CURRENT AFFAIRS

The Government of Karnataka has declared Hesaraghatta Grassland as a conservation reserve. This decision is a significant initiative towards protecting the shrinking ecological diversity and natural resources under the pressure of urbanization.

On May 22, 2025, under a historic agreement, the United Kingdom has announced to hand over the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. This agreement has ended the decades-old rule of the British administration on the Indian Ocean archipelago, which has been the subject of ongoing legal and diplomatic disputes since the separation of the islands from Mauritius in 1965.

White Category Industries are those industries or business activities that have negligible or no adverse impact on the environment. 

Light pollution refers to the excessive, misdirected, or obtrusive use of artificial outdoor light. 

Steel slag is a solid waste by-product produced during the steel-making process, especially in basic oxygen furnaces (BOF) and electric arc furnaces (EAF). 

Gas flaring is a long-standing but under-addressed environmental concern in the global energy sector. 

The 81st Annual General Meeting of the International Air Transport Association and the World Air Transport Summit (WATS) will be held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi from June 1 to 3. The meeting is being held in India after a gap of 42 years.

On May 28, 2025, a huge chunk of the Birch Glacier broke off and slid down the mountain slope in the alpine village of Blatten, located in the Lötschental Valley in southern Switzerland, burying nearly 90% of the village under debris.

The Carbonate Compensation Depth (CCD) is a specific depth in the ocean below which calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) dissolves faster than it accumulates, meaning no calcium carbonate sediments can build up on the seafloor.

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, has recently developed an innovative hydrogel that can effectively remove and degrade microplastics from water sources.