Global warming could delay, weaken monsoons: study

WATER WORLD

Hong Kong February warmest in 125 years
Last month was the hottest February in Hong Kong since records began in 1884 and the latest sign of the city's long-term warming trend, meteorologists said Sunday. The monthly mean temperature was 20.5 degrees Celsius (68.9 degrees Fahrenheit), the highest yet for the particular month, the Hong Kong Observatory said in a statement. The average was 4.2 degrees higher than was normal for the years between 1971 and 2000. It also recorded February's highest maximum daily temperature, when the thermometer hit 28.3 degrees on February 25. The observatory said the warmer weather, which saw the city's residents abandon their usual winter coats and sweaters, was caused by a weak northeast monsoon, which meant the cold north air seldom reached southern China. The high temperature reflected the long-term warming trend in Hong Kong, which has seen monthly mean temperatures in February rise by about 0.4 degrees a decade over the last 50 years, the statement said. KW Li, chief experimental officer at the Observatory, said that the long-term trend was partly the result of global warming, which climate scientists have said has been caused by the increased burning of fossil fuels. He also said the city's urbanisation over the past few decades was a factor in the increase. Photo courtesy AFP.

by Staff Writers
Chicago (AFP) March 1, 2009
Global warming could delay the start of the summer monsoon by five to 15 days within the next century and significantly reduce rainfall in much of South Asia, a recent study has found.

Rising global temperatures will likely lead to an eastward shift in monsoon circulation which could result in more rainfall over the Indian Ocean, Myanmar and Bangladesh but less over Pakistan, India and Nepal, the study found.

It could also result in longer delays between rainy seasons and intensify the risk of deadly floods by leading to a significant increase in average rainfalls in some coastal areas of western India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

That could have a major impact on agriculture, human health and the economies of the region, warned study author Noah Diffenbaugh.

"Almost half of the world's population lives in areas affected by these monsoons, and even slight deviations from the normal monsoon pattern can have great impact," said Diffenbaugh, interim director of Purdue University's Climate Change Research Center.

"Agricultural production, water availability and hydroelectric power generation could be substantially affected by delayed monsoon onset and reduced surface runoff."

The atmospheric conditions that lead to reduced rain also can lead to intensification of extremely hot conditions, said lead author Moetasim Ashfaq, a graduate student at Purdue.

"In the past when we have seen extremely hot days, we have observed a similar circulation anomaly," Ashfaq said in a statement.

"These circulation changes decrease moisture flow over the land, and we see longer periods without rain, along with hot conditions."

Ashfaq used a high-resolution climate model to map how global warming will affect the complex topography of South Asia by recreating the monsoon season of past years.

He found that increasing temperatures strengthen some aspects of large-scale monsoon circulation but weaken the fine-scale interactions of the land with the moisture in the atmosphere.

"Even with a strong monsoon system, if circulation changes enough to change where and when rain is delivered, then that could have an impact that has not been captured in the large-scale evaluations," Ashfaq said.

The study was published in the January issue of the peer-reviewed journal Geophysical Research Letters.

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WATER WORLD

Two arrested over water contamination: state media

Beijing (AFP) Feb 23, 2009
Two managers of a chemical company have been arrested over a spill that led to the suspension of drinking water supplies for hundreds of thousands of people in a Chinese city, state press said Monday.

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