• The International Day for Monuments and Sites, also known as World Heritage Day, is observed on April 18. 
• The day was first celebrated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1983. The aim is to promote awareness about the cultural heritage and diversity on the planet.
• Its objective is to inspire people and local communities to value cultural heritage in their lives. Along with monument preservation, the day also aims to increase public awareness of the diversity and vulnerability of cultural heritage.

• It is a non-governmental organization, founded in 1965 after the adoption of the Charter of Venice, in order to promote the doctrine and the techniques of conservation.
• The International Council on Monuments and Sites is a professional association that works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the world.
•  Now headquartered in Charenton-le-Pont, France, ICOMOS was founded in 1965 in Warsaw as a result of the Venice Charter of 1964 and offers advice to UNESCO on World Heritage Sites.
  • It provides the World Heritage Committee with evaluations of properties with cultural values proposed for inscription on the World Heritage List, as well as with comparative studies, technical assistance and reports on the state of conservation of inscribed properties.
• ICOMOS is a partner and founding member of the Blue Shield, which works to protect the world’s cultural heritage threatened by war and natural disasters.

• Kerala is known for the traditional temple music form called Kuzhal Pattu.

• Kuzhal pattu is a form of traditional temple music practised in the Indian state of Kerala. 
• It centers on the use of the kuzhal, a double reed wind instrument, and is typically performed at temple festivals.

• The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) is the world’s highest-level decision-making body for matters related to the environment, with a universal membership of all 193 Member States.
• It sets the global environmental agenda, provides overarching policy guidance, and defines policy responses to address emerging environmental challenges. 
• It undertakes policy review, dialogue and the exchange of experiences, sets the strategic guidance on the future direction of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and fosters partnerships for achieving environmental goals and resource mobilization.
• UNEA enjoys the universal membership of all 193 UN Member States and the full involvement of major groups and stakeholders. It gathers ministers of environment in Nairobi, Kenya every 2 years.

• It is also known as space junk, which is any piece of machinery or debris left in space by humans. It can refer to large objects such as dead satellites and smaller items, such as debris or paint flecks that have fallen off a rocket.
• The majority of space debris consists of rocket-launching material and decommissioned satellites.
• The majority of the debris is in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO), within 2,000 kilometers of the Earth’s surface, though some are in the Geostationary Orbit (35,786 kilometers above the Equator).

Causes for Space Debris

Space debris has become an increasing problem in Earth’s orbit due to increased human activities in space. The following are the causes of the rise in space debris:

• Launching objects into Space: The space debris issue has intensified due to the rapid increase in the number of satellites launched into space.
  • For instance, Starlink internet satellites from SpaceX now account for half of all active satellites in Earth orbit.
    • Further, nearly 12,000 satellites are planned to be deployed, with a possible later extension to 42,000.
• Abandoned satellites: Some satellites are decommissioned and become defunct after their functional operations and they end up as part of the growing collection of space junk.
  • According to the Natural History Museum, there are nearly 3,000 decommissioned satellites in space.
• Anti-satellite tests: Several countries, such as the USA, China, and India, have conducted anti-satellite tests, using missiles to destroy their own satellites. This has led to deliberate space debris creation.
  • For instance, in 2007, the Chinese FengYun-1C mission alone increased the population of trackable space objects by 25%.
• Increasing expansion: The space industry is booming, with both public and private sectors investing heavily in space exploration.
• Long-lasting mission debris: Space debris caused by satellite missions in LEO might return to the atmosphere of the Earth. However, debris at higher altitudes, like geostationary orbits, can orbit the Earth for a longer period.
• Fragmentation of space debris: One of the significant factors responsible for the rise in space debris is the fragmentation of space debris due to collision, explosion and degradation.

Threats and Challenges Posed by Space Debris

Space debris, while not an imminent apocalypse, presents several substantial threats and challenges to space exploration.

• Satellite endangerment: Space debris can collide with operational satellites, potentially causing severe damage, mission interruption, or even satellite destruction.
• Kessler Syndrome: Growth in space debris increases the risk of collisions between space objects.
  • It can trigger the chain reaction of the theoretical concept of Kessler syndrome, resulting in the overpopulation of the Earth’s orbit with objects and debris.
  • This will make the Earth’s orbit unusable.
• Limitations on future space activities: The growing issue of space debris may result in the reduction of orbital slots for space activities.
  • It potentially limits the ease and freedom of launching new missions or expanding space-based operations, as most orbital debris resides within LEO.
• Space station vulnerability: Space debris poses threats to the Space stations and the safety of Astronauts.
• Space pollution: The accumulation of space debris in Earth’s orbit contributes to long-term orbital pollution, which not only complicates space activities but also raises environmental concerns for future generations of space explorers.
• Tensions between countries: With the increased participation of countries in space activities, disagreements may arise over who is responsible for reducing space debris and who is responsible for paying damages when spacecraft from different countries collide.

• According to a study,“10% of the aerosol particles in the stratosphere contain aluminum and other metals that originated from the burn-up of satellites, and rocket stages during reentry”.
• Emissions of aluminum and nitrogen oxides from satellite reentries significantly increased from 3.3 billion grams in 2020 to 5.6 billion grams in 2022. Also on the rise were emissions from rocket launches, which leave pollutants such as black carbon, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, aluminum oxide and a variety of chlorine gasses 
• Pollutants from burnt-up spacecraft are likely already harming the ozone layer.. Aluminum oxide, for instance, is a known catalyst for ozone depletion. 
• “Soot emitted from rocket engines absorbs solar energy, which can warm the atmosphere. 
• Copper and other metals released during the incineration of spacecraft wiring and alloys are known to be powerful catalysts for chemical reactions in the atmosphere. 
  • Among other things, those metals could promote the creation of the tiny particles that act as the seeds of clouds.”

• Kurram is located in Pakistan.

• Kurram, a region with a large Taliban presence, has seen repeated clashes between Sunni and Shia tribes this year, often tied to land disputes.
• Kurram is adjacent to the Afghan provinces of Logar, Paktia, Khost, and Nangarhar to the south and east of Kabul, and has multiple border crossings along the 192-km Durand Line to its west, including the historic Peiwar Kotal pass through which the shortest route to the Afghan capital passes.