(C) The year 2024 became historic for climate change, as global average temperatures surpassed the critical 1.5°C threshold above pre-industrial levels for the first time, according to a report by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). This marks a dangerous path of global temperature rise, bringing humanity closer to a point of no return. Climate experts warn that without significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, global temperatures could exceed 2°C by 2050, leading to catastrophic impacts on ecosystems, economies, and human life.

Key points from the report:

July 22, 2024, recorded the hottest day ever, with a global temperature of 17.16°C.

2024 saw record-breaking global temperatures, with the annual average temperature reaching 15.1°C, the hottest year on record.

This temperature was 1.60°C higher than pre-industrial levels (1850-1900) and 0.72°C higher than the 1991-2020 average.

Every month from January to June 2024 was the hottest on record.

(C) Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, has recently been identified as the world’s most polluted city, where PM2.5 levels reached 266 micrograms per cubic meter. This dangerous air quality has raised serious health concerns among residents and forced the government to take action. On January 3, 2025, AirVisual reported that Hanoi’s PM2.5 levels were the highest globally, indicating severe air pollution.

(A) Joseph Aoun, the 60-year-old army commander, has been elected as the new president of Lebanon after two rounds of voting in Parliament on January 9, 2025. Aoun, who has been the army chief since March 2017, is the fifth army commander to hold the presidency. Although Lebanese law typically requires a public servant, such as an army commander, to step down for two years before becoming president, Aoun did not adhere to this rule. In Lebanon’s political system, the president is a Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of parliament is from the Shia community. The president holds the authority to appoint or remove the prime minister and the cabinet.

(B) NITI Aayog was established in India on 1 January 2015, which was created in place of the Planning Commission.

(A) Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is celebrated on 9th January. The tradition of celebrating Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) on January 9 to commemorate the return of Mahatma Gandhi to India from South Africa in 1915 started in 2003. Since the year 2015, the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention is organized once every two years.

(C) On January 9, 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the Pravasi Bharatiya Express, a special state-of-the-art tourist train, from Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The 18^th PBD Convention was held from 8 – 10 January 2025 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The theme of this year’s Convention is “Diaspora’s Contribution to a Viksit Bharat”. 17^th PBD was held from 8 – 10 January 2023 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. The theme of the 17^th PBD Convention was “Diaspora: Reliable Partners for India’s Progress in Amrit Kaal”.