Physical Geography
Earthquake in afghanistan
▪ A 6.1-magnitude earthquake that killed 1,000 people in the eastern region of Afghanistan
Earthquake zones in india
▪ India is one of the highly earthquake affected countries because of active young fold mountains – Himalaya.
▪ India has been divided into four seismic zones (II, III, IV, and V) based on scientific inputs relating to seismicity, earthquakes occurred in the past and tectonic setup of the region.
Environment and ecology
Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) 2025
▪ North Indian cities such as Delhi, Ghaziabad, and Kanpur are notorious for their air pollution, almost everyone living in India breathes air dirtier than what World Health Organisation (WHO) has deemed safe.
▪ According to the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) 2025 annual update, all of India lives in areas where the annual average particulate pollution level (PM2.5) exceeds the WHO annual average limit of 5 µg/m³.
▪ Worldwide, the global PM2.5 concentration in 2023 was 1.5% higher than in 2022 and almost 5x times over the WHO limit.
▪ Indeed, the report identified particulate pollution as the “greatest external threat to human life
expectancy” in 2023.
Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules 2000
▪ It promulgated under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, were designed to control noise from various sources like industries, construction, and loudspeakers to protect public health and ensure a healthy atmosphere for living
Elathur Lake – 3rd Biodiversity Heritage Site of Tamil Nadu:
▪ The Tamil Nadu government has declared Elathur Lake in Erode district as the 3rd Biodiversity
Heritage Site of the state
▪ Declared as a Biodiversity Heritage Site under the Biodiversity Act:
✓ 2022 – Aritapatti, Madurai district
✓ 2025 – Kasampatti, Dindigul district
About Elathur Lake
▪ Elathur Lake has an area of more than 37 hectares. It is an important habitat for a variety of
birds, aquatic animals and a variety of wetland systems.
▪ More than 5,000 different species of birds are found here during the migratory season. So far,
187 species of birds have been sighted here.
