Climate Data Information

Conference of the Parties Since 1995 the self-proclaimed great-and-good of the climate movement have met to discuss measures to combat climate change. The meetings have taken place every year, except for the COVID hit year of 2020. Each meeting is referred to a Conference of the Parties. The Conference of the Parties, usually shortened to COP, is the supreme decision-making body of The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It works in parallel with the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which produces regular Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) reports. The latest is CMIP6. In brief, the IPCC produce projections of climate change (with emphasis on temperature) and the UNFCCC proposes measures to moderate those changes. The following chart shows the number of participants at each of the annual meetings of the COP. COP 26 The two largest meetings were those at Paris in 2012 (COP 21) and in Glasgow in 2021 (COP 26). Participants are classed in ...

The most common definition of Scotch Mist is “ A cold and penetrating mist, verging on rain .” There is however another definition: “Something that is hard to find or does not exist” . The latter is the one I am using as a basis of this post, and I’ve chosen it because I am going to look for evidence of warming in Scotland. Glasgow is in Scotland and is, of course, the venue for the COP 26 climate meeting so all the eyes of the world are on that country. The first question to examine is “Is Scotland different to England?” The British Meteorological Office publishes long-term climate data for almost 40 climate stations covering all constituent countries of the United Kingdom. So, for a start let’s compare the long temperature records of Oxford and Stornaway Airport. Oxford is in England and almost as far form the sea as it is possible to be in that country. Its record started in 1853. Stornaway is on the Island of Lewis, to the west of Scotland, and its data go back to 1873. The chart...

Climate Change Impact Part 12: Example – Kagera Basin (Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Tanzania) Summary The Kagera basin flows into Lake Victoria and as such it forms part of the Nile Basin. An extensive data base of climate and flows was available and was used to calibrate the HYSIM hydrological model to 22 sub-basins. Climate projections show that rainfall is projected to increase but temperature (and hence evapotranspiration) is also expected to increase. Whilst the two changes to some extent balance out, the increase in temperature still has important implications for the future of agriculture. Introduction The Kagera River Basin and its tributaries flow within four countries (Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Tanzania). The Kagera River flows into Lake Victoria which in turn forms part of the Nile River Basin. The aim of the study was to assess the water resources potential of the basin and also to estimate the potential effect of climate change. Figure 1 is a map...

Climate Change Impact Part 11: Example –Turkey Summary The Yesilirmak Basin in northern Turkey drains into the Black Sea.  The basin is currently highly developed for hydropower and irrigation. The impact of climate change will be to reduce annual flow. Currently snow melt in late spring provides water at the start of the irrigation season; critically, the biggest reduction in flow will be during this period. To maintain current levels of irrigation will require additional storage.  Introduction The Yeşilirmak basin in northern Turkey has a drainage area of around 36,000 km2 and flows into the Black Sea. The basin is mountainous with parts of the basin reaching elevations in excess of 2,000m. The aim of the study was to develop an understanding of the water balance of the basin and then to examine the potential effects of climate change on the basin. The basin is heavily developed, mainly for irrigation and hydropower. Figure  1  Yesili...

Climate Change Impact Part 10: Example –  Zambia Summary Zambia has a climate typical of Southern Africa with cool dry winters (June to August) with hot wet summers. The potential impact of climate change was studied as part of a project enhancing the country's skills in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). Temperature are expected to rise throughout the year and over the whole country with slightly higher increases in the south-east. The changes in precipitation are less consistent with some months projected to have an increase and others to have a reduction. Introduction The Government of Zambia was fully aware of the principles of Integrated Water Resources Management.  The need for climate change to integrated in water resources planning was recognised in the National Water Plan of 1994. The Water Resources Management Act of 2011 took this a stage further. This act sought to create a National Water Authority. Section 8 of the Act on ‘Function...

Climate Change Impact Part 9: Example –Kyrgyzstan Summary Kyrgyzstan has a continental climate with cold winters and hot summers. Most of the rain falls in the summer months and temperatures are below freezing for most of the winter months. It is projected that storm rainfall will increase by up to 20% and that the duration of lying snow will decrease. Introduction Kyrgyzstan is in central Asia and has severe winters with temperature below zero for many months, particularly in mountainous areas. Figure  1  Map of Kyrgyzstan showing project road Climate change can affect roads in many ways. The most obvious is storm rainfall; an increase in storm rainfall could require modification to current design for culverts and longitudinal drains. Other factors include daily temperature range, which could affect expansion joints, and maximum temperature, which could affect the choice of binding agent. Once current values of these parameters have been ...

Climate Change Impact Part 8: Example – Samoa Summary Some of the roads on Samoa had been damaged in recent storms and the objective of the project was to prepare the rehabilitation taking account of climate change. Climate data, including rainfall at a 10-inute time step for two stations were obtained. The data showed that there was a significant increase in rainfall with elevation (which might explain why the most severe damage to the roads was at highest elevations). A methodology was developed to estimate the storm intensity for a range of durations and return period taking account of climate change. Introduction Samoa consists of two main islands shown on the following map. Both islands have a road network. On Upolo there are roads around and across the island. On Savai’I the roads run around the island. There is a third island, to the east of and smaller than these two, which is a US territory. Figure  1  Map of Samoa The main aim of ...