India’s 1st Arctic Winter Expedition

  • December 19, 2023
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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India’s 1st Arctic Winter Expedition

Subject: Environment

Section: Int. Conventions

Context:

  • India will script history by commencing year-round observations in Svalbard, the world’s northernmost inhabited place, in the Arctic.

The Himadri station and India’s facilities in the Arctic:

  • It is situated in the Ny-Alesund region of Svalbard, Norway.
  • It is India’s first permanent Arctic research station.
  • It is located at a distance of 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) from the North Pole.
  • India has an atmospheric science facility called Gruvebadet Observatory that houses various atmospheric observation networks.
  • The country has initiated new scientific projects in the Canadian High Arctic (Nunavut region) and plans to initiate studies in Greenland soon.

Why has India taken fewer studies in the Arctic?

  • Unlike Antarctica, which is governed by the Antarctic Treaty, the Arctic region belongs to various national jurisdictions. Various geopolitical complications, such as the current war between Ukraine and Russia, have made half of the Arctic region (the Russian Arctic) inaccessible to the world.

Why is it significant for India?

  • Studying the Polar-tropical climate teleconnections will help us to better predict the monsoon vagaries on a decadal scale.
  • Several evidences show that many of the extreme precipitation events happening in India have their origins in the loss of Arctic sea ice.
  • The increased intensification of Arabian Sea cyclones is associated with a warmer Arctic.

National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, (NCPOR):

  • The NCPOR, formerly known as the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR) is an Indian research and development institution, situated in Vasco da Gama, Goa.
  • It is the nodal agency for India’s polar expeditions.
  • It is an autonomous institution of the Department of Ocean Development (DOD), Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India which is responsible for administering the Indian Antarctic Programme and maintains the Indian government’s Antarctic research stations, Bharati and Maitri.
Environment India’s 1st Arctic Winter Expedition