If the person is unconscious, first give mouth to mouth respiration. If the person doesn't revives, perform CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) by pressing the heart hard using both palms. Repeat these two steps alternately after every 15 minutes.