PIB Summary- 26th May, 2021 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

Cyclone ‘Yaas’

Context: Very Severe Cyclonic Storm ‘Yaas’ made landfall on Odisha coast.

Details

• Very Severe Cyclonic Storm ‘Yaas’ made landfall about 20 kms south of Balasore on the Odisha coast.
• The pre-emptive measures taken by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on the Eastern Seaboard and Andaman & Nicobar Islands helped save many lives and property.

Cyclone Yaas
A low-pressure area formed over the North Andaman Sea and adjoining east-central Bay of Bengal around May 22, 2021, and has further intensified into a severe cyclonic storm, named ‘Cyclone Yaas’.

Cyclone Yaas – Key Facts

• 
  The cyclone is expected to make landfall somewhere between Paradip (Orisha) and Sagar islands (West Bengal) on the evening of May 26, 2021
• It has originated from the East-central Bay of Bengal
• The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued rainfall warning in the following regions:
  • North Coastal Andhra Pradesh
  • Odisha
  • West Bengal and Sikkim
  • Jharkhand
  • Bihar
  • Assam and Meghalaya
• 2021 is the fourth consecutive year that Odisha is being hit by a cyclone
• As per IMD, squally wind speed reaching 55-65 kmph gusting to 75 kmph expected over north interior districts of Odisha, interior districts of Gangetic West Bengal between May 26th and 27th, 2021

Preparedness for Cyclones Yaas

• 46 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been positioned for relief and rescue operations in various coastal Indian states and Union Territories including, Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry
• The Indian armed forces have been put on alert, several warships and aircraft have been set on standby for relief and rescue operations
• A warning has been issued for rainfall, wind and high tides by IMD to all the areas expected to be affected by the cyclone
• Fishermen were advised not to venture into the southeast Bay of Bengal and the South Andaman Sea from May 21 onwards
• Forecast track and intensity of Cyclone Yaas, as released by IMD are given in the following table (as of May 24, 2021):

SCATSAT 1 – Scatterometer Satellite-1 or SCATSAT-1 was launched in 2016 and was developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for weather forecasting, cyclone prediction, and tracking services for India. Read on to know more about this satellite at the linked article.

Bay of Bengal and Cyclone Yaas

Bay of Bengal sees approximately five times as many cyclones in comparison to the Arabian Sea. In addition, cyclones in the Bay are stronger and deadlier.
The Bay of Bengal is constantly fed by fresh water through giant rivers like the Ganga and the Brahmaputra. The river water that empties into the Bay warms up at the surface and rises up as moisture.
This makes it difficult for the warm layers of water to mix properly with the cooler layers of water below, keeping the surface always warm and ready to feed any potential cyclone over it. Cyclone Yaas is an outcome of the same process and had originated in the Eastcentral Bay of Bengal.

UPSC aspirants can also refer to the following information for exam preparation:

Temperate Cyclone (Extratropical Cyclones) – The term “Extra-tropical” signifies that this type of cyclone generally occurs outside the tropics with a latitude range between 30° and 60°. These cyclones are formed along the polar front and low-pressure systems with associated cold fronts, warm fronts, and occluded fronts.

Tropical cyclones – A tropical cyclone is a weather phenomenon that is essentially a rapidly rotating storm system with characteristics such as a low-pressure center, strong winds and thunderstorms that produce heavy rain, among others. Tropical cyclones are called by different names in different regions given below:

Hurricane – Atlantic

Typhoon – Western Pacific and the South China Sea

Willy-Willies – Western Australia

Cyclone – Indian Ocean

Bomb Cyclone – It is actually used by meteorologists to indicate a mid-latitude cyclone that intensifies rapidly. It is a massive winter storm hammering the coast, bringing strong winds, flooding, ice and snow

Government clarification regarding issues with Whatsapp

• The government of India has stated that it recognises the Right to Privacy as a fundamental right and is committed to ensuring the same to Indian citizens.
• But at the same time, it is committed to maintaining law and order and ensuring national security.
• The IT Minister stated that “none of the measures proposed by India will impact the normal functioning of WhatsApp in any manner whatsoever and for the common users, there will be no impact”.
• The clarification stated that the right to privacy like all fundamental rights are not absolute and is subject to reasonable restrictions.
  • It stated that the requirements in the Intermediary Guidelines pertaining to the first originator of information are an example of such a reasonable restriction.
• As per the Intermediary Guidelines, the originator of information can only be traced in a scenario where other remedies have proven to be ineffective, making the same a last resort measure. Moreover, such information can only be sought as per a process sanctioned by the law thereby incorporating sufficient legal safeguards.
• The clarification also stated that an order to trace the originator shall be passed only for the purposes of prevention, investigation, punishment, etc. of an offence relating to sovereignty, integrity and security of India, public order, incitement to an offence relating to rape, sexually explicit material or child sexual abuse material punishable with imprisonment for not less than five years.
• It said that WhatsApp’s refusal to comply with the guidelines is a clear act of defiance of a measure whose intent cannot be doubted.
• It said that the company was seeking a privacy policy wherein it will share the data of all its user with its parent company, Facebook, for marketing and advertising purposes.
• The clarification also noted that the Rules have global precedence.