National Green Tribunal

• The National Green Tribunal has been established on 18.10.2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010 for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources including enforcement of any legal right relating to environment and giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
• It is a specialized body equipped with the necessary expertise to handle environmental disputes involving multi-disciplinary issues.
• The Tribunal shall not be bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, but shall be guided by principles of natural justice.
• The Tribunal's dedicated jurisdiction in environmental matters shall provide speedy environmental justice and help reduce the burden of litigation in the higher courts.
•  The Tribunal is mandated to make and endeavour for disposal of applications or appeals finally within 6 months of filing of the same.
• Initially, the NGT is proposed to be set up at five places of sittings and will follow circuit procedure for making itself more accessible. New Delhi is the Principal Place of Sitting of the Tribunal and Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai shall be the other four place of sitting of the Tribunal.

NGT concern about pollution in river Ganga

The National Green Tribunal (NGT)  expressed concern at the level of pollution in the Ganga, between Haridwar and Unnao in Uttar Pradesh, and said “the water is unfit for drinking and bathing”.Further, it added, “It is of utmost necessity to comply with the right to life(Article 21) of persons using Ganga water, and that they are put to notice about the fitness of water.”

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)

• The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India is a statutory organisation under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoE,FCC). It was established in 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
• It serves as a field formation and also provides technical services to the Ministry of Environment and Forests under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
• The Central Pollution Control Board and the National Mission for Clean Ganga(NCMG) have been asked to indicate, on their websites, the areas where the water is good for bathing and drinking.

Flash Flood

• A flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, tropical storm, or melt water from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields. Flash floods may occur after the collapse of a natural ice or debris dam, or a human structure such as a man-made dam.
• Flash floods are distinguished from regular floods by having a timescale of less than six hours.
• India has been designated as a nodal centre for preparing flash-flood forecasts by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) which will have to develop a customized model that can give flash flood warning to Asian Nations.
• A test version of this was being tried out by the IMD, and that was able to give a flood warning about an hour in advance. Using a combination of satellite mapping and ground-based observation, this system — called the Flash Flood Guidance System — aims to provide forecasts six hours in advance.
• Like India, several Southeast Asian countries depend on the monsoon and are prone to its vagaries. The proposed model would provide forecasts by computing the likelihood of rainfall and the soil moisture levels to warn of possible floods.
• The Central Water Commission, which monitors India’s dams, warns of rising water levels in the reservoirs, which are usually taken to be signs of imminent floods. The organisation has recently tied up with Google to develop a software application to visualise rising water levels during heavy rains.
• The WMO says flash floods account for 85% of flooding incidents across the world, causing some 5,000 deaths each year.

Blood Moon

• A total lunar eclipse is sometimes called a Blood Moon, because of the reddish tinge the Full Moon takes on when fully eclipsed. The term is also frequently used to describe four total lunar eclipses that occur in a row.
• Blood Moon is not a scientific term, though in recent times it is being widely used to refer to a total lunar eclipse because a fully eclipsed Moon often takes on a reddish color
• A total lunar eclipse happens when the earth takes position in a straight line between the moon and sun, blotting out the direct sunlight. The moon travels to a similar position every month, but the tilt of its orbit means it normally passes above or below the earth’s shadow — so most months there is a full moon without an eclipse.
• When the three celestial bodies are perfectly lined up, however, the earth’s atmosphere scatters blue light from the sun while refracting or bending red light onto the moon, giving it a rosy blush.
• During a very dark eclipse, the moon may be almost invisible. Less dark eclipses may show the moon as rust-coloured or brick-red.