29 October 2026
A new United Nations report prepared ahead of the climate conference says the ocean is losing part of its ability to take in carbon dioxide.
The ocean absorbs about 30 per cent of the carbon dioxide released by human activity and about 90 per cent of the extra heat trapped by greenhouse gases.
The report finds that climate change has already cut the ocean's carbon absorption capacity by about six per cent.
It names three ocean climate technologies, namely ocean monitoring, blue carbon ecosystems and marine carbon dioxide removal, and says the last of these is still highly uncertain.
Blue carbon ecosystems, which are mangroves, seagrass meadows and salt marshes, lock away about 407 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.
The report calls for better ocean carbon intelligence, pointing to weak monitoring data in the Southern Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Arctic and many coastal areas.
It notes that Small Island Developing States cause less than one per cent of global emissions yet face the heaviest effects.
Carbon dioxide absorbed by ocean:
About 30 per cent of human emissions
Excess heat absorbed:
About 90 per cent
Loss of absorption capacity:
About 6 per cent
Blue carbon sequestration:
About 407 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that the ocean absorbs about 30 per cent of human carbon dioxide emissions and about 90 per cent of excess heat, and that blue carbon ecosystems are mangroves, seagrasses and salt marshes.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Blue carbon Blue carbon — Carbon stored by coastal and marine ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrasses and salt marshes.
Carbon sink Carbon sink — A natural system that takes in more carbon than it gives out.
29 October 2026
The United Nations General Assembly again asked the United States to end its economic, commercial and financial embargo on Cuba.
This was the 34th time the Assembly has taken up the demand, which Cuba presents each year.
The resolution was adopted with 130 members in favour, 17 against and 25 abstentions.
That is a steep fall from the previous year, when the same demand carried 165 votes in favour, with 7 against and 12 abstentions.
The support is the weakest the measure has drawn in about two decades.
The United States delegation rejected the premise of the resolution and urged members to vote against it.
A General Assembly resolution of this kind is a recommendation and does not bind any member state, which is the point examiners usually test.
Vote:
130 in favour, 17 against, 25 abstentions
Previous year's vote:
165 in favour, 7 against, 12 abstentions
Number of times demanded:
34th
Why it matters for exams: The durable fact is that a United Nations General Assembly resolution is a recommendation and not binding, that every member has one vote, and that this annual demand on the Cuba embargo has now been made 34 times.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Embargo Embargo — A government order that bars trade or financial dealings with another country.
Abstention Abstention — Choosing not to vote either for or against a proposal.
29 October 2026
The World Health Organization published a short technical document titled Tobacco and infertility.
It is the twelfth paper in the agency's Tobacco Knowledge Summaries series, which sets out the evidence on one tobacco related harm at a time.
The nine page document brings together current evidence on the link between tobacco use and infertility.
The agency describes it as a concise advocacy tool, meant to inform and move health workers, policy makers and campaigners rather than to serve as a clinical guideline.
It was prepared by the team on health determinants, promotion and prevention together with the team working on sexual, reproductive, maternal, child, adolescent and ageing health.
The paper carries the reference number B09819 and is released under an open licence that allows non commercial sharing with attribution.
The series is part of the agency's tobacco control work, which rests on its framework convention on tobacco control.
Title:
Tobacco and infertility
Place in series:
Twelfth Tobacco Knowledge Summary
Length:
9 pages
Reference number:
B09819
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are the WHO Tobacco Knowledge Summaries series, of which this is the twelfth paper, and that the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is the first treaty negotiated under the World Health Organization.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
WHO FCTC WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control — The first international treaty negotiated under the World Health Organization, aimed at reducing tobacco use.
Infertility Infertility — Inability to achieve a pregnancy after a sustained period of trying.
29 October 2026
UNESCO reported that Namibia has launched the current edition of the Global Education Monitoring Report with a national dialogue on access and equity.
The report studies why inequalities in education persist and what it would take for every learner to get a fair chance to enter school, move up and complete the course.
It looks at participation in early childhood education, the share of children out of school, completion rates and participation in higher education, and asks why some countries have widened opportunity faster than others.
The launch was held at the Khomasdal campus of the University of Namibia in Windhoek.
It was organised by the Namibia National Commission for UNESCO together with the university and the agency's Windhoek office.
The Deputy Minister for education launched the report, and the Director of the Global Education Monitoring Report presented its findings.
The report is prepared by an independent team and published by UNESCO, which makes it the standard reference on global progress in education.
Report:
Global Education Monitoring Report, edition on access and equity
Publisher:
UNESCO
Launch venue:
Khomasdal campus, University of Namibia, Windhoek
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that the Global Education Monitoring Report is published by UNESCO, that the current edition's theme is access and equity, and that Windhoek is the capital of Namibia.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization — The UN agency for education, science and culture, with headquarters at Paris.
GEM Report Global Education Monitoring Report — An independent annual report hosted and published by UNESCO that tracks progress in education.
29 October 2026
UNESCO said it is supporting a multi-hazard risk assessment and mapping exercise for the North-East Tobago Biosphere Reserve in Trinidad and Tobago.
The reserve was designated in 2020 under the agency's Man and the Biosphere Programme, which recognises places where conservation and local livelihoods are managed together.
It covers both land and sea, including the Main Ridge Forest Reserve, coral reefs and mangroves.
The assessment is expected to guide disaster preparedness, restoration of ecosystems and planning of tourism in the reserve.
The announcement came during a two day mission linked to United Nations Day, which included a development partners' meeting convened by the Tobago House of Assembly and the United Nations in the country.
Representatives of thirteen countries and nine United Nations agencies attended that meeting, along with regional organisations and other development partners.
Officials of the agency's regional office for the Caribbean and a local environmental research institute spoke at the events.
Reserve:
North-East Tobago Biosphere Reserve, Trinidad and Tobago
Programme:
UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme
Partners' meeting:
13 countries and nine UN agencies
Why it matters for exams: The durable fact is UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme, under which biosphere reserves are designated, and that the North-East Tobago Biosphere Reserve covers both terrestrial and marine ecosystems including the Main Ridge Forest Reserve.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
MAB Man and the Biosphere Programme — A UNESCO programme under which biosphere reserves are designated to join conservation with sustainable use.
Multi-hazard assessment Multi-hazard risk assessment — A study that maps several kinds of natural hazard risk for one area together.
29 October 2026
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime published its opium survey for Afghanistan and found cultivation rising sharply after years of decline.
The area under opium poppy grew by about 330 per cent, from roughly 10,000 hectares to more than 43,000 hectares.
Estimated production rose by about 400 per cent, from around 300 tonnes to just under 1,500 tonnes.
Poppy is now grown in 16 of the country's 34 provinces, five more than the previous year, and three out of every four hectares are in the north-east, which was not the traditional growing belt.
The farm gate price fell from 570 dollars to 500 dollars a kilogram, but that is still many times the level before the ban.
The survey records that authorities eradicated 22,000 hectares, and that farmers are hiding plots inside cereal fields and walled compounds and staggering planting times.
Before the ban announced in April 2022, cultivation had reached about 232,000 hectares and the country supplied around 80 per cent of the world's illicit opium.
Area under poppy:
More than 43,000 hectares, up about 330 per cent
Estimated production:
Just under 1,500 tonnes, up about 400 per cent
Provinces growing poppy:
16 of 34
Farm gate price:
500 dollars a kilogram, down from 570
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime prepares the Afghanistan opium survey and the annual World Drug Report, and that Afghanistan has 34 provinces.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime — The UN office at Vienna that works on drugs, crime and corruption and publishes the World Drug Report.
Farm gate price Farm gate price — The price a farmer receives at the point of sale, before transport and trade costs.
29 October 2026
The World Health Organization said sustained effort is still needed as the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo passed ten thousand cases.
The country's health ministry counted 10,141 cases, nearly five thousand deaths and more than two thousand six hundred recoveries across eight provinces.
This is the seventeenth Ebola outbreak recorded in that country, the largest it has ever had and the second largest anywhere after the West Africa outbreak of 2014 to 2016.
The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is no licensed vaccine or treatment at present.
A vaccine trial named TUMAINI, a Swahili word for hope, has begun at Bunia and will first test whether an existing Ebola vaccine protects people in this outbreak.
Doses are being given by ring vaccination, which means vaccinating the close contacts of each confirmed patient.
Neighbouring Kenya has reported nine cases and two deaths, and expert groups convened by the agency are reviewing two vaccines designed specifically for this strain.
Cases:
10,141
Deaths:
Nearly 5,000
Outbreak number in the country:
17th
Virus strain:
Bundibugyo
Vaccine trial:
TUMAINI, at Bunia
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that Bundibugyo is a species of ebolavirus with no licensed vaccine, that ring vaccination means immunising the close contacts of a confirmed case, and that the 2014 to 2016 West Africa outbreak remains the largest Ebola outbreak on record.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Ring vaccination Ring vaccination — Vaccinating the close contacts of a confirmed patient to box in the spread.
WHO World Health Organization — The United Nations specialised agency for health, with headquarters at Geneva.
29 October 2026
United Nations Member States have adopted a Declaration on Sea Level Rise, the first text on the subject that all of them have agreed to.
The declaration asks for adaptation and resilience funding that is more predictable and easier to reach, especially for small island states and least developed countries.
The World Meteorological Organization reports that the rate of global sea level rise has nearly doubled since satellite measurement began in 1993.
A recent United Nations report finds that about 770 million people, close to a tenth of the world's population, live in coastal land less than five metres above high tide.
New York City offers a working example of adaptation. Its East Side Coastal Resiliency project lifts a riverside park by up to three metres and hides a floodwall inside it.
The scheme runs along more than five kilometres of waterfront, plans eighteen floodgates, protects more than 110,000 residents and is due to be finished in 2027.
It was begun after a hurricane in 2012 killed 44 people in the city and caused damage of about nineteen billion dollars.
People on low coastal land:
About 770 million, under 5 metres above high tide
Rate of sea level rise:
Nearly doubled since satellite measurement began in 1993
New York project:
East Side Coastal Resiliency, over 5 km, 18 floodgates, due 2027
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are the United Nations Declaration on Sea Level Rise, the first such text agreed by all Member States, and the World Meteorological Organization's finding that the rate of sea level rise has nearly doubled since satellite measurement began in 1993.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
WMO World Meteorological Organization — The United Nations agency for weather, climate and water, based at Geneva.
Adaptation Climate adaptation — Changing systems and structures to cope with climate change that is already happening.
29 October 2026
UNESCO and the Ministry of Culture of Peru are working together to prepare cultural heritage for emergencies that the El Nino phenomenon of 2026 and 2027 could cause.
The work is part of the agency's global Culture and El Nino campaign and is built around anticipatory action, which means identifying risks and arranging responses before damage occurs.
Training sessions were held for officials of the ministry, its decentralised culture directorates, municipalities and other public bodies, covering the national disaster risk management framework and case studies on El Nino risks.
A tool for collecting data after a disaster has been adapted for the culture sector and validated in the field in the regions of Piura, Lambayeque and La Libertad.
Specialised training on the adapted tool is planned, followed by an introduction to the post disaster needs assessment method for culture.
The national civil defence institute and the national centre for disaster risk estimation, prevention and reduction are partners in the effort.
Support comes from the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund, which draws contributions from a group of donor countries.
Campaign:
UNESCO Culture and El Nino campaign
Field validation regions:
Piura, Lambayeque and La Libertad
Funding:
UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund, which pays for emergency protection of heritage, and that El Nino is a periodic warming of the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean that shifts rainfall patterns worldwide.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
El Nino El Nino — A periodic warming of the central and eastern tropical Pacific that changes rainfall patterns across the world.
PDNA Post-Disaster Needs Assessment — A standard method of estimating damage and recovery needs after a disaster.