Google Journalism Emergency Relief Fund:
Google has launched a global Journalism Emergency Relief Fund through the Google News Initiative to support small and medium-sized news organizations
Under this, Google would offer grants ranging from the “low thousands of dollars” for the smallest operations to “low tens of thousands for larger newsrooms.” The Fund aims to support the production of original journalism for local communities in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Operating globally, it will provide an easily accessible route to financial assistance at this critical time.
Thrissur Pooram festival:
Thrissur Pooram is an annual Hindu festival held in Kerala, India. It is held at the Vadakkunnathan Temple in Thrissur every year on the Pooram day. It is called the ‘mother of all festivals’ in Kerala.
The Pooram dates back to the late 18th century and was started by Sakthan Thampuran, the Maharaja of the erstwhile Kochi state.
MK 54 lightweight torpedo:
The Mark 54 Lightweight Torpedo is a standard 12.75-inch anti-submarine warfare torpedo used by the United States Navy. It weighs around 608 pounds, while its warhead weighs around 96.8 pounds and is highly explosive. These torpedoes are used by US surface ships, fixed-wing aircraft, and helicopters and are their primary anti-submarine warfare weapon.
Indian Ocean Dipole:
The Indian Ocean Dipole also is known as the Indian Niño, is an irregular oscillation of sea surface temperatures in which the western Indian Ocean becomes alternately warmer (positive phase) and then colder (negative phase) than the eastern part of the ocean.
The IOD involves an aperiodic oscillation of sea-surface temperatures (SST), between “positive”, “neutral” and “negative” phases. A positive phase sees greater-than-average sea-surface temperatures and greater precipitation in the western Indian Ocean region, with a corresponding cooling of waters in the eastern Indian Ocean—which tends to cause droughts in adjacent land areas of Indonesia and Australia.
Long Period Average:
Long Period Average (LPA) is the averages of rainfall received over 50 years between 1951 and 2001. This average comes to 88 cm of rainfall (according to recent change). This is the average rainfall recorded during the months from June to September, calculated during the 50 years, and is kept as a benchmark while forecasting the quantitative rainfall for the monsoon season every year.
categories
- Normal or Near Normal: When percent departure of actual rainfall is +/-10% of LPA, that is, between 96-104% of LPA
- Below normal: When the departure of actual rainfall is less than 10% of LPA, that is 90-96% of LPA
- Above normal: When actual rainfall is 104-110% of LPA
- Deficient: When the departure of actual rainfall is less than 90% of LPA
- Excess: When the departure of actual rainfall is more than 110% of LPA