Science and Technology Current Affairs Nov 2015 (Part 2)

Strongest Hurricane ‘Patricia’ made Landfall

• Hurricane Patricia became the most powerful tropical cyclone ever measured in the Western Hemisphere as its maximum sustained winds reached an unprecedented 200 mi/h (320 km/h) and its central pressure fell to 879 millibars.

• The eye of Hurricane Patricia made landfall near Cuixmala in Jalisco State of southwest Mexico. Maximum sustained winds at landfall were estimated at 165 mph, still firmly within the Category 5 range on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

• Hurricane Patricia was a tropical cyclone that formed in the Eastern Pacific and rapidly intensified into a Category 5 hurricane. Even more quickly than the storm strengthened, it rapidly weakened over the rugged terrain of Mexico. It j initially formed on October 20, 2015 and dissipated on October 24, 2015.

Science Express Climate Action Special Flagged-off from Delhi

• The Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister of Railway, Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu and Union Minister of Department of Science and Technology, Dr. Harsh Vardhan flagged off the Science Express Climate Action Special train from Safdeijung Railway Station on October 15, 2015.

• A brochure about an exhibition related to the issue of Climate Change and a poster were also released on the occasion. The Science Express Climate Action Special will travel across the country, covering about 19500 km, initially for about eight months, halting at 64 locations in about 20 States.

View More>> Monthly Category-wise Current Affairs

Asia Pacific is the Most Disaster Prone Part of the World UN Report

• Asia Pacific region is the world’s most disaster prone part. It is published on United Nations’ report released on October 11, 2015. As per the report, in the last 10 years, the region has been struck by 1625 disasters which is accounted for 40% of the global total.

• The report also revealed that the region needs to spend more on adapting to climate change and also needs to prepare for more extreme weather and disaster risks. The report calls floods, tropical storms and droughts as ‘silent killers’.

• Over 1.4 billion people were affected by these incidents. 90% of the world’s seismic activity originates in the ‘ring of fire’ which is situated in the basin of the Pacific Ocean.

Andamans Yielded a Sweet Banana with Orange Pulp

• The scientists at the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) have discovered a new species of banana named Musa indandamanensis from a remote tropical rain forest on the Little Andaman islands. The species was located about 16 km inside the Krishna Nalah forest in the island.

• The new species is about 11m high, whereas as the usual banana species is about three to four metres high. The fruit lux of the new species is about 1 m, which is thrice the size of regular species.

• The scientists who have made the discovery j describe it as a distinct global species with unique green flowers. The details of the new species were published in Taiwania, an : international journal on taxonomy and life sciences in the month of October, 2015.

Read Here>> Current Affairs – Nov 2015 (Part 1): Science & Technology

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