{"id":24573,"date":"2025-12-01T11:40:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T06:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=24573"},"modified":"2025-12-01T16:31:58","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T11:01:58","slug":"svalbard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/svalbard\/","title":{"rendered":"Svalbard"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Svalbard Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A significant new discovery recently emerged in the Arctic, with scientists spotting an unexpected gathering of walruses on the remote shores of Svalbard, a wild stretch of land nestled between mainland Norway and the North Pole.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>About Svalbard<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is a <\/span><b>Norwegian archipelago<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that is situated in the <\/span><b>Arctic Ocean<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, to the <\/span><b>north of the European mainland.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is located about<\/span><b> halfway between<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the <\/span><b>North Pole <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and the <\/span><b>northern part of Norway.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is the <\/span><b>northernmost place in the world<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with a <\/span><b>permanent population.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Discovery<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: It was discovered by the <\/span><b>Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz in 1596.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>1920 Svalbard Treaty <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">established <\/span><b>Norwegian sovereignty <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">over the Svalbard Islands.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It covers a total area of about 61,022 sq.km.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Approximately <\/span><b>60%<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the archipelago is <\/span><b>covered with glaciers<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and the islands feature many mountains and fjords.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is composed of <\/span><b>several islands<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> such as <\/span><b>Spitsbergen, Nordaustlandet, Edge\u00f8ya, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Barents\u00f8ya, Kvit\u00f8ya, Kong Karls Land, Prins Karls Forland, Bj\u00f8rn\u00f8ya, and Hopen.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Spitsbergen <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is the<\/span><b> largest and most populous <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">island.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The island is bounded by the Arctic Ocean, the Greenland Sea, and the Norwegian Sea.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Svalbard Global Seed Vault<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is also<\/span><b> located on Spitsbergen.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It is the l<\/span><b>argest backup facility <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for the <\/span><b>world\u2019s crop diversity.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Climate<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The archipelago features an <\/span><b>Arctic climate,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> although with significantly <\/span><b>higher temperatures than other areas at the same latitude.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Due to its location in the northern part of the Arctic Circle, the Svalbard Islands experience the <\/span><b>midnight sun during the summer months<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>polar night during the winter months.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Vegetation <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">consists mostly of <\/span><b><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/lichen\/#:~:text=Lichens%20are%20considered%20as%20primary,mosses%20and%20liverworts%20to%20follow.\" target=\"_blank\">lichens<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/moss\/\" target=\"_blank\">mosses<\/a>;<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the <\/span><b>only trees<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are the <\/span><b>tiny polar willow and the dwarf birch.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Svalbard is a breeding ground for many <\/span><b>seabirds<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and also features <\/span><b>polar bears, reindeer, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the arctic fox, and certain marine mammals.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Key Facts about Walrus<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is a <\/span><b>large mammal<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that lives in the <\/span><b>cold Arctic seas<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of Europe, Asia, and North America.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is closely <\/span><b>related to the seals.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The walrus can be<\/span><b> told apart from seals by the two large upper teeth, called tusks,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that stick down from its mouth. The tusks <\/span><b>can be 3 feet (1 meter) long.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scientific Name: Odobenus rosmarus.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are <\/span><b>two subspecies:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the <\/span><b>Atlantic walrus<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) and the <\/span><b>Pacific walrus<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (O. rosmarus divergens).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Features:<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The walrus has a <\/span><b>stocky body<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and a <\/span><b>rounded head.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It has<\/span><b> flippers instead of legs.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Its <\/span><b>mouth <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is <\/span><b>covered with stiff whiskers.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>skin <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is wrinkled and <\/span><b>grayish brown.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> A <\/span><b>thick layer of fat below the skin, called blubber, keeps the walrus warm.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Walruses can be 13.7 meters long and weigh more than 1,200 kilograms.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Conservation Status: Vulnerable.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/indiandefencereview.com\/massive-gathering-gigantic-arctic-creature\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IDR<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago that is situated in the Arctic Ocean, to the north of the European mainland. Read more about Svalbard, Discovery, Location, Climate, Latest News.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":75893,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[21,3972,22,23],"class_list":{"0":"post-24573","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","8":"tag-prelims-pointers","9":"tag-svalbard","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}