Geography www.iasscore.

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JET STREAMS
Introduction
Ajetstreamdevelops where air masses of differing temperatures meet. Therefore, the surface temperatures
determine where thejetstreamwill form.
The greater the difference in temperature, the faster the wind velocity inside thejetstream.
Jetstreams can flow up to 200 mph (322 km/h), are 1000s of miles long, 100s of miles wide, and a few
miles thick.
Where the jet stream begins?

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Air warmed in the tropics around the equator fuels the jet stream as it rises.

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Hitting the tropopause at about 58,000 feet (the layer of the atmosphere separating the troposphere from
the stratosphere), it is drawn toward the colder air at the north and south poles.
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How does it form a convection cell?

At higher latitudes, the warm air cools and sinks, drawing more warm air in behind it. The cooled air flows
back towards the equator, creating a loop or convection cell.
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Why the jet stream flows on an easterly course?

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As the earth rotates on its axis, so does the air around it. Due to this easterly rotation, rising warm air builds
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up momentum going the same direction. Thus, the jet stream cannot flow due north or due south, but makes
an angular approach from the west, toward both poles.
TYPES OF JET STREAMS
Subtropical Jet Streams
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Thesejets, like the polar-front jets, are best developedin winter and early spring.
During summer, in theNorthern Hemisphere, the subtropical jet weakensconsiderably, and it is only
identifiable in sporadicvelocity streaks around the globe.
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During winter,subtropical jets intensify and can be foundbetween 20 and 50 latitude.

Their maximumspeed approaches 300 knots, although these higherwind speeds are associated with their
merger withpolar-front jets.
The core is most frequently foundbetween 35,000 and 40,000 feet.
A subsidencemotion accompanies subtropical jets and gives riseto predominantly fair weather in areas
they passover.
These jets are also remarkably persistentfrom time to time, but they do fluctuate daily.
Sometimes they drift northward and merge witha polar-front jet. Over Asia in summer, thesubtropical
jet is replaced by the tropical easterlyjet stream.
Tropical Easterly Jet Stream
This jet occurs near the Tropopause over Southeast Asia, India, and Africa during summer.

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The strongest winds are over southern India, but they are not as intense as the winds encountered in polar-
front or subtropical jet streams.


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This jet isclosely connected to the Indian and African summermonsoons.
The existence of this jet impliesthat there is a deep layer of warm air to the northof the jet and colder
air to the south over the IndianOcean.
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This warm air is of course associatedwith the maximum heating taking place overIndia in summer, while
the colder air is over theocean.
The difference in heating and cooling andthe ensuing pressure gradient is what drives this jet stream
Polar-Night Jet Stream
This jetmeanders through the upper stratosphere over thepoles.
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It occurs only during the long winter night.Night is 6 months long over thepole in which winter is
occurring.
The polar stratosphere undergoes appreciable cooling dueto the lack of solar radiation. The
horizontaltemperature gradient is strongly established betweenthe equator and the pole, and the
pressuregradient creates this westerly jet.
The temperaturegradient breaks down intermittently during middleand late winter in the Northern
Hemisphere,therefore, the jet is intermittent at these times.
In the Southern Hemisphere the temperaturegradient and jet disappear rather abruptly nearthe time of
the spring equinox.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE JET STREAM
Aviation
In terms of commercial usage, the jet stream is important for the airline industry. By flying well within
the jet stream at 25,000 feet (7,600 meters), the flight time gets reduced significantly. The reduced flight
time and aid of the strong winds also allows for a reduction in fuel consumption.
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Weather
One of the most important impacts of the jet stream though is the weather it brings. Because it is a strong
current of rapidly moving air, it has the ability to push weather patterns around the world.
As a result, most weather systems do not just sit over an area, but they are instead moved forward with
the jet stream. The position and strength of the jet stream then helps meteorologists forecast future
weather events.
In addition, various climatic factors can cause the jet stream to shift and dramatically change an areas
weather patterns.
The worlds jet streams are also impacted byEl Nino and La Nina. DuringEl Ninofor example, precipitation
usually increases in California because the polar jet stream moves farther south and brings more storms
with it.
Conversely, duringLa Ninaevents, California dries out and precipitation moves into thePacific
Northwestbecause the polar jet stream moves more north. In addition, precipitation often increases in Europe
because the jet stream is stronger in the Northern Atlantic and is capable of pushing them farther east.

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Today, movement of the jet stream north has been detected indicating possible changes in climate.
Whatever the position of the jet stream, though, it has a significant impact on the worlds weather patterns
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and severe weather events like floods and droughts.
How do the Jet Streams affect the Monsoons and the Indian Sub Continent?
Over the Indian subcontinent, there are a number of separate jet streams whose speed varies from 110 km/
h in summer to about 184 km/h in winter.
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Winters
In winter the sub-tropical westerly jet streams bring rain to the western part of India, especially Himachal
Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.
Summers
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In summer the sub-tropical easterly jet blows over Peninsular India approximately at 14N and bring some
rain and storm.
Monsoons
With respect to the monsoons of India it is the Subtropical Jet Stream (STJ) and the countering Easterly
Jet that are most important. As the summertime approaches there is increased solar heating of the Indian
subcontinent, this has a tendency to form a cyclonic monsoon cell situated between the Indian Ocean and
southern Asia.
This cell is blocked by the STJ which tends to blow to the south of the Himalayas; as long as the STJ
is in this position the development of summer monsoons is inhibited.
During the summer months the STJ deflects northwards and crosses over the Himalayan Range. The
altitude of the mountains initially disrupts the jet but once it has cleared the summits it is able to reform
over central Asia.
With the STJ out of the way the sub continental monsoon cell develops very quickly indeed, often in a
matter of a few days. Warmth and moisture are fed into the cell by a lower level tropical jet stream which
brings with it air masses laden with moisture from the Indian Ocean.
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As these air masses are forced upward by north Indias mountainous terrain, the air is cooled and compressed,
it easily reaches its saturation vapor point and the excess moisture is dissipated out in the form of
monsoon rains.
The end of the monsoon season is brought about when the atmosphere over the Tibetan Plateau begins
to cool; this enables the STJ to transition back across the Himalayas. This leads to the formation of a
cyclonic winter monsoon cell typified by sinking air masses over India and relatively moisture free winds
that blow seaward.
This gives rise to relatively settled and dry weather over India during the winter months.
Atmospheric changes over the southern Pacific Ocean led to warmer than usual waters flowing into the
Indian Ocean. This provided additional moisture to feed the monsoon systems.
Further to the north the polar jet stream stalled due to being countered by Rossby Waves, there was a large
kink in the stream and this was centred over Russia. The stalled system prevented weather systems being
drawn across Russia and the kink acted as a barrier trapping hot air to the south and cold air to the north.

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The consequence of this static mass of hot air was the heat wave that devastated Russia. With the jet
stream stalled the STJ was unable to transit across the Himalayas as it would do ordinarily, the monsoon
cell to the south, fed by warmer waters in the Indian Ocean, had nowhere to go and as a consequence

1.
to extensive flooding.
The Somali Jet Stream
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it deposited vast amounts of rain over Pakistan, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and this led

The monsoon wind that is deflected to the north as it crosses the equator is further deflected to the
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east by the mountains of Africa.
Further, the progress of the southwest monsoon towards India is greatly aided by the onset of certain
jet streams including the crucial Somali jet that transits Kenya, Somalia and Sahel and exits the
African coast at 9 degrees north at low level and very fast.
This low level jet stream was found to be most pronounced between 1.0 and 1.5 km above the
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ground.
It was observed to flow from Mauritius and the northern part of the island of Madagascar before
reaching the coast of Kenya at about 3 S. Subsequently it ran over the plains of Kenya, Ethiopia
and Somalia before reaching the coast again around 9 N.
The jet stream appears to be fed by a stream of air, which moves northwards from the Mozambique
Channel.
The major part of this low level jet penetrates into East Africa during May and, subsequently,
traverses the northern parts of the Arabian Sea before reaching India in June.
Observations suggest that the strongest cross equatorial flow from the southern to the northern
hemisphere during the Asian Summer Monsoon is in the region of the low level jet.
This has intrigued meteorologists, because it is not clear why the major flow of air from the southern
to northern hemisphere should take place along a narrow preferred zone off the East African coast.
The importance of the low level jet arises from the fact that its path around 9 N coincides with a
zone of coastal upwelling. As the strong winds drive away the surface coastal waters towards the east,
extremely cold water from the depths of the sea rise upwards to preserve the continuity of mass. This
upwelling is brought about by strong low level winds.
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After the low level jet moves towards the Indian coastline around 9 N, it separates into two branches.
One appears to move to the northern parts of the Indian Peninsula while the other recurves towards
the southern half of the Indian coastline and Sri Lanka.
Conclusively, an increase in the cross-equatorial flow was followed by an increase in rainfall over the
west coast.
2. The Somali Ocean Current
This ocean current named the Somali Current, flows northward from the equator to 9 N, where it
separates from the coast. It is a fairly strong current.
The Somali Current may be considered to be a western boundary current of the Indian Ocean. But,
its peculiar feature is a reversal in direction with the onset of the summer monsoon.
In winter, this current is from north to the south running southwards from the coast of Arabia to the
east African coastline; but with the advent of the summer monsoon it reverses its direction and flows
from the south to the north.
This suggests a relationship with the reversal of monsoon winds, but usually the oceans respond very

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slowly to changes in atmospheric circulation.
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3. Sub-tropical Westerly and Tropical Jet Streams
Certain interesting changes take place in the upper atmosphere with the advent of the summer
monsoon.
Towards the end of May, a narrow stream of air, which moves from the west to the east over northern
India, suddenly weakens and moves to a new location far to the north of the Himalayas. This is
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known as sub-tropical westerly jet stream.

Its movement towards the north is one of the main features associated with the onset of the monsoon
over India.
As the westerly jet moves north, yet another jet stream sets in over the southern half of the Indian
peninsula. This flows in the reverse direction from the east to west. It is called tropical easterly jet,
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and it exhibits periodic movements to the north and south of its mean location during the hundred-
day monsoon season beginning with the first of June and ending around mid-September.
The altitude at which the winds attain their maximum strength in the tropical easterly jet is around
150 hPa, but the maximum winds associated with the sub-tropical westerly jet occur at a lower
altitude of 300 hPa. (HPa refers to hecta Pascal and is a unit of measure of atmospheric air
pressure)
A remarkable feature of the tropical easterly jet is that it can be traced in the upper troposphere right
up to the west coast of Africa.
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AIR MASSES
Introduction
When the air remains over a homogenous area for a sufficiently longer time, it acquires the characteristics
of the area. The homogenous regions can be the vast ocean surface or vast plains. The air with distinctive
characteristics in terms of temperature and humidity is called an Airmass.
Warm Air Mass is that whose temperature is greater than the surface temperature of the areas over which
it moves. Thus this indicates that the surface underlying the air mass is cold. Due to the presence of cool
surface the warm air mass gets cooled from below. The lower layer becomes stable and stops the vertical
movement of air. Due to this No adiabatic cooling of air formation of cloud halts precipitation stops

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creates anti-cyclonic stable conditions Warm air mass can further be divided as continental warm air mass
and maritime warm air mass (based on the source of origin whether continent or ocean respectively).

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Cold Air Mass originates in the polar and arctic regions. Temperature and specific humidity is very low.
Its temperature is lower than the surface temperature of the areas over which it moves. Thus the air mass
is warmed from below and becomes unstable. Due to heating up of air from below, the air rises vertically
and because of adiabatic cooling condensation process starts. This will lead to formation of clouds and
finally will result in precipitation. But the precipitation will occur only when the air mass is above the
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warm ocean as it will get the unobstructed supply of moisture whereas if lies above warm continent then
leads to clear weather.
Tropical air masses are warm and polar air masses are cold.
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FRONTS AND CYCLONES

Introduction
When two different air masses meet, the boundary zone between them is called a front. The process of
formation of the fronts is known as frontogenesis. Front is the leading edge of an advancing air-mass Its a line
of contrasting weather conditions. The leading edge of a cold air - mass is a cold front, whereas, the leading
edge of a warm air mass is a warm front.
Types of Fronts
1. Cold Front: On a weather map shown by a line marked with triangular spikes, pointing in the direction
of frontal movement.

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Weather Prior to the Contact with After the Passing
Phenomenon Passing of the Front the Front of the Front
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Temperature Warm Cooling suddenly Cold and getting colder
Atmospheric Decreasing steadily Leveling off then Increasing steadily
Pressure increasing
Winds South to southeast Variable and gusty West to northwest
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Precipitation Showers Heavy rain or snow, Showers then clearing

hail sometimes
Clouds Cirrus and cirrostratus changing Cumulus and Cumulus
later to cumulus and cumulonimbus
cumulonimbus
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2. Warm Front: A warm front is denoted on weather maps by a line marked with semi-circles facing the
direction of frontal movement.
Weather Prior to the Contact with After the Passing
Phenomenon Passing of the Front the Front of the Front
Temperature Cool Warming suddenly Warmer then leveling off
Atmospheric Decreasing steadily Leveling off Slight rise followed
Pressure by a decrease
Winds South to southeast Variable South to southwest
Precipitation Showers, snow, sleet or drizzle Light drizzle None
Clouds Cirrus, cirrostratus, altostratus, Stratus, sometimes Clearing with scattered
nimbostratus, and then stratus cumulonimbus stratus, sometimes
scattered cumulonimbus
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3. Occluded Fronts: Occluded front is formed when cold front overtakes warm front and warm air is
completely displaced from the ground surface. The temperature drops as the warm air mass is occluded,
or cut off, from the ground and pushed upward.
4. Stationary Front:
A stationary front forms when acold frontorwarm frontstops moving. This happens when two
masses of air are pushing against each other but neither is powerful enough to move the other. Winds
blowing parallel to thefront instead of perpendicular can help it stay in place.
CYCLONES
1. Temperate Cyclone
Isobars are generally elongated or oval shaped.
Air pressure 940-930 mb.
The size (diameter) may by 150-3000 km (100-200 miles), but mostly vary between 300-1500 m.

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Speed: It may be practically stationary or moving at a speed of 900-1000 Km per day. Aleutain and

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Iceland places of origin track.
They originate where warm tropical air mass meets cold polar air.
Characterized with unsettled and variable weather. They change their path with season.
General direction of movement from west to East (in the belt of westerlies).
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The averages speed is about 30 to 50 km per hour.
Rainfall is light to moderate light shower.
Fogginess and poor visibility.
A few hours after the front has passed, clear weather (anticyclone) prevails.
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Thunder and lightning occurs in the rear part of a cyclone.

Weather Associated with Temperate Cyclones
Air temperature changes as we move from behind the cold front to a position ahead of the warm
front.
Behind the surface position of the cold front, forward moving cold dense air causes the uplift of the
warm lighter air in advance of the front.
Because this uplift is relatively rapid along a steep frontal gradient, the condensed water vapor quickly
organizes itself into cumulus and then cumulonimbus clouds.
Cumulonimbus clouds produce heavy precipitation and can develop into severe thunderstorms if
conditions are right.
Along the gently sloping warm front, the lifting of moist air produces first nimbostratus clouds
followed by altostratus and cirrostratus.
Precipitation is less intense along this front, varying from moderate to light showers some distance
ahead of the surface location of the warm front.
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Stage of Development of a Temperate Cyclone

The stage in the development of temperate cyclone (depression) as per Bjerknes, are as under (shown
in the figure as A, B,C, D, E and F):
Stage I: A Warm and cold air are present side by side separated by a stationary quasi-stationary front.

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OR
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Stage II: A wave has formed on the fornt and a centre of low pressure is developing at the apex of
wave.
Stage III: The young and developing cyclone.
Stage IV: The cold front overtakes the warm front and the system is set to occlude.
Stage V: The occlusion process continues, the warm air is lifted to higher levels.
Stage VI: The cyclone comes into existence.
2. Tropical Cyclone
A powerful manifestation of Earths energy and moisture system is the tropical cyclone.
These cyclones originate entirely within tropical air masses, i.e. 23 N and 23 S
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The air of the tropics is essentially homogenous, with no front or conflicting air masses.
In addition, the warm air and warm seas ensure an abundant supply of water vapor and thus the
necessary latent heat to fuel (generate) these cyclones (stroms).
The tropical cyclones generally originate on the western margins of oceans around 8 to 12 N and
South.
With the help of latent heat, the tropical cyclones start whirling like a chimney, pulling more moisture-
laden air into the developing system.
Tropical cyclones tend to occur when the equatorial low pressure trough is the farthest from the
equator that is during the month that follow the summer solstice in each hemisphere.
Tropical cyclones are most destructive.
Vertically, these storms dominate the full height of the troposphere.
A system of low pressure occurring in tropical latitude is known as tropical cyclone. It is a general

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term for any type of cyclonic storm at low latitudes for which many other terms (local names) like
hurricanes, typhoons etc. are used.
Origin of Tropical Cyclones
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The exact mechanism that leads to the origin and development of tropical cyclones is not fully known due
to lack of climatic data. There are however certain basic requirements which results in the origin of a tropical
cyclone. The required conditions are as under:
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Large and continuous supply of warm and moist air: Tropical cyclones develop over the warm tropical
oceans where the surface temperature is around 27C. The high temperature near the surface of the oceans
makes the air full of water vapor. The latent heat is transported into the storms and released in the process
of cloud and rain formation. Tropical cyclones consequently originate in the western parts of the ocean
where temperatures are relatively higher than their eastern parts. In the eastern parts of the ocean the
existence of cold water currents reduce the surface temperature of the oceans.
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Large value of Coriolis force: The maximum value of Coriolis force is along the equator. Consequently,
the tropical cyclones do not originate in the belt of doldrums. Most of them have their origin around 15
latitude on the western margins of the oceans.
Upper level outflow: At a height of 9000 to 1500 meters above surface of the ocean, there must be an
anti cyclonic circulation, so that the ascending air currents within the cyclone may continue to be pumped
on in order to maintain the low pressure at the centre of the cyclone.
Weak vertical wind shear in the basic current: Because of weak vertical wind shear, hurricane formation
processes are limited to latitudes equator wards of the subtropical jet stream.
Presence of anti cyclonic circulation: There should be an anticyclonic circulation at the height of 9 km
to 15 km above the surface disturbance.
Main Characteristics of Tropical Cyclones
They have circular and closed isobars.
Their diameter varies between 150 to 300 km. And in exceptional cases to 10 km. vertically, these cyclones
dominate the full height of the troposphere. The inwards spiraling clouds from dense rain bands, with a
central area designated the eye, around which a thunderstorm cloud called eye-wall swirls, producing the area
of most intense rainfall. The eye has quite, warm air with even a glimpse of blue sky or stars possible.
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They do not have fronts and developing the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) over the oceans.
They tend to occur when the equatorial low-pressure through is the farthest from the equator.
They drive their energy from the latent heat.
They are irregular. They occur in the autumn season in the Northern Hemisphere and in March and April
in the Southern Hemisphere.

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OR
SC
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In the initial stage their speed varies between 15 to 30 km per hour which accelerates up to 200 and even
more km per hour.
There is an eye of the cyclone about 30 km in diameter in which the atmosphere is calm, clear and the
air pressure as low as 892 mb. The winds are light and variable. The clouds are either absent or scattered.
The eye of the cyclone is the warmest part.
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There are towering cumulonimbus clouds, torrential rainfall and violent winds accompanying a tropical
cyclone.
The majority of cyclones decay when they come over the land or when they resurvey northward and reach
over oceans.
Heavy rain may continue even after winds have become weak.
Nomenclature of Cyclones
Cyclones Indian Ocean
Hurricanes Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and Gulf of Panama
Typhoons China Sea
Baguio Philippines
Nowaki/Taifu Japan

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Willy Willies Australia
Regional Distribution: of the Tropical Cyclones
The tropical cyclones occur mainly in the following regions:
1.
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Tropical North Atlantic - Caribbean Sea, West Indies, Gulf of Mexico, Western coastal areas of Mexico
and Gulf of Panama (Hurricanes).
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2. Tropical part of the North pacific and the Philippines (Baguio) the China Sea and areas around Japan
(Taifu)
3. The Bay of Bengal and the north east Arabian Sea Gulf of Cambay of Kathiawar coast (Cyclones).
4. The south Indian Ocean, Coral Sea, Fiji, and the north and north east coast of Australia (Willy Willies).
GS

5. The south western parts of the Indian Ocean, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Tanzania.
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 Indian Polity www.iasscore.in

WRITS AND DOCTRINES

WRITS
Introduction

Under Article 32, the Supreme Court can issue the following five writs for restoration of fundamental rights:

Habeas Corpus: It literally means To have a body i.e. to be produced in person before the court. This
kind of writ is issued to protect the personal liberty of an individual against the arbitrary action of both
the State and Private individuals. The aggrieved person can even claim for compensation against state
action.

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Mandamus: It literally means Command. This kind of writ is issued against a public authority or a
public officer and interior courts for the purpose of enforcing rights only. It is the command by the Court

OR
to the public person or body, to do his or its duty. However, this writ cannot be issued against the President
and the Governors. Also, private rights cannot be enforced by this writ.

Prohibition: This kind of writ is issued by the higher courts to the lower courts or quasi-judicial bodies
(tribunals etc.) when the latter exceeds their jurisdiction. The objective is to keep the inferior courts or
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the quasi-judicial bodies within the limits of their respective jurisdiction.

The difference between Mandamus and Prohibition is that while the former can be issued against
judicial as well as administrative authorities, the latter is issued only against the judicial or quasi judicial
authorities.

Certiorari: It is similar to prohibition. The only difference is that this writ is issued to quash the order
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of a lower court or the decision of a tribunal in excess of its jurisdiction, while Prohibition is issued to
prevent an inferior court or tribunal to go ahead with the trial of a case in which it has assued excess of
jurisdiction. The purpose of this writ its to ensure that the jurisdiction of an inferior court or tribunal is
properly exercised and that is does not usurp the jurisdiction it does not possess.

Quo Warranto: It literally means what is your authority. This kind of a writ is issued to ensure that
the person holding a public office is qualified to hold the office. No time limit is prescribed for issuing
the writs in the Constitution and it has been left to the courts to decide on this issue.

Difference between the Writ Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and High Court:

The SC issues a writ (under Article 32) only in cases of the violation of the Fundamental Rights, whereas
the High Court (under Art 226) can issue the writs not only for the enforcement of the Fundamental
Rights but also for redressal of any other injury or illegality, provided certain conditions are satisfied. Thus
in a way, the writ jurisdiction of the High Court is wider than the SC.

Article 32 imposes on the SC a duty to issue the writs, whereas no such duty is imposed on the High Court
by Article 226.
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The Jurisdiction of the SC extends all over the country, whereas that of the High Court only to the
territorial confines of the particular state and Union Territory to which its jurisdiction extends.
TERMS RELATED TO DOCTRINES
a) Doctrine of severability:
Under the doctrine of severability, only the offending provision(s) of the act would be declared void
and not the whole act.
In other words, there is no need to nullify the whole act if only a part of it violates fundamental
rights. Only the offending part needs to be nullified.
Here the court(s) must find out whether the offending part can be separated from the rest of the act
or not.
b) Validity of Pre-Constitutional Laws:
Article 13 applies to post constitutional laws only. A post-constitutional law, which violates fundamental
rights, is void but a pre-constitutional law, which violates a fundamental right, remains valid till the

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commencement of the Constitution.
It cannot operate after 26 January 1950.
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c) Doctrine of Eclipse:
The doctrine of Eclipse is applied in relation to a pre constitutional law which was valid when it was
enacted.
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Subsequently when the Constitution came into force a shadow falls on it because it is inconsistent
with the Constitution. The act is eclipsed.
When the shadow is removed the pre-constitutional law becomes fully applicable and is free from
infirmity.
GS
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CLOUD BURSTS
What is cloud burst?
The cloudburst is a localized weather phenomena representing highly concentrated rainfall over a small
area lasting for few hours. This leads to flash floods/ landslides, house collapse, dislocation of traffic and
human casualties on large scale.
Meteorologists say the rain from a cloudburst is usually of the shower type with a fall rate equal to or
greater than 100 mm (4.94 inches) per hour.
Impact of Cloudburst

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It cause flood, Huge distraction, destroy vegetation and loss to human life.

OR
How does it form?
Generally cloudbursts are associated with thunderstorms. The air currents rushing upwards in a rainstorm
hold up a large amount of water. If these currents suddenly cease, the entire amount of water descends
on to a small area with catastrophic force all of a sudden and causes mass destruction. This is due to a
rapid condensation of the clouds. They occur most often in desert and mountainous regions, and in interior
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regions of continental landmasses.
Prone areas
They occur most often in desert and mountainous regions, and in interior regions of continental landmasses.
The topographical conditions like steep hills favour the formation of these clouds in the mountainous
regions. And also the devastations, as water flowing down the steep slopes bring debris, boulders and
GS

uprooted trees with great velocity damaging any structure that comes in their way.
The Chhotanagpur plateau spread across north Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand is the worlds most
vulnerable spot for formation of severest thunderstorms.
Cloudburst can occur not only in the monsoon seasons but also during March to May which is known
for severe convective weather activities.
Examples of cloudburst
2010 Ladakh Floods: A major cloudburst and heavy rainfall on the intervening night of August 6, 2010
triggered mudslides, flash floods and debris flow in Jammu and Kashmirs Ladakh. 71 towns and villages
in Leh were affected in the region and at least 255 people died.
2013 Uttarakhand Floods: The multi-day cloudburst in the hill state of Uttarakhand triggered flash floods
and massive landslides.
Prediction
The large scale features, which are conducive for occurrence of severe thunderstorms associated with
cloudburst, are predictable two to three days in advance. However, the specific location and time of cloud
burst can be predicted in NOWCAST mode only, i.e. a few hours in advance, when the genesis of
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thunderstorm has already commenced. To detect these sudden developments, a Doppler Weather Radar
(DWR), a powerful tool for time and location specific prediction of cloudburst, can be deployed a few
hours in advance. Coupled with satellite imagery this can prove to be useful inputs for extrapolation of
cloudbursts anywhere in India.

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OR
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MENTAL HEALTH POLICY

Introduction
Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential,
can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a
contribution to her or his community.
The National Mental Health Policy is based, inter-alia, on the values and principles of equity, justice,
integrated and evidence based care, quality, participatory and holistic approach to mental health.
It enlists the comprehensive list of vulnerable groups, which include the poor (who are linked with mental

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illnesses in a negative vicious cycle), the homeless (who have no provision for care and support),
persons in custodial institutions (who face a deprivation of personal liberty), orphans, children, the
elderly and people affected by emergencies and various natural or man-made disasters.
Its goals and objectives include the following

OR
to reduce distress, disability, exclusion, morbidity and premature mortality associated with mental health
problems across life-span of a person,
to enhance understanding of mental health in the country,
SC

to provide universal access to mental health care,

to increase access to mental health services for vulnerable groups,
to reduce risk and incidence of suicide and attempted suicide,
to ensure respect for rights and protection from harm of persons with mental health problems, and reduce
GS

stigma associated with mental health problems

to enhance availability and distribution of skilled human resources for mental health.
Other Key dimensions
It also recognizes the fact that mental health is linked to many other aspects of life, and thus recommends
allocation of funds not just to the governments health department but also to other sectors such as social
welfare, school education and women and child development.
In addition to the treatment of mental illnesses, the policy also stresses the need to prevent such problems
and promote mental health. It places the onus of such promotion on early childhood care itself, by
targeting anganwadi centres for children below six years of age.
The policy aims to train anganwadi workers and school teachers to help parents and care-givers understand
the physical and emotional needs of children to facilitate and affirmative and positive environment for
their growth. It also proposes teaching mandatory life skills education in schools and colleges that, among
other things, includes discussions on issues of gender and social exclusion.
To bring down rates of suicide in India, the policy talks of setting up crisis intervention centres, training
community leaders to recognise risk factors, restricting access to means of suicide and also framing
guidelines for responsible media reporting of the issue.
Notes

3
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HIMANSH
Introduction
Himalayan region has the largest concentration of glaciers outside the polar caps, as this region is aptly
called the Water Tower of Asiais the source of the 10 major river systems that provide irrigation,
power and drinking water for over 700 million people live in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh nearly 10%
of the worlds population.Understanding the behavior of these glaciers and their contribution to the
sustainable supply of water for mankind and agriculture is one of the grand challenges of Indian scientific
community.
Thus the Ministry of Earth Sciences hasestablished a high altitude research station in Himalaya called
HIMANSH (literally meaning, a slice of ice), situated above 13,500 ft (> 4000 m) at a remote region in

E
Spiti, Himachal Pradesh.
What are key objectives of HIMANSH?
OR
The research lab, established by the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), has
automatic weather stations, ground penetrating radars, geodetic GPS systems and other sophisticated
facilities to study glaciers and their discharge.
The facility will serve as the base for Terrestrial Laser Scanners and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to digitize
SC

glacier movements and snow cover variations, said a communication from the NACOR.
Further, the researchers would be using this as a base for undertaking surveys using Terrestrial Laser
Scanners (TLS) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) that would digitize the glacier motion and snow
cover variations with exceptional precision.
GS
Notes