Some video clips from great fire of Malibu, USA
another one... it's Hell
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Final week forecast for monsoon
If we expect rain from North-East monsoon for Chennai, then we have last 15 days window.
As far as i'm concerned the weather will stay dry thru next week and we might get an odd shower before 10th of December.
All over India the temperature is below normal for this time of the year.
Here's the rainfall forecast for the coming week(s)...
As far as i'm concerned the weather will stay dry thru next week and we might get an odd shower before 10th of December.
All over India the temperature is below normal for this time of the year.
Here's the rainfall forecast for the coming week(s)...
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Shrinking lakes of Siberia ...
The Guardian
Lakes in two large swaths of Siberia are shrinking in size and 125 of them have disappeared altogether, a US study revealed yesterday.
Scientists have examined satellite photographs of 190,000 square miles of Siberia, two areas stretching south between the Ural mountains and the Arctic mining town of Norilsk. They claim the disappearance of the lakes is a consequence of global warming.
The warning comes as Tony Blair flies to Moscow this Sunday to secure the support of Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, for G8 action on climate change.
While there were 10,882 lakes larger than 40 hectares (100 acres) in 1971, there were only 9,712, in 1997 - a decline of 11%.
Published in the journal Science, the study concluded: "The ultimate effect of continued climate warming on high-latitude, permafrost-controlled lakes and wetlands may well be their widespread disappearance."
It said: "Our study reveals a widespread decline in lake abundance and area, despite slight precipitation [rain and snowfall] increases". The study also said the total surface areas of lakes in the region had dropped by 6%, while 125 lakes of this size had disappeared completely.
The study said the way the lake disappearances were spaced out "strongly suggests that thawing of permafrost is driving the observed losses".
It said that in northern areas where there was continuous permafrost - a thick layer of frozen soil that rarely melts during seasonal changes - the total surface area of the lakes grew by 12%. But in the southern regions, the patchy permafrost cover meant that water could drain away, leading to a considerable reduction in lake area.
"These declines have outpaced lake gains in the north, leading to an overall loss to the region," it said.
Russian scientists disagreed that the lake disappearances could be attributed to climate change. Galina Malkova, a senior research fellow of the Moscow-based Earth Cryosphere Institute and an expert on permafrost, said: "The data shows that the increase of temperature did not exceed 0.3C. This is not enough to be considered as a factor.
"The water draining is mainly explained by soil erosion processes," she said, adding that lakes often disappeared as they aged. "Many are gradually taken over by vegetation."
Russia ranks quite low among global polluters. Since its industrial complex began to decline with the collapse of the Soviet Union, emission levels have sunk to levels lower than the projections when it signed up in 1992 to the Kyoto treaty to limit climate change. As it now produces less than its allocated quota of emissions under the treaty, Moscow can sell carbon credits to other treaty signatories.
Russia, the world's number two exporter of oil, ratified the treaty last year, bringing it into legal effect and rescuing it from obsolescence after the US, the biggest polluter, refused to sign up in 2001
Lakes in two large swaths of Siberia are shrinking in size and 125 of them have disappeared altogether, a US study revealed yesterday.
Scientists have examined satellite photographs of 190,000 square miles of Siberia, two areas stretching south between the Ural mountains and the Arctic mining town of Norilsk. They claim the disappearance of the lakes is a consequence of global warming.
The warning comes as Tony Blair flies to Moscow this Sunday to secure the support of Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, for G8 action on climate change.
While there were 10,882 lakes larger than 40 hectares (100 acres) in 1971, there were only 9,712, in 1997 - a decline of 11%.
Published in the journal Science, the study concluded: "The ultimate effect of continued climate warming on high-latitude, permafrost-controlled lakes and wetlands may well be their widespread disappearance."
It said: "Our study reveals a widespread decline in lake abundance and area, despite slight precipitation [rain and snowfall] increases". The study also said the total surface areas of lakes in the region had dropped by 6%, while 125 lakes of this size had disappeared completely.
The study said the way the lake disappearances were spaced out "strongly suggests that thawing of permafrost is driving the observed losses".
It said that in northern areas where there was continuous permafrost - a thick layer of frozen soil that rarely melts during seasonal changes - the total surface area of the lakes grew by 12%. But in the southern regions, the patchy permafrost cover meant that water could drain away, leading to a considerable reduction in lake area.
"These declines have outpaced lake gains in the north, leading to an overall loss to the region," it said.
Russian scientists disagreed that the lake disappearances could be attributed to climate change. Galina Malkova, a senior research fellow of the Moscow-based Earth Cryosphere Institute and an expert on permafrost, said: "The data shows that the increase of temperature did not exceed 0.3C. This is not enough to be considered as a factor.
"The water draining is mainly explained by soil erosion processes," she said, adding that lakes often disappeared as they aged. "Many are gradually taken over by vegetation."
Russia ranks quite low among global polluters. Since its industrial complex began to decline with the collapse of the Soviet Union, emission levels have sunk to levels lower than the projections when it signed up in 1992 to the Kyoto treaty to limit climate change. As it now produces less than its allocated quota of emissions under the treaty, Moscow can sell carbon credits to other treaty signatories.
Russia, the world's number two exporter of oil, ratified the treaty last year, bringing it into legal effect and rescuing it from obsolescence after the US, the biggest polluter, refused to sign up in 2001
Days becoming cold
The days are becoming cold and humidity is getting low... that means winter is setting in.
Clear skys and mild dry wind from North-North-West. Signs of early winter.
You can see for yourself the latest graphs for "Humidity" and "Temperature".
Clear skys and mild dry wind from North-North-West. Signs of early winter.
You can see for yourself the latest graphs for "Humidity" and "Temperature".
Friday, November 23, 2007
Nights becoming cold again
It's getting DRY and cold as days go by.
Chennai has only another 7 days left to complete the 80% quota of average rainfall.
This is a BAD monsoon for us, 80% failed.
Before october from June, we had the wettest period in recorded history, but after that the rainfall rate slowed and got to a STOP now. Very odd North-East monsoon.
Here you can see the data for June to September.
Total: 677 mm
June - 94mm - 174%
July - 249.2mm - 254%
August - 166.2mm - 111%
September - 167.2mm - 154%
It's like from next year we can depend on the South-West monsoon.
Look at the latest satellite pic... bad scene
Chennai has only another 7 days left to complete the 80% quota of average rainfall.
This is a BAD monsoon for us, 80% failed.
Before october from June, we had the wettest period in recorded history, but after that the rainfall rate slowed and got to a STOP now. Very odd North-East monsoon.
Here you can see the data for June to September.
Total: 677 mm
June - 94mm - 174%
July - 249.2mm - 254%
August - 166.2mm - 111%
September - 167.2mm - 154%
It's like from next year we can depend on the South-West monsoon.
Look at the latest satellite pic... bad scene
Astonishing Discovery over the Amazonian Rain Forest
International research team has discovered huge amounts of unexpected organic aerosols over the South-American tropical rain forests
Isoprene, an organic compound generated in large quantities by natural vegetation, was originally thought not to be involved in producing atmospheric aerosols. It has now been found to be a potentially major player in this process. An international team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Chemistry, Mainz, Germany, the University of Antwerp, Belgium, the Ghent University, Belgium, and the University of São Paulo, Brazil, examined natural aerosols from the Amazonian rain forest, and has found that they contained two previously unknown compounds, which are photooxidation products of isoprene. These compounds are hygroscopic and could impact cloud formation, rainfall and climate (Science, 20 February 2004).
Isoprene is a volatile organic compound that is emitted in large quantities by forest vegetation. Its annual emission is estimated to be 500 million tons worldwide. But although isoprene readily oxidizes to form volatile products, popular wisdom held that it didn’t form products that could contribute to aerosol particle formation. Intensive measurements over the Amazon Basin, however, revealed the presence of two novel 2?methyltetrol compounds. These compounds are formed in the atmosphere through reaction of isoprene with hydroxyl radicals. To exclude pollution of human origin, the measurements were performed during the rainy season in a remote location of the Amazon Basin. Wind trajectories showed that the air had traveled over several thousand kilometers of pristine tropical forest before being trapped and analyzed.
It is estimated that the photooxidation of isoprene results in an annual production of about 2 million tons of the new compounds. This represents between 5 and 25% of the organic aerosol formed by atmospheric photochemistry from biogenic precursors.
This discovery is a breakthrough because for the first time a link can be demonstrated between isoprene emitted by forest vegetation and formation of water soluble fine particles. These aerosol particles give rise to the formation of haze and reduce the visibility in forested areas. They have an effect on cloud formation and influence rainfall and climate. Original work:
Magda Claeys, Bim Graham, Gyorgy Vas, Wu Wang, Reinhilde Vermeylen, Vlada Pashynska, Jan Cafmeyer, Pascal Guyon, Meinrat O. Andreae, Paulo Artaxo and Willy Maenhaut Formation of Secondary Organic Aerosols Through Photooxidation of Isoprene Science, 303, 1173 (2004), 20 February 2004
Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science Press and Public Relations Department
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