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UGC NET PAPER 1 · UNIT 09 · MODULE 4: SYLLABUS, QUESTION FRAMING AND REVISION · TOPIC 10

Revision Toolkit: Timeline, Numbers and Look-Alike Pairs

This section gathers what is worth reading again on the last day: a master timeline for chronological-order questions, a numbers sheet, a table of look-alike pairs where marks are usually lost, and the cross-topic chains that analysis questions are built on.

  • 6 sub-topics
  • 7 min read
  • Topic 10 of 10

What this topic covers

6 sub-topics, in the order to study them. Tap one to jump to it.

  1. 10.1Master Timeline (Oldest First)Year Event One-line reminder 1962 Silent Spring (Rachel Carson) Pesticides, DDT, start of the modern environmental movement 1968 Tragedy of the Commons (Garrett Hardin)…
  2. 10.2Numbers SheetItem Value MDGs 8 goals, 21 targets, 2000 to 2015, baseline 1990 SDGs 17 goals, 169 targets, about 230 indicators, 2016 to 2030 2030 Agenda themes 5 Ps: People, Planet…
  3. 10.3Look-Alike Pairs and How to Separate ThemPair How to tell them apart Kyoto and Paris Kyoto: 1997, binding targets for developed countries only, top-down. Paris: 2015, every country submits NDCs, bottom-up Vienna…
  4. 10.4Cross-Topic Chains for Analysis QuestionsFossil fuels: burning coal and oil gives CO2 (climate change, ocean acidification, sea level rise), SO2 and NOx (acid rain, respiratory disease), particulates (heart and…
  5. 10.5Mnemonics and Memory HooksCovers Environmental SDGs, Indian environmental laws in order, Sendai priorities, Metal and disease pairs, Seismic and tsunami and more.
    • Environmental SDGs
    • Sendai priorities
    • Metal and disease pairs
    • Seismic and tsunami
    • EP Act sections
  6. 10.6Last-Day ChecklistRe-read the timeline once and say each year aloud with its event. Revisit the numbers sheet and the look-alike pairs table without notes, then check. Review the Analysis…

Revision mode hides the full explanations and keeps each section's key terms, lists and tables and the Analysis Angle. Use it from your second read onward.

10.1Master Timeline (Oldest First)#

In brief

Year Event One-line reminder 1962 Silent Spring (Rachel Carson) Pesticides, DDT, start of the modern environmental movement 1968 Tragedy of the Commons (Garrett Hardin)…

Year Event One-line reminder
1962 Silent Spring (Rachel Carson) Pesticides, DDT, start of the modern environmental movement
1968 Tragedy of the Commons (Garrett Hardin) Overuse of shared resources
1972 Stockholm Conference; Limits to Growth First UN environment conference; UNEP created
1974 Water Act Created Central and State Pollution Control Boards
1980 Forest (Conservation) Act Central approval for diversion of forest land
1981 Air Act Air pollution control
1984 Bhopal gas tragedy Methyl isocyanate, led to the EP Act
1985 Vienna Convention on the ozone layer Framework; Ganga Action Plan launched in India
1986 Environment (Protection) Act; Chernobyl Umbrella law; nuclear accident in Ukraine
1987 Montreal Protocol; Our Common Future ODS phase-out; definition of sustainable development
1988 IPCC set up By WMO and UNEP
1989 Basel Convention; Exxon Valdez spill Hazardous waste; oil spill in Alaska
1990 Human Development Index Mahbub ul Haq, UNDP
1992 Rio Earth Summit; UNFCCC; CBD Agenda 21 and Rio Declaration
1994 UNCCD Third Rio Convention
1997 Kyoto Protocol Binding targets for Annex I
1999 Odisha Super Cyclone Led to disaster management reforms
2000 Millennium Summit; Noise Rules Eight MDGs; Cartagena Protocol also adopted
2001 Bhuj earthquake 26 January, Gujarat
2002 Johannesburg WSSD; Biological Diversity Act Agenda 21 review; India's CBD law
2004 Indian Ocean tsunami 26 December
2005 Disaster Management Act; Kyoto enters into force Hyogo Framework (2005 to 2015) also adopted
2008 NAPCC Eight National Missions
2010 NGT Act; Nagoya Protocol; JNNSM Green tribunal; ABS; solar mission
2011 Fukushima Nuclear accident in Japan
2012 Rio+20 The Future We Want; SDG process begins
2013 Kedarnath floods Uttarakhand; Ahmedabad Heat Action Plan
2015 Sendai; SDGs; Paris Agreement; ISA Year of the major frameworks
2016 SDGs take effect; Kigali Amendment; Waste Rules 1 January 2016; HFC phase-down
2018 IPCC 1.5 degree report; SDG India Index Special report; NITI Aayog
2019 NCAP; Kigali enters into force Clean air programme; 1 January 2019
2021 COP26 Glasgow; CAQM Act Panchamrit and net zero 2070
2022 Kunming-Montreal framework 23 targets, 30 by 30

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10.2Numbers Sheet#

In brief

Item Value MDGs 8 goals, 21 targets, 2000 to 2015, baseline 1990 SDGs 17 goals, 169 targets, about 230 indicators, 2016 to 2030 2030 Agenda themes 5 Ps: People, Planet…

Item Value
MDGs 8 goals, 21 targets, 2000 to 2015, baseline 1990
SDGs 17 goals, 169 targets, about 230 indicators, 2016 to 2030
2030 Agenda themes 5 Ps: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, Partnership
Rio Declaration; Agenda 21 27 principles; 40 chapters
Sendai Framework 4 priorities, 7 global targets, 2015 to 2030
Aichi targets; Global Biodiversity Framework 20 targets (2011 to 2020); 23 targets (2030)
NAPCC 8 National Missions (2008)
National AQI 8 pollutants; 0 to 500; six categories
EP Act 26 sections, 4 chapters
Acid rain pH below 5.6
Water stress and scarcity Below 1,700 and below 1,000 cubic metres per person per year
WHO guideline: fluoride; arsenic 1.5 mg/L; 10 micrograms per litre
WHO 2021 PM2.5 annual guideline 5 micrograms per cubic metre
Residential noise limit (day; night) 55 dB(A); 45 dB(A)
Silence zone 100 m around hospitals, courts, educational institutions
National Forest Policy 1988 33 per cent forest and tree cover target
Small hydro in India Up to 25 MW
Betz limit About 59 per cent
Kyoto first period; target 2008 to 2012; about 5 per cent below 1990
Paris temperature goals Well below 2 degrees Celsius, pursue 1.5 degrees Celsius
Climate finance goal (Paris) 100 billion US dollars a year from 2020
ODA target (SDG 17) 0.7 per cent of gross national income
India's net-zero year 2070

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10.3Look-Alike Pairs and How to Separate Them#

In brief

Pair How to tell them apart Kyoto and Paris Kyoto: 1997, binding targets for developed countries only, top-down. Paris: 2015, every country submits NDCs, bottom-up Vienna…

Pair How to tell them apart
Kyoto and Paris Kyoto: 1997, binding targets for developed countries only, top-down. Paris: 2015, every country submits NDCs, bottom-up
Vienna and Montreal Vienna 1985 is the framework; Montreal 1987 is the protocol with phase-out schedules
Montreal and Kigali Montreal controls ozone-depleting substances; Kigali phases down HFCs, which are greenhouse gases
Cartagena and Nagoya Cartagena: biosafety and LMOs. Nagoya: access and benefit sharing of genetic resources
Rio and Rio+20 Rio 1992: Agenda 21, UNFCCC, CBD. Rio+20 2012: The Future We Want, SDG process
MDGs and SDGs 8 goals for mainly developing countries (2000 to 2015); 17 universal goals (2016 to 2030)
Water Act and Air Act Water 1974 created the boards; Air 1981 extended board powers to air; EP Act 1986 is the umbrella law
Richter and Mercalli Richter: magnitude (energy, logarithmic). Mercalli: intensity (observed effects)
Mitigation and preparedness Mitigation reduces risk beforehand; preparedness readies the response
Structural and non-structural Structural: embankments, shelters. Non-structural: zoning, warning, awareness
Bioaccumulation and biomagnification Within one organism over time; up the food chain across organisms
BOD and COD BOD: oxygen used by microbes. COD: oxygen for chemical oxidation
Primary and secondary pollutants Primary emitted directly (SO2, CO); secondary formed by reaction (ozone, PAN)
Weak and strong sustainability Weak: capital substitutable. Strong: some natural capital irreplaceable
PM10 and PM2.5 10 and 2.5 micrometre diameters; PM2.5 penetrates deeper
Chipko, Appiko, Silent Valley, Narmada Uttarakhand (trees), Karnataka (trees), Kerala (hydro project), Narmada valley (dams)
Jhum and Jal Jeevan Jhum is shifting cultivation in the north-east; Jal Jeevan is the tap water mission linked to SDG 6

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10.4Cross-Topic Chains for Analysis Questions#

In brief

Fossil fuels: burning coal and oil gives CO2 (climate change, ocean acidification, sea level rise), SO2 and NOx (acid rain, respiratory disease), particulates (heart and…

  • Fossil fuels: burning coal and oil gives CO2 (climate change, ocean acidification, sea level rise), SO2 and NOx (acid rain, respiratory disease), particulates (heart and lung disease), and fly ash (soil and water). The response sits in SDG 7 and 13, the Paris Agreement, renewable energy, ISA and Bharat Stage norms.

  • Agriculture: fertilizers give nitrous oxide and nitrate runoff (eutrophication, blue baby syndrome), paddies and livestock give methane, irrigation gives salinity and groundwater loss, pesticides give biomagnification. The response is soil health cards, organic farming, zero tillage and efficient irrigation.

  • Forests: deforestation reduces carbon storage, increases erosion, floods and landslides, destroys habitat, and affects tribal livelihoods; the response is the Forest Conservation Act, Forest Rights Act, JFM, REDD+ and SDG 15.

  • Cities: impervious surfaces cause floods, vehicles and construction cause smog, waste causes landfill methane and leachate, and noise adds stress; the response is the Solid Waste Rules, NCAP, GRAP and SDG 11.

  • Hazards: vulnerability, not just the hazard, causes disasters; mitigation, early warning, building codes and community preparedness reduce risk under the DM Act and the Sendai Framework.

  • Law and treaties: the EP Act implements Stockholm and creates the rule-making framework; the CBD led to the Biological Diversity Act; Basel connects to the Hazardous Waste Rules; Montreal leads to the ODS Rules, and Paris connects with the NAPCC and India's NDC.

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10.5Mnemonics and Memory Hooks#

In brief

Covers Environmental SDGs, Indian environmental laws in order, Sendai priorities, Metal and disease pairs, Seismic and tsunami and more.

  • Environmental SDGs
  • Sendai priorities
  • Metal and disease pairs
  • Seismic and tsunami
  • EP Act sections
  • Kyoto flexibility mechanisms

  • Environmental SDGs: 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15 (water, energy, consumption, climate, ocean, land)

  • Rio gave three documents (Rio Declaration, Agenda 21, Forest Principles) and opened two treaties (UNFCCC, CBD)

  • Indian environmental laws in order: Water 1974, Forest 1980, Air 1981, EP 1986

  • Sendai priorities: Understand, Govern, Invest, Prepare

  • Metal and disease pairs: mercury with Minamata, cadmium with Itai-itai, arsenic with arsenicosis and blackfoot disease, fluoride with fluorosis, nitrate with blue baby syndrome, lead with plumbism, silica with silicosis

  • Seismic and tsunami: Richter for magnitude, Mercalli for intensity, INCOIS for tsunami warning

  • EP Act sections: 3 powers, 5 directions, 6 rules, 7 standards, 8 hazardous handling, 15 penalty, 16 companies, 17 government departments

  • Kyoto flexibility mechanisms: ET, JI, CDM; Paris tools: NDC, Global Stocktake, Article 6

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10.6Last-Day Checklist#

In brief

Re-read the timeline once and say each year aloud with its event. Revisit the numbers sheet and the look-alike pairs table without notes, then check. Review the Analysis…

  1. Re-read the timeline once and say each year aloud with its event.

  2. Revisit the numbers sheet and the look-alike pairs table without notes, then check.

  3. Review the Analysis bullets of each topic and restate the cause-and-effect link in your own words.

  4. Check that you can name, for each convention, its year, its theme and its Indian law or programme.

  5. In the exam, for statement questions, test each statement independently and watch for a single swapped detail such as a year, a gas, a body or a number.

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Test yourself on Revision Toolkit: Timeline, Numbers and Look-Alike Pairs

Practise with free MCQs and answer keys, then return here to fix what you got wrong.

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