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9th NOV 2017 - THE HINDU Editorial -Vocabulary

The Centre and States must urgently address farm residue burning in north India

Delhi’s air quality deteriorates with unfailing regularity at this time of the year, with large swathes of north India in the grip of a suffocating smog, but the State governments that can make it easier for millions to breathe do not act with any sense of urgency. That it has turned into a public health emergency in the capital, with the air quality index touching extremely hazardous levels in some parts, necessitating the closure of primary schools, has further lowered its standing. It is unconscionable for governments, through indifference and inaction, to subject citizens to such toxic air, and cause extreme suffering especially among people with respiratory ailments and impaired lung function. The smog that envelops the region is exacerbated by the burning of biomass in Punjab and Haryana, and the winter atmosphere is marked by weak ventilation. An analysis of local sources by IIT-Kanpur last year pointed to construction dust, vehicular pollution, and domestic and industrial emissions as other major factors. Clearly, the burden of such chronic problems has outweighed the benefits conferred by measures such as the ban on Deepavali crackers, and in the past, the shift to compressed natural gas for commercial vehicles and restricting car use to odd and even number plates on alternate days. A comprehensive solution demands that the governments of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, assisted by the Centre, address farm residue burning and construction dust.
The post-monsoon — as opposed to pre-monsoon — burning of rice and wheat residue releases maximum aerosols that contribute to the volume of PM2.5, which gets embedded in the lungs. Automation of farm operations leaves root-bound crop waste after machine harvesting, running to millions of tonnes, requiring a solution of scale. Sustainable residue removal cannot be achieved by the farmers alone, and requires help from the state machinery. Here, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should be commended for his initiative to discuss the modalities of joint action with the Punjab and Haryana governments. The national capital needs a major greening effort. Unpaved surfaces raise dust levels as in all Indian cities, but civic agencies ignore the problem. There is every reason to think that even the Ministry of Environment’s orders issued in 2015 under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 to comprehensively green Delhi’s road margins and open spaces were not pursued seriously. Shifting more of the city’s travel to comfortable public transport can cut fine particulates in congested areas and improve the air for residents. Many such initiatives were taken up by China in its cities to reduce exposure to PM2.5 that produces morbidity from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and leads to premature death. Only a determined response to the crisis can spare Delhi of its infamous tag as one of the most polluted cities on the planet.
1. RESIDUE < RE /SI /DEW  >
 Noun
 Meaningà    a small amount of something that remains after the main part has gone or        been taken or used.
 Synà              remainder ,  rest , remnants ,part  leftover , remaining part.
                           Exampleà"the fine residue left after the sorting of tea"
 Antonymsà base


2. DETERIORATES  < DEE /TOA /RY/ATE/S >
Verb                  [3rd person present]
Meaningà     become progressively worse
 Synà              decline , degenerate,be in decline,get worse, worsen.
 Antonym-à  grow
 Exampleà    "relations between the countries had deteriorated sharply"

3. SWATHES < SWA /THS/  >
 Noun
 Meaningà             a broad strip or area of something.
 Synà                       field, highveld, land mass., the mainland , plain
 Antonymsà          denude,strip
 Exampleà              "vast swathes of countryside"




4. HAZARDOUS <H /ZA /DUS  >
 Adjective
 Meaningà                   risky; dangerous.
 Synà                  dangerous , unsafe , perilous , precarious ,insecure.
 Antonymsà          secure
 Exampleà                   "we work in hazardous conditions"



5. UNCONSCIONABLE < UN/ KON/SHEE /O/NABLE  >
Adjective
 Meaningà                    not right or reasonable.
 Synà                   unethical , immoral, wrong, unprincipled, indefensible
 Antonymsà           reasonable
 Exampleà           "the unconscionable conduct of his son"


6. AILMENTS < AE/L /MENS >
 Noun
 Meaning à                         an illness, typically a minor one.
 Synà                         illness, disease, malady, affliction, sickness
 Antonymà         health
 Exampleà                    "the doctor diagnosed a common stomach ailment"



7. BIOMASS < BAA/YO /MAAS  >
Noun
Meaningà             organic matter used as a fuel, especially in a power station for the generation of electricity.
Exampleà               The biomass that fuels the bus comes from processed vegetation.
Synà                      bio fuel ,bio energy, solid fuel, combustible, genotype
Antonymà            fossil fuel





8. EMBEDDED < EM /BAE /DED  >
Verb[In Past Tense]
Meaning à             fix (an object) firmly and deeply in a surrounding mass
Exampleà               "he had an operation to remove a nail embedded in his chest"

Synà                                    Implant, fix, insert, root, lodge,plant.
Antonymsà           dislodge

9. AUTOMATION < AO/TOA/MAE /SH/N  >
Noun
Meaningà            the use or introduction of automatic equipment in a manufacturing or other   process or facility.
·         Synà                  computerization, starindustrialization, starmechanizationstar, robotization , cybernation
Exampleà                     "unemployment due to the spread of automation"
Antonymà                    manual


10. MORBIDITY <MOAR /B /DY/TEE  >
Noun
Meaningà          the condition of being diseased
Exampleà                    "the therapy can substantially reduce respiratory morbidity in infants"
·         Synà                  anguish star, bitterness star, despairst ar, sorrow ,despair

antonym à                 cheerful

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