UPSC Essentials | Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 29)

QUESTION 2

How is the Earth’s stratosphere affected by an underwater volcanic eruption?

General points on the structure of the answers

Introduction

QUESTION 1: Exposure to violence has a negative impact on children’s mental health. Discuss.

Introduction:

— Adolescent depression and violence committed by young people in impoverished urban areas worldwide, including India, are strongly linked to childhood exposure to adverse events, such as physical and emotional neglect, violence, and sexual abuse.

— According to a US study based on the mental health of children, the children who live in societies witnessing violence may have high levels of behavioural and emotional problems.

Body:

— Children’s mental health suffered as a result of being exposed to mass killings and terrorist acts, such as beheadings, bombings, and kidnappings.

— According to the research, which was written in the Journal of Adolescent Health, boys are suffering even more than girls.

— According to Robert Blum of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US, “This is the first global study to investigate how a cluster of traumatic childhood experiences known as ACEs, or adverse childhood experiences, work together to cause specific health issues in early adolescence with terrible, life-long consequences.”

Types of violence against children

— Maltreatment (including violent punishment)

— Bullying (including cyber-bullying)

— Youth violence (10-29 years)

— Intimate partner violence (or domestic violence)

— Sexual violence

— Emotional or psychological violence

Impact of violence

— Children, families, communities, and countries all suffer long-term health and wellbeing effects as a result of violence against children. Child abuse can result in:

(a) Death

(b) Injuries

(c) Impair brain and nervous system development

(d) Negative coping and health risk behaviours.

(e) Unintended pregnancies

(f) Contribute to a wide range of non-communicable diseases

(g) Impact opportunities and future generations

(Source: Childhood adversity linked to teen violence, depression: Study, http://www.who.int)

Points to Ponder

What are the risk factors at individual level and community level?

Prevention and Response

WHO response

Related Previous Year Question

Child cuddling is now being replaced by mobile phones. Discuss its impact on the socialization of children. (2023)

QUESTION 2: How is the Earth’s stratosphere affected by an underwater volcanic eruption?

Introduction:

— A volcano is an opening in the crust of the Earth where eruptions take place. Approximately 1500 volcanoes have the potential to be active globally. Volcanoes can spew rock, ash, lava, and hot, dangerous gases that can cause catastrophic property and human loss, particularly in densely populated areas.

— Volcanic eruptions can take many different forms, including, pyroclastic explosions, lava flows, gas emissions, and glowing avalanches caused by the release of gas and ashes.

Body:

— A recent study conducted by an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California looks at how much water vapour the volcano spewed into the stratosphere, the atmospheric layer that is located between 12 and 53 kilometres above Earth’s surface.

— According to a study published in Geophysical Research Letters, the eruption is estimated to have released approximately 146 teragrams (trillion grammes) of water vapour into the stratosphere, or roughly 10% of the water that is currently present there.

— The water vapour from those eruptions dissipated quickly whereas the excess water vapour injected by the Tonga eruption could remain in the stratosphere for several years.

— The eruption’s excess water vapour may have an impact on atmospheric chemistry by intensifying specific chemical reactions that could temporarily exacerbate the ozone layer’s depletion.

— The vapour could also change surface temperatures.

Recent Example

— As an effective greenhouse gas that retains heat, water vapour was instead released into the atmosphere by the Tonga eruption.

— The latest eruption has stepped up the scale in terms of violence. The ash plume is already about 20km high.

— The eruption also produced a tsunami throughout Tonga and neighbouring Fiji and Samoa.

(Source: Explained: Why the volcanic eruption in Tonga was so violent, and what to expect next, Water vapour sent into stratosphere by Tonga eruption could temporarily heat up Earth, http://www.who.int)

Points to Ponder

Why are the volcano’s eruptions so highly explosive?

Location of important volcanoes

Related Previous Year Questions

Mention the global occurrence of volcanic eruptions in 2021 and their impact on regional environment. (2021)

Why are the world’s fold mountain systems located along the margins of continents? Bring out the association between the global distribution of fold mountains and the earthquakes and volcanoes. (2014)

Previous Mains Answer Practice

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 28)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 27)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 29)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 28)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 28)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 29)

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