Category: Life & Style

Changi Airport Group (CAG) has introduced new measures such as refresh pods, water coolers and protective sun wear to keep its outside workers cool.

At the new 2.5-metre-tall refresh pods installed at various staff rest areas, cool air blows and circulates within the pod at the easy touch of a button. These pods help the airside workers to cool down or dry themselves. Each pod can accommodate up to five at a time.

To keep workers well hydrated, there are over 40 water coolers installed at the airside, which makes it to about eight coolers per pier. A drinks truck has been deployed to remind workers to drink up. Protective sun wear such as UV arm sleeves have also been distributed to the staff.

About 30,000 workers work at CAG’s airside as ramp assistants, aircraft maintenance engineers and in-flight catering drivers, to name a few. For new joiners, heat acclimatisation protocols were encouraged for them to get used to the work environment. These heat stress management measures are part of managing higher ambient temperatures at the CAG under its climate resilience strategy.

After 12 years, the United Nations Secretary-General has taken India off a list of countries mentioned in a report on children and armed conflict. This is the first time since 2010 that the country has not been named in the report alongside countries such as Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Lake Chad basin, Nigeria, Pakistan, and the Philippines.

The report on ‘Children and Armed Conflict’ said India has been “removed from the report in 2023” in view of measures taken by the government to “better protect children.”

Officials of the Ministry of Women and Child Development on June 28 said that this became possible due to the introduction of various policies and institutional changes since 2019.

An official statement said that a roadmap for cooperation and collaboration on child protection issues was developed by the Ministry under the guidance and leadership of Union Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani. Earlier, the Juvenile Justice Act was not implemented, and the juvenile homes there were not functioning properly. Other infrastructure such as Child Welfare Committees, Juvenile Justice Boards, Child Care Homes have since been established, a senior ministry official said.

Many of the measures suggested by the UN have already been carried out or underway. The Ministry has carried out training of security forces in protection of children. The use of pellet guns has already been suspended. And the JJ Act and POCSO Act are being implemented.

About 27 metric tonnes of ice and snow melt in the Himalayas was prevented by the Indian national lockdown, in place from March 25, 2020, to May 31, 2020, according to a new study.

Reduced anthropogenic pollutant emissions during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns decreased snowmelt in the Himalayas, the study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Nexus said.

Liqiang Zhang from Beijing Normal University, China, and colleagues explored how the sudden, dramatic reduction in particulate pollution in the region affected snow and ice melt, using multiple satellite data as well as a coupled atmosphere-chemistry-snow model.

The researchers estimate that the reduced anthropogenic pollutant emissions during the Indian lockdown was responsible for 71.6 percent of the reduction in radiative forcing on snow in April 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. This cut in radiative forcing may have avoided 27 tonnes in ice and snow melt.

Snow and ice on the Tibetan plateau act as a water source for over 20 percent of the global population. However, ice and snow in the Himalayas have been melting at an accelerating rate in recent decades. While the prime reason for this melting is suggested to be climate change, air pollution also plays a role, as the dark particles of dust and soot that fall on frozen surfaces absorb solar energy and melt the nearby snow and ice. 

The National University of Singapore (NUS) has become the first Asian university to rank in the Best 10 of the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Ranking. It moved up three positions from rank 11 last year to break into the top 10. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),US, topped the ranking for the twelfth consecutive time this year, followed closely by Cambridge University and Oxford University of the United Kingdom.

The top 10 global universities also included Harvard University at number four, Stanford University at number five, Imperial College London at number six, ETH Zurich at number seven, National University of Singapore (NUS) at number eight, UCL at rank nine, and University of California, Berkeley (UCB) at the tenth spot.

In the latest rankings, American universities made up half of the top 20 institutions in the world. UC Berkeley has made a comeback to the best 10 after a long absence this time. Three Australian universities also jumped in rankings to enter the top 20.

From India, the best performer was IIT Bombay, which climbed 23 positions to secure a spot among the world’s top 150 universities.

The annual rankings in the latest edition, released on June 28, saw minimal changes within the top 10 list. However, significant fluctuations were observed in the lower rankings, as QS introduced new metrics — sustainability, employment outcomes and international research network.

Indonesia, Mexico, Paraguay, Philippines, and Vietnam are the most positive countries in the world, according to Gallup’s latest Global Emotions report. Afghanistan is the least positive country in the world.

The survey found that people across the world had more positive experiences in 2022 as compared to 2021. The global rise in negative emotions stalled last year, and positive emotions showed signs of recovery.

The Gallup asked adults in 142 countries and areas in 2022 if they had five different negative experiences on the day before the survey. The responses were compiled into an index. The survey found that about four in 10 adults worldwide experienced a lot of worry (41 percent) or stress (40 percent), and nearly one in three experienced a lot of physical pain (32 percent). More than one in four experienced sadness (27 percent), and slightly fewer experienced anger (23 percent).

Similarly, the Positive Experience Index accounted for people’s responses to five questions about positive experiences they had the day before the survey. Higher scores of the index indicate that more of the population reported experiencing these emotions.

After dropping for the first time in 2021 after years of stability, positive emotions rebounded slightly in 2022. The global index score in 2022, 70, is up one point from the previous year, although it is still lower than the score of 71 in the years leading up to the pandemic and the first year of the pandemic.

“Climate washing” litigation has risen sharply in the last two years as environmental groups and governments grew frustrated with increasing corporate claims about tackling climate change, says a report by London-based Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.

The annual report on climate litigation trends released on June 29 defines climate washing as cases that challenge companies, and sometimes governments, over misinformation or misleading green claims.

In 2022, 26 climate washing cases were filed against companies globally. It was slightly lower than 27 in 2021, but higher than the previous two years. Lawyers, working on behalf of activists and others disturbed by the lack of progress in lowering greenhouse gas emissions, have filed 2,341 climate litigation cases worldwide, half of them since 2015. Most of the cases have been filed in the United States.

A significant group of climate-washing cases has been challenging the accuracy of corporate climate commitments, especially if these declarations are not backed up by enough plans and policies. Total climate litigation cases filed till May 31 this year dropped to 190 from 266 the year before. However, the report found that the diversity of cases was growing.

The tropics lost 10 percent more primary rainforest in 2022 than in 2021 – the equivalent of 11 soccer pitches of forest disappearing per minute – according to a global analysis of 2022 tree cover loss data released on June 27.

The forest loss was highest in Brazil, Bolivia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Indonesia and Malaysia maintained their recent trend of low rates of tree loss, said the study. The total tropical primary forest loss was 4.1 million hectares, an area about the size of Switzerland. The study based on satellite measurements was done jointly by the University of Maryland and the World Resources Institute’s Global Forest Watch.

Globally, the tropics are losing forests faster than anywhere else, mainly for agriculture, timber and mining. This is a global concern, as tropical rainforests are huge stores of biodiversity and absorb vast amounts of carbon dioxide, besides regulating local and regional climates.

The forest loss in 2022 led to 2.7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, which is equivalent to the fossil fuel emissions of India, said Mikaela Weisse, the director of Global Forest Watch, an online data platform.

The study researchers said that fires are a major and growing source of forest loss in the tropics and elsewhere as global temperatures rise and droughts become more severe. In 2015, fires devastated large areas of Indonesia. In 2016, Brazil lost 1.6 million ha due to fires. In 2022, Russia lost 4.3 million ha of tree cover, of which 73 percent was related to fires.

About 2 million Muslim pilgrims took part in the annual Hajj pilgrimage that began on June 26, making it the ‘largest’ Hajj pilgrimage in history. This year, Hajj was held between June 26 and July 1, with the celebration of Eid al-Adha on June 28.

One of the five pillars of Islam that is mandatory for Muslims to take part, the pilgrimage absolves sins, brings them closer to God, and unites over 1.8 billion followers across the world. In 2023, Hajj returned to full capacity for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic three years ago.

This year’s Hajj was also a challenge, as the pilgrimage took place in the nearly 45-degree-Celsius heat. Saudi authorities said more than 32,000 health workers and thousands of ambulances were on standby to treat cases of heatstroke, dehydration and exhaustion.

Despite being an expensive ritual, the annual pilgrimage is inspirational for many, even those located in countries affected by war, poverty or calamity. This year, four groups of pilgrims left Gaza for Hajj. Pilgrims from northwestern Syria streamed through border crossings with Turkey, while Yemenis took the first direct flight to Saudi Arabia since 2016.

Infosys’ Co-founder Nandan Nilekani has donated ₹315 crore to IIT Bombay, making his total contribution to the institute to ₹400 crore. The recent grant will be used to enhance world-class infrastructure, foster research in emerging areas, and support a deep-tech start-up ecosystem.

Nilekani joined IIT Bombay in 1973 for a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He has donated $38.5 million to his alma mater. IIT Bombay plans to raise $500 million over the next five years and establish centres of excellence in artificial intelligence, green energy and quantum computing. Nilekani has contributed $85 million to the institute over the years and served on its board of governors.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between Nilekani and institute director, Professor Subhasis Chaudhuri in Bengaluru on June 20. The institute plans to set up world-class centers of excellence in strategic areas such as artificial intelligence, green energy, and quantum computing in the next 10 years.

Over the past five decades, Nilekani has remained connected to the institute, assuming various roles. He served on the board of the IIT Bombay heritage foundation from 1999 to 2009 and was a member of the board of governors from 2005 to 2011. His initial contributions played a crucial role in constructing new hostels, co-financing the school of information technology, and establishing India’s first university incubator.

Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Canada, on June 27 announced that the government will establish an open work-permit stream for 10,000 American H-1B visa holders, to attract skilled workers from the United States and provide them with employment opportunities in Canada. In addition, the program will allow for study or work permits for family members of H-1B visa holders.

The official release said that thousands of workers in high-tech fields are employed with companies that have large operations in both Canada and the US, and those working in the US often hold an H-1B specialty occupation visa. As of July 16, 2023, H-1B specialty occupation visa holders in the US, and their accompanying immediate family members, will be eligible to apply to Canada.

The approved applicants under this new decision will receive an open work permit valid for up to three years. This permit will enable them to work throughout Canada. They will be able to work for almost any employer anywhere in the country. Their spouses and dependants will also be eligible to apply for a temporary resident visa, with a work or study permit, as needed.

The exact qualifications and admission numbers for this stream were not explicitly outlined.

The H-1B visa program in the US grants temporary work permits to foreign nationals in specialised occupations, particularly in the technology and skilled sector. As tech companies experienced a surge in hiring during the pandemic but subsequently faced layoffs, many H-1B visa holders found themselves in need of new job opportunities.