The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary 20th November 2024

The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary 20th November 2024 is an effective tool for regularly learning new words and their contextual meanings. Candidates can utilize this free resource daily to improve their vocabulary knowledge, especially those preparing for government exams like the IBPS PO, SBI Clerk, SSC, and Others.

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A consistent response: On air pollution responses in Delhi

Air pollution in Delhi demands a serious, immediate response

Every year, the first instance of the air quality index (AQI) vaulting (rising suddenly) to hazardous levels in Delhi is a bugle (signal) for pandemonium (chaos). On Monday (November 18, 2024), official measurements reported an average AQI of 488, with some private stations reporting over a 1,000. While all these stations do not follow a consistent reporting framework, what is unambiguous (clear) is that despite all the analysis of the causes of pollution in the national capital, the political response and the crores invested in measurement and improvising (improving through adjustments) technology fixes, the system is unable to contain episodes of ‘severe’ pollution or when the AQI crosses 400. Official data suggest that since 2016, there have only been two years when the number of ‘severe’ days was in the single digits. The number of ‘poor’ days (AQI over 200) in the same period has declined from 200 in 2016 to 121 in 2024, with the worst yet to come for this year. This further underlines (emphasizes) that meteorological (weather-related) conditions will continue to play an outsized (disproportionate) role in tipping over the air quality in Delhi, from the concerning to the catastrophic (disastrous). Unlike from even five years ago, there is a wealth (abundance) of publicly available analytical tools – private and public sources that can track, even at a daily level, the sources of pollution. Thus a week back, stubble burning or farm fires from Punjab may have been a prominent source, but behind the latest spikes lie ‘household’ sources and ‘road dust’. However despite such nuanced (detailed and subtle) understanding and the creation of empowered (authorized with power) bodies such as the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), which is tasked with coordinating a response involving not just Delhi but also surrounding States, there is no attempt by the Centre and the Delhi government to allay (calm) public consternation (anxiety or distress). Both central Ministers in Delhi who are responsible for the environment are away, coordinating election work in Maharashtra and addressing the 29th Conference of Parties in Baku, respectively. The Delhi Ministers cite faulty satellite data from Punjab to show that fires are down or bandy (argue or discuss in a trivial way) stop-gap solutions such as ‘cloud seeding’.

The CAQM chooses not to engage except when it is getting lambasted (criticized severely) by the Supreme Court of India, furthering the impression that it is a toothless (ineffective) body with little independence or gumption (courage or determination). Addressing stubble burning, which is a problem only in mid-November, is easier than tackling road dust, which is a perennial (ongoing, lasting) problem all through the year. The air quality gains from road dust are significant but of limited, immediate political gains. For the state to be seen as serious about tackling the crisis, it must consistently communicate its intent and rise above politics.

Hindu Vocab Wordlist 20th November 2024

Upskill yourself and enhance your vocabulary knowledge. Candidates should begin learning new words daily with Hindu Editorial Vocabulary on 20th November 2024.

1. Vaulting: To jump or leap over something with great force or speed.
2. Bugle: A brass musical instrument with a trumpet-like sound, used in the military to signal orders.
3. Pandemonium: Wild and noisy disorder or confusion; uproar.
4. Unambiguous: Clear and having only one possible meaning or interpretation.
5. Crores: A unit in the Indian numbering system equal to 10 million (10,000,000).
6. Improvising: To make or do something using whatever is available at the time; to create or perform spontaneously.
7. Underlines: To emphasize or stress something.
8. Meteorological: Relating to the study of weather conditions.
9. Outsized: Larger or more important than usual or expected.
10. Catastrophic: Involving or causing a sudden large-scale disaster.

Hindu Vocab Master 20th November 2024 with Synonyms & Antonyms

Here are the synonyms and antonyms of all the difficult words in Hindu Vocab Master for 20th November 2024:

Word	Synonyms	Antonyms
Vaulting	leaping, jumping, bounding, hurdling	sinking, falling, dropping, collapsing
Bugle	horn, trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn	–
Pandemonium	chaos, uproar, turmoil, mayhem	peace, calm, order, tranquility
Unambiguous	clear, definite, straightforward, explicit	vague, ambiguous, unclear, confusing
Crores	millions, billions, lakhs, ten million	–
Improvising	inventing, ad-libbing, creating, devising	planning, preparing, rehearsing, organizing
Underlines	emphasizes, highlights, stresses, accentuates	downplays, ignores, minimizes, overlooks
Meteorological	weather-related, atmospheric, climatic, environmental	non-weather, unrelated, terrestrial, non-atmospheric
Outsized	enormous, immense, oversized, exceptional	tiny, small, minuscule, ordinary
Catastrophic	disastrous, devastating, ruinous, calamitous	beneficial, fortunate, favorable, lucky