Passage 1
The oceans play a key role in regulating climate. Yet the world’s understanding is still insufficient to design solutions for multiple ocean crises and validate new technologies that aim to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, according to the State of Ocean Report.
“In this State of the Ocean Report 2024, the message remains that observations and research are falling short and hence there is a lack of adequate and aggregated data,” Vidar Helgesen, executive secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, wrote in the report.
The upper 2,000 metres (m) of oceans warmed at a rate of 0.32 ± 0.03 watt per square metre (W/m2) from 1960 through 2023. It is expected to warm in the future as well, leading to irreversible changes in the centennial to millennial time scales.
Source – https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/climate-change/unesco-s-state-
Get CLAT Online Coaching!
Passage 2
Chief Minister of a state has reiterated the State’s long-standing demand to be granted the special category status by the Centre, a move that would increase the amount of tax revenues that the State gets from the Centre.
The special category status was introduced based on the recommendations of the Finance Commission. The intent was to help States that are disadvantaged in terms of their geographic, social or economic status to improve their position on par with other, more developed Indian States.
Source- https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/bihars-call-for-special-
