'Coldest winter' reports called speculative
2010-10-21
GENEVA - The World Meteorological Organization (WMO)said Tuesday recent reports forecasting the 2010 winter to be
the coldest in Europe in 1,000 years are "speculative" and "not backed up by authoritative and robust scientific evidence."
When asked about the reports, the WMO told Xinhua, "At present, the available operational long-range forecasts do not
indicate a particularly severe winter in Europe." According to WMO, the Organization is working in collaboration with
National Meteorological and Hydrological Services and other partners to develop and improve operational climate
predictions, notably through the establishment of Global Producing Centers of Long Range Forecasts, and Regional
Climate Centers, to provide probabilistic long range forecasts which can be helpful for decision-making.
http://www.allvoices.com/s/event-
7084399/aHR0cDovL2NoaW5hZGFpbHkuY29tLmNuL3dvcmxkLzIwMTAtMTAvMjEvY29udGVudF8xMTQzOTk2NS5odG0=
UN body seeks action on humanitarian crisis
21 October 2010
AGAINST the backdrop of concerns over the effect of climate as it may affect migration of peoples across borders, a call
has been made to international agencies and governments to urgently put in place programmes for the development of
nations....But speaking with The Guardian, Switzerland-based Nigerias Yinka Adebayo, who is Chief, Education and
Fellowship Division (development and regional activities department) of the World Meteorological Organisation, stressed
that Africa, because it was saddled with semi-arid and arid lands, was the most vulnerable to adverse effect of climate
change. He, however, bemoaned the level of information circulating on what he referred to as time-bomb called climate
change. No doubt about it, Africa is going to suffer the most the effect of climate change, he said.
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=26715:un-body-seeks-action-on-
humanitarian-crisis&catid=1:national&Itemid=559
http://www.mwnation.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7755:response-to-climate-change-is-
defining-test-for-africas-leadership&catid=27:development&Itemid=22
Afrique: Environnement - Les stations météorologiques font défaut
20 Octobre 2010
Selon des experts cependant, des données climatiques fiables aideraient le continent à faire face aux catastrophes
naturelles même les plus extrêmes. L'acte était symbolique: Le président de la Commission de l'Union africaine (Ua), Jean
Ping, plantant un arbre dans la cour de la Commission économique des Nations unies pour l'Afrique (Cea) à Addis-Abeba
(Ethiopie), mercredi 13 octobre dernier. A ses côtés, Abdoulie Janneh, secrétaire général adjoint de l'Organisation des
Nations unies (Onu) et par ailleurs secrétaire exécutif de la Cea, et Donald Kaberuka, le président de la Banque africaine
de développement (Bad), répétant le même geste. Ces arbres témoignent de la volonté ferme et manifeste du continent
africain à lutter contre les changements climatiques.
http://fr.allafrica.com/stories/201010200712.html
http://www.quotidienmutations.info/octobre/1287561931.php
L'organizzazione meteorologica mondiale smentisce le ipotesi sull'inverno europeo
2010-10-20
Il 19 ottobre l'organizzazione meteorologica mondiale (WMO) ha riferito che la notizia in cui si dice che l'Europa affronterà
un inverno rigidissimo come mai nella storia è soltanto un'ipotesi senza nessun fondamento autorevole e scientifico. Lo
stesso giorno la WMO ha risposto ai media dicendo che attualmente le previsioni meteorologiche a lungo termine non
possono accertare il tempo che farà in Europa questo inverno.
http://italian.cri.cn/761/2010/10/20/124s141062.htm
AFRICA: Thinking big on climate change modelling
ADDIS ABABA, 13 October 2010 (IRIN) - If African countries had had the capacity to do climate change projections, their
data could have been fed into the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes (IPCC) assessments for the continent,
said Richard Odingo, former vice-chair of the IPCC at one of the discussions ahead of the Seventh African Development
Forum. The IPCC is still recovering from its controversial warning about the impact of climate change on food production
in Africa, cited in its synthesis report. The warning turned out to have been based on a non-peer reviewed academic
paper for three North African countries.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=90751
Angola: Nation Should Implement Meteorological Data System
20 October 2010
Luanda Angola must conclude by November 2012, the implementation of the Control System of Meteorological Data's
Quality, said Wednesday, in Luanda, the assistant coordinator of the Control System of Quality of the National
Meteorological and Geophysical Institute (INAMET), Lutumba Tima. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the first
Consultative Enlarged Council of INAMET, the source stressed that this is happening because of the fact of being
insufficient, at the moment, the number of experts in the country. According to the source, if the country does not
conclude implementing the control process of the meteorological data's quality till 2012, the World Meteorological
Organisation (WMO) will rule out the services done by Angola in this sector.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201010201115.html
TEEB report puts world's natural assets on the global political radar
October 20, 2010
The economic importance of the world's natural assets is now firmly on the political radar as a result of an international
assessment showcasing the enormous economic value of forests, freshwater, soils and coral reefs, as well as the social
and economic costs of their loss, was the conclusion of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) report
launched today by TEEB study leader, Pavan Sukhdev.
http://www.brightsurf.com/news/headlines/59767/TEEB_report_puts_worlds_natural_assets_on_the_global_political_rada
r.html
CO2 Levels Control Earth Temperature says new Study
October 20, 2010
NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) have conducted a new study testing the age old theory that Carbon
Dioxide has a big impact on the Earth's temperature. They've concluded that water vapour can't do it on its own, CO2 has
a big impact. Results of the study concluded that non condexing gases like carbon dioxide, ozone, chlorofluorocarbons,
nitrous oxide and methane all play central roles in the greenhouse effect.
http://www.xsreviews.co.uk/article17331.html
Singapore's air quality worst since 2006
Oct 21, 2010
HAZE from Indonesia brought Singapore's air pollution to its worst level in four years yesterday, and the smoke is
expected to remain in the air until at least Saturday. The situation could worsen, as fires continue to burn in parts of
Sumatra being cleared by farmers, and prevailing winds blow more smoke this way. But some relief might come from
showers expected this week, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said yesterday.
http://meltwaternews.com/prerobot/sph.asp?pub=ST&sphurl=www.straitstimes.com/PrimeNews/Story/STIStory_593313.
html
UN climate chief doubts solid agreement in Cancun
October 20, 2010
The United Nations climate chief doubts there will be a complete agreement by world leaders on a new climate pact to
make the earth cooler and provide funding for poor countries battered by the severest of weather events when they meet
in Cancun from late November. There are political disagreements around how and when to agree on actions, Executive
Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Christiana Figueres told Latin
American journalists via video conference from her headquarters in Bonn, Germany. Figueres, from Costa Rica, has seen
some of the worst floods and landslides in Latin America this year and she was adamant that it is industrialised nations
which spew the bulk of harmful greenhouse gases that cause global climate change that ought to take action.
http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2010/10/20/un-climate-chief-doubts-solid-agreement-in-cancun/
"Super Typhoon" Regains Strength And Aims For China
21-Oct-10
A "super typhoon" regained strength and headed for southern China on Wednesday after wreaking havoc across the
northern Philippines, destroying thousands of homes and killing at least 15 people. Chinese ports recalled vessels as
Typhoon Megi looked set to make landfall on Saturday east of Hong Kong, one of the most crowded cities on Earth and
long used to cyclonic storms which threaten between May and September, many after hitting the Philippines.
http://www.planetark.org/enviro-news/item/59944
Bangladesh, India Most At Risk From Climate Change
21-Oct-10
Bangladesh and India are the countries most vulnerable to climate change, according to an index on Wednesday that
rates the Nordic region least at risk. British consultancy Maplecroft said its rankings showed that several "big economies
of the future" in Asia were among those facing the biggest risks from global warming in the next 30 years as were large
parts of Africa.
http://www.planetark.org/enviro-news/item/59937
Climate conference suggests portal on global warming
October 20,2010
Bangalore-The three-day national seminar on climate change and its impact on natural resources concluded here on
Wednesday with a note that climate change would be one of the worlds most dreaded problems. Central Pollution
Control Board Zonal Officer, Bangalore, A Manoharan pointed out that a separate lesson on carbon footprint needs to be
included in the school curriculum so that children imbibe eco sensitivity.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/106257/climate-conference-suggests-portal-global.html
Mexico Stretches Funds To Cut Greenhouse Emissions
20-Oct-10
Hopes are dim for a global agreement to help developing nations cut carbon emissions, so Mexico is relying on an
imperfect blend of grants, loans and ingenuity to meet self-imposed limits on greenhouse gases.
Mexico, which will host world delegates at a climate change conference in late November, aims to become a laboratory
for cutting carbon, which scientists say contributes to devastating global warming, without hindering economic growth.
http://www.planetark.org/enviro-news/item/59929
Nepal ranks fourth among most climate-endangered nations
2010-10-20
PARIS:South Asia is the world's most climate-vulnerable region, its fast-growing populations badly exposed to flood,
drought, storms and sea-level rise, according to a survey of 170 nations published on Wednesday. Of the 16 countries
listed as being at "extreme" risk from climate change over the next 30 years, five are from South Asia, with Bangladesh
and India in first and second places, Nepal in fourth, Afghanistan in eighth and Pakistan at 16th.
http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Nepal+ranks+fourth+among+most+climate-
endangered+nations&NewsID=262292
Heavy rains in southern Japan kill two, one missing
Thu Oct 21,
TOKYO (AFP) Torrential rains have killed at least two people on a southern Japanese island and left one missing, reports
said Thursday, with the weather agency warning of possible mudslides and more rain to come. The heavy rains -- part of
the knock-on effect of super Typhoon Megi -- have battered the subtropical island chain of Amami since Monday night,
leaving two women dead at a nursing home, Jiji Press and Kyodo News said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101021/wl_afp/japanweathertyphoon
Drought may threaten much of globe within decades
October 20, 2010
The United States and many other heavily populated countries face a growing threat of severe and prolonged drought in
coming decades, according to results of a new study by National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) scientist Aiguo
Dai.The detailed analysis concludes that warming temperatures associated with climate change will likely create
increasingly dry conditions across much of the globe in the next 30 years.
http://www.brightsurf.com/news/headlines/59738/Drought_may_threaten_much_of_globe_within_decades.html
WMO In the Media is a daily compilation providing a snapshot of international media coverage of and commentary on
WMO-related issues that does not purport to be exhaustive. The information contained in the compilation is taken as is
from sources external to the WMO Secretariat and freely available on the Internet. No evaluation on the part of the WMO
Secretariat has been done in terms of the information that they contain. The WMO Secretariat makes no warranty, either
express or implied, as to the accuracy.