In the map of the world that we have been seeing in books, on TV and on the internet since childhood, the size of many countries and continents looks quite different from the real one. Now efforts are being made to change this. Voting on this proposal will take place in the United Nations General Assembly on Friday. It involves adopting a world map in which the size of countries and continents appears close to their actual size on the ground. If this proposal passes, the map of the world will change significantly. Africa and South America will appear larger, while Greenland, Europe and Canada will appear smaller than the current map. The campaign for this change has been started by some African countries. He says that in the current map, Africa has been shown much smaller than its actual size. What is the problem with the current map? One of the most used maps in the world is the Mercator map. It was created by European map maker Gerardus Mercator in 1569. A major feature of this map is that it is very useful for determining the path in the sea and for navigation of ships. But due to showing the entire round earth on a flat map, the size of countries and continents appears different from the real one. As an area moves away from the equator, it appears larger than necessary on the map. This is the reason why many areas in the northern and southern parts appear much larger than they actually are. Greenland is the most famous example of this. In the Mercator map, Greenland appears approximately equal to South America. But in reality there is a huge difference in the size of the two. The area of Greenland is about 22 lakh square kilometers. It is approximately equal to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Whereas the area of Africa is about 3 crore square kilometers. That means Africa is about 14 times bigger than Greenland. Still, looking at the Mercator map, the size of both may appear to be almost the same. This is the difference that efforts are now being made to reduce. What is the problem of African countries? African countries say that it is not just a matter of the small or big appearance of any country or continent on the map. The map of the world also decides how we see different parts. The proposal placed before the UN states that the actual size of Africa appears much smaller in the Mercator map. Seeing such a picture for a long time can create a misconception in people’s minds about the size and global importance of Africa. The proposal also mentions Latin America and South Asia. It says that seeing these areas as small on the map can also lead to the perception of underestimating their development needs, infrastructure and economic potential. Now a more accurate picture of the world will be seen. The name of the proposal placed before the UN is ‘Correct the Map’. It has been taken forward jointly by the member countries of the African Union and the Bahamas. In this, it has been said that instead of Mercator map, such maps should be used in which different parts of the world appear closer to their actual area. ‘Equal Earth’ map is special among these. It was introduced in 2018. Its purpose is to show the size of the countries and continents of the world in such a way that it appears closer to their actual area on the ground. The changes in this map are visible only at first glance… that is, nothing changes on the ground, only the way of showing it on the map changes. New Zealand is also troubled by the old map. Africa is not the only region that is complaining about the old map. New Zealand has also been joking about its place on the world map for a long time. In 2018, the then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was also seen in a New Zealand tourism advertisement. It was shown in a humorous manner that New Zealand seems to disappear from many maps of the world. In fact, in the Mercator map, New Zealand appears at the very edge at the bottom right. Sometimes it is completely missing from the map. In some variations of the Equal Earth map, Oceania is brought closer to the center. Due to this, the position of countries like Australia and New Zealand also appears more prominent. This campaign has also got the support of France in support of the new map. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barro said on Friday that his country will use maps that show the size of countries and continents closer to their actual area on the ground. He said that in the current map, countries like America, Russia and China appear bigger and more prominent than Africa, Latin America and South-East Asia. Baro said that this difference seen again and again on the map gradually affects people’s thinking also. So now the time has come to show the world on the map in a more accurate way. Africa itself first changed the map Africa is not just complaining that it is shown small on the world map. He himself has started to change it. The African Union decided to adopt the Equal Earth map in March. After this, in April, Togo, on behalf of the African Union, appealed to the member countries of the United Nations to also adopt such maps. This means that now the efforts are not limited to just changing the maps of Africa. African countries want the shape of the continents to appear more correct in the maps used around the world. Initial discussions on this issue took place in the United Nations General Assembly in July and now the matter has reached voting. African Union Commissioner Amma Twum-Amoah said in March that Africa has long been shown on maps as smaller than its actual size. According to him, now the time has come for the world to look at Africa not just on the map, but also in terms of its history, culture, economy and global role. The map of Google Map will also change. Now the question is not only about the maps hanging in schools or the maps printed in books. This debate about changing the map of the world can reach our mobile screens. Today we see the world more on digital maps like Google Maps than on paper. On these platforms too, different projections of the map are used to show the Earth on the screen. This is why the UN proposal also wants to include tech companies in this debate. The proposal asks companies to consider adopting more accurate projections and working with UN member states and regional organizations for this. That is, if more accurate projection is widely adopted in the future, then the map of the world we see on the phone may also change. But this does not mean that as soon as the UN resolution is passed, the whole world will appear changed if you open Google Maps the next day. After this, different tech companies, countries and institutions will have to take decisions at their own level. So will the world map really change? If the UN General Assembly resolution is passed, it will not mean that it will be mandatory to use the same new map throughout the world. But this may promote methods of making and teaching maps in which the actual area of countries and continents appears more accurately. The world will remain the same. Africa, Greenland, Europe, South America and India will remain in their places. The only difference will be that the way they appear on the map will be closer to their actual size on the ground. ——————————— Also read this news… China – A person left PhD and started finding irregularities in his research paper: 40 scientists were caught cheating, Jinping government snatched the funding-awards. In China, action has been taken against more than 40 researchers after finding irregularities in the research paper of a former PhD student Geng Hongwei. Read the full news here…
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दुनिया का नक्शा बदलने की तैयारी, UN में आज वोटिंग: यूरोप-रूस-कनाडा का साइज छोटा होगा, अफ्रीका-दक्षिण अमेरिका को फायदा
