Current Affairs 08 November 2025

India faces huge yield losses due to human-induced land degradation.

• The Food and Agriculture Organization's State of Food and Agriculture 2025 report warns that 1.7 billion people live in areas where land degradation is reducing agricultural productivity.
• India is among the countries with the highest yield losses and abandonment of agricultural land due to anthropogenic erosion.
• Agricultural expansion is causing 90% of global deforestation, leading to land use changes: particularly in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

India leads global greenhouse gas growth, faces COP30 pressure: UNEP.

• The UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2025 (titled Off Target) found that India recorded the largest increase in greenhouse gas emissions (165 million tonnes) in 2023-24, although per capita emissions are still the lowest among major economies.
• The world is on track for a 2.8°C temperature rise, far exceeding the Paris target of 1.5°C.
• Overall, G20 countries recorded an emissions increase of 22 million tonnes during 2023-24.

74% of people in middle-income countries felt the effects of climate change.

• A Pew Research survey conducted in nine middle-income countries found that 74% of people believe climate change is already affecting their communities.
• Droughts, heat waves and floods are the biggest concerns; many people are willing to change their lifestyles to mitigate their effects.
• Young, educated adults—particularly in India, Indonesia, Türkiye, and Mexico—show greater concern and confidence in global climate action efforts.

CUSAT patents AI system that decodes rainfall through radar.

• Cochin University of Science and Technology has patented a machine learning-based system to extract accurate rainfall data from radar signals.
• Developed at ACARR, this system uses a hybrid adaptive bi-Gaussian algorithm with GMM to separate raindrops and turbulence echoes in real time.
• It improves monsoon monitoring and flood forecasting, thereby boosting Kerala's climate resilience and atmospheric research capabilities.

Global agricultural areas depend on forest moisture across borders: Study.

• Brazil provides moisture to Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina: together, 10% of global crop exports.
• It recycles 9% of national rainfall, providing 6% of global crop production and 9% of exports.
• Major interrelated forest-crop nations: Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Russia, China, Ukraine.
• Tropical forests provide more rainfall for wind-swept agriculture than extratropical forests.