Medium Level – GK Questions

Van Panchayats are community-managed forest councils in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, empowering locals to conserve and use forest resources sustainably.

JFM, initiated in 1990, partners forest departments with village communities for sustainable forest management and sharing of benefits.

Agroforestry combines agriculture and forestry practices to enhance biodiversity, improve soil health, and increase farm productivity sustainably.

Deciduous forests have trees that lose leaves seasonally to conserve water during dry periods, common in tropical and temperate regions.

Jet streams are high-altitude, high-speed wind bands that influence weather patterns and aviation routes globally.

Trade winds form due to air moving from high-pressure subtropical zones toward the equatorial low, deflected by the Coriolis effect.

Earth's rotation deflects moving air and water to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and left in the Southern Hemisphere, affecting wind patterns.

Ozone molecules absorb ultraviolet radiation, converting it to heat, which causes temperature to rise with altitude in the stratosphere.

The tropopause is the transition layer where temperature stops decreasing with height, marking the upper limit of weather activity.

The ozone layer is located in the stratosphere, approximately 15-35 km above Earth's surface, absorbing most of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation.

NAPCC recognizes that climate change intensifies disasters; thus, adaptation measures are integrated into DRM to build resilience.

Non-structural measures use policy, planning, and information to reduce flood risk without physical infrastructure, complementing structural approaches.

The Disaster Management Act 2005 provides a legal and institutional framework for disaster management at national, state, and district levels.

Filling lakes, concreting over drains, and unplanned urbanization reduce infiltration and block natural water flow, increasing flood vulnerability.

NDMA, established under the Disaster Management Act 2005, is chaired by the Prime Minister to coordinate disaster response and mitigation.

Removal of vegetation, slope cutting for roads/buildings, and intense monsoon rains destabilize slopes, triggering landslides in fragile Himalayas.

GIS enables spatial analysis and visualization of environmental data for informed decision-making in conservation, planning, and monitoring.

Smart grids use digital technology to optimize electricity distribution, integrate renewables, and enable consumer participation in energy management.

Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) supports EV market growth to reduce fossil fuel dependence and emissions.

Algae can grow rapidly in non-arable land using wastewater or seawater, offering higher oil yields without competing with food crops.