News In Shorts

Posted 16 Apr 2025

Updated 20 Apr 2025

4 min read

Okjökull Glacier

It is believed to be the first glacier to be officially declared dead due to climate change.

In 2014, the Okjökull glacier in Iceland was declared dead after it became so thin that it stopped moving.
Okjökull was a dome-shaped glacier situated around the summit crater on Ok shield volcano, northwest of Reykjavík (Capital of Iceland).
Other glaciers that disappeared include Anderson Glacier, Clark Glacier and Glisan Glacier (USA), Baumann Glacier (New Zealand), Calderone Glacier (Italy), Martial Sur Glacier (Argentina), Pico Humboldt Glacier (Venezuela), Pizol Glacier (Switzerland), Sarenne Glacier (France), and Schneeferner Glacier (Germany).

Glacier is a large, perennial accumulation of snow and ice that slowly flows over land under the influence of its own weight and gravity.
Typically, glaciers exist in areas where mean annual temperatures are close to freezing point and winter precipitation produces significant accumulations of snow.
Importance of Glaciers:
- Water Reservoirs: Glaciers store about three-quarters of Earth's freshwater, making them the largest freshwater reservoirs.
- Food Systems: Glaciers are source of irrigation in many regions while glacial fed rivers make grounds fertile for agriculture.
- Biodiversity: Glacier melt delivers nutrients into lakes, rivers, and oceans, driving blooms of phytoplankton—the base of aquatic food chains.

Disrupted Water Cycles: Threaten freshwater, ecosystems, and agriculture.
Natural Disasters: Increases risks of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods and Avalanches.
Sea Level Rise: Causing coastal erosion, habitat loss, biodiversity loss etc.
Climate Feedback Loop: Lower Earth’s reflectivity, accelerating global warming.

Global: Designation of 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation by UN, UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme etc.
India: Network Programme on the Himalayan Cryosphere, Centre for Cryosphere & Climate Change Studies, HIMANSH Research Station, etc.

Recently Narwhal’s have been studied for the first time for their tusking behaviour.

Narwhals are known for their long tusk, which is actually a tooth.
Males have a tusk while females do not, but there are variations. Some females may have a small tusk, some males may lack one, and some narwhals can even have two tusks.
- Uses of Tusks: sensing salinity and water temperatures, hunting, adaptation to environmental changes.
Scientific Name: Monodon monoceros (Meaning: Whale with one tooth and one horn).
Location: Arctic waters of Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia.
IUCN Status: Least Concern.
Lifespan: Females (~100 years), Males (~84 years)
Reproduction: Gestation Period (~13 to 16 months).

Rushikonda Beach wins back the Blue Flag tag which was earlier withdrawn due to poor maintenance.

Rushikonda Beach in Visakhapatnam is the only Blue Flag beach in Andhra Pradesh and is among the 13 Blue Flag beaches in India.

Conferred upon: For beaches, marinas, and sustainable tourism boats. (has different criteria for each)
Conferred by: Denmark-based Foundation for Environment Education (FEE).
Criteria: Applicants have to comply with a number of stringent environmental, educational, safety and accessibility criteria at the time of the award.