The viticultural system and climate change: coping with long-term trends in temperature and rainfall in Roussillon,France

Mediterranean viticulture could suffer from hotter and drier growing seasons over the coming decades. The present article focuses on the wine-producing area Côtes-du-Roussillon-Villages near Perpignan, in southern France. We used observational daily data (1925–2010) from Perpignan weather station and daily outputs (2001–2060) of the regional climate model ARPEGE-RETIC-V4 from Météo-France with scenarios A2, A1B and B1, to assess the exposure of the regional wine system to changes in temperature and precipitation, both in the recent past and the coming decades (1925–2060). Temperatures during the growing season and summer temperature extremes have been increasing continuously since the mid-1980s and are projected to increase faster from the mid-2040s. Precipitation is highly variable and very low in summer, and projections suggest greater uncertainty, and more extreme drought events could be expected. The analysis of climate data was complemented by thirty-two in-depth interviews with local actors of the wine industry to assess the impacts of climate change on their activities and potential adaptive options. Producers reported negative impacts of recent changes in climate in conjunction with a difficult economic situation. Analyses of historical, social and economic backgrounds are important to fully conceptualize the nature and extent of climate change risks in the region. This case study provides important insights into the roles of non-climatic factors in the generation of vulnerability for Mediterranean agricultural systems facing rapid climate change.     

Sensitivity of typical Mediterranean crops to past and future evolution of seasonal temperature and precipitation in Apulia

The region of Apulia, which is located in the south-east tip of the Italian Peninsula, has a typical Mediterranean climate with mild winters and hot-dry summers. Agriculture, an important sector of its economy, is potentially threatened by future climate change. This study describes the evolution of seasonal temperature and precipitation from the recent past to the next decades and estimates future potential impacts of climate change on three main agricultural products: wine, wheat and olives. Analysis is based on instrumental data, on an ensemble of climate projections and on a linear regression model linking these three agricultural products to seasonal values of temperature and precipitation. In Apulia, precipitation and temperature time series show trends toward warmer and marginally drier conditions during the whole analyzed (1951–2005) period: 0.18 °C/decade in mean annual minimum temperature and ?14.9 mm/decade in the annual total precipitation. Temperature trends have been progressively increasing and rates of change have become noticeably more intense during the last 25 years of the twentieth century. Model simulations are consistent with observed trends for the period 1951–2000 and show a large acceleration of the warming rate in the period 2001–2050 with respect to the period 1951–2000. Further, in the period 2001–2050, simulations show a decrease in precipitation, which was not present in the previous 50 years. Wine production, wheat and olive harvest records show large inter-annual variability with statistically significant links to seasonal temperature and precipitation, whose strength, however, strongly depends on the considered variables. Linear regression analysis shows that seasonal temperature and precipitation variability explains a small, but not negligible, fraction of the inter-annual variability of these crops (40, 18, 9 % for wine, olives and wheat, respectively). Results (which consider no adaptation of crops and no fertilization effect of CO₂) suggest that evolution of these seasonal climate variables in the first half of the twenty-first century could decrease all considered variables. The most affected is wine production (?20 ÷ ?26 %). The effect is relevant also on harvested olives (?8 ÷ ?19 %) and negligible on harvested wheat (?4 ÷ ?1 %).     

基于植被状态指数的干旱化特征及气候驱动因素分析——以江苏省为例

干旱是危害最大的自然灾害之一,给农业生产及地区经济造成了巨大的损失。以AVHRR和MODIS遥感数据集所计算的植被状态指数(Vegetation Condition Index,VCI)为监测指标,研究江苏省干旱的时空变化特征,并结合江苏省气象站台1982~2010年的实测气象资料,分析降水量、气温、相对湿度和日照时数这四个气候因子的变化趋势及其对干旱化的影响,不仅能够定量地描述植被干旱的空间变化,还可以反映长期气候对其起到的正反作用。研究结果表明:江苏省近30年的年均VCI值呈上升趋势,区域整体旱情有所缓解;四个气候因子中,年均温度逐渐升高,年均降水量基本保持不变,年均相对湿度和日照时数则呈下降趋势,其中气温和相对湿度与VCI的相关性达极显著水平,是影响江苏省旱情的主要因素。     

安徽省主要气象灾害趋势演变及其对粮食总产的影响

为了揭示安徽省主要气象灾害的现状和变化规律，保障粮食作物稳产高产。该文利用1986~2017年安徽省78个市、县的干旱、洪涝、风雹、低温冷冻害和雪灾等4类主要气象灾害的受灾、成灾率数据，采用气候倾向率、灰色关联度和R/S分析方法，分析了全省4类主要气象灾害的时空变化特征和未来发展趋势及其与粮食总产的关联度。结果表明：（1）全省4类气象灾害的受灾、成灾率均随年代呈下降趋势，近10年受灾、成灾率明显偏少；高值区多出现在淮北地区、皖南山区和大别山区，低值区大多出现在沿淮、江淮和沿江地区。（2）未来安徽省干旱受灾、成灾率将继续下降，洪涝将持续不明显的下降趋势，风雹、低温冷冻害和雪灾将由下降趋势转为平稳或略有上升的趋势。（3）4类气象灾害的受灾、成灾率与粮食总产量的关联度由高到低的排序均为: 洪涝、低温冷冻害和雪灾、干旱、风雹。由此说明洪涝是影响安徽省粮食生产最主要的气象灾害。     

洞庭湖主要生态环境问题变化分析

通过对近几十年来洞庭湖水情、泥沙、污染和湿地生态等不同方面问题的回顾分析，认为在三峡工程建设、洞庭湖退田还湖和极端天气事件影响下，洞庭湖主要生态环境问题发生了一些变化。由于气候干旱化，加之三峡水库蓄水影响，导致洞庭湖入湖水量季节性减少，湖区水位下降，干旱期延长。模拟显示2006和2009年三峡秋季蓄水使洞庭湖出口水位平均下降2.03和2.11 m；由于三口来沙急剧减少，入湖泥沙打破了以淤积为主的模式，2006年洞庭湖第一次出现从拦蓄泥沙变成向长江净输出泥沙。低水位运行不仅对洲滩演进和湖泊水质带来影响，也加速了对湖滩的开发利用，外来物种的发展威胁了湖泊湿地生物多样性和动物栖息地的稳定。同时，湖区复合型水污染威胁加重，洞庭湖水质从2008年的Ⅳ类水下降为Ⅴ类水。洞庭湖在缺水与洪涝矛盾中，正从单一洪灾为主转向矛盾的两个方面共存。这些变化一方面与气候变化有关，也是流域生产由传统农业转向农、林、水、工的综合发展，以及湖泊与流域关系改变的结果。     

鄱阳湖流域1960～2018年极端气温变化及其与大气环流的关系

为进一步揭示鄱阳湖流域极端气温事件变化及其影响因素,基于鄱阳湖流域24个气象站点连续59年观测资料,选取8个极端气温指数,分析鄱阳湖流域极端气温动态变化,并探讨了大气环流与极端气温变化的联系.结果表明:(1)鄱阳湖流域极端气温暖指数(暖昼天数、暖夜天数和夏日天数)及极值指数(日最低气温最小值和日最高气温最大值)均呈增加趋势;冷指数(冷昼天数、冷夜天数和霜冻天数)均呈逐渐减少趋势.(2)从空间分布来看,极端气温空间变化趋势与年际变化一致,极端气温暖指数和极值指数呈增加趋势,冷指数均呈减少趋势,但在不同地区变化趋势存在差异.流域各站点霜冻天数和冷昼天数均呈显著下降趋势,但在赣北地区下降趋势最显著.大部分站点(23/24)暖夜天数、夏日天数和日最低气温最小值均呈显著增加趋势;(3)鄱阳湖流域极端气温指数的变化与大气环流的变化存在相关性,其中西太平洋副高强度指数、夏季东亚季风指数、亚洲区极涡强度指数和北极涛动指数对极端气温事件影响显著.研究结果可为极端气候风险评估、灾害预警提供参考.     

大穗型杂交水稻父本材料的耐冷性筛选与鉴定

冷害已成为我国杂交水稻发展中影响安全生产的一大问题,而与超级杂交稻密切关联的大穗型水稻的耐冷性鉴定尚没有成型的方法。以21个现有杂交稻水稻大穗型父本品种（品系）为材料,在水稻花粉母细胞减数分裂期采用人工气候室模拟当地水稻典型受害气象条件,进行连续7d低温处理（日平均温度175℃）,以受精率和毎穗颖花数为联合筛选指标进行了低温耐性筛选试验。结果表明,根据各品种对低温的反应,可将其分为4种类型,分别为耐低温型、较耐低温型、较感低温型和低温敏感型。其中BL006、R HQ和香八等3品种属于耐低温型,C 418属于低温敏可感型。经在水稻花粉母细胞减数分裂期低温处理后,耐低温型品种BL006、R HQ和香八的颖花受精率和毎穗颖花数受影响较小,花药长度变化不大,每柱头花粉总数、花粉萌发数和花粉萌发率降幅小;相反,低温敏感型品种C 418受精率和每穗颖花数严重下降,花药长度大幅减小,每柱头花粉总数、花粉萌发数和花粉萌发率显著降低。由此证明,针对大穗型水稻品种的耐冷性鉴定,采用颖花受精率和每穗颖花数作为联合筛选指标的人工气候室模拟鉴定法可能是一种可行的方法     

A multidisciplinary study on the effects of climate change in the northern Adriatic Sea and the Marche region (central Italy)

An integrated analysis of recent climate change (including atmosphere, sea and land), and social reaction and adaptation, was conducted in central Italy and the northern portion of the Adriatic Sea. The collected environmental data included meteorological, oceanographic, and river gauges stations, covering the time period 1961–2009. Social data included 800 questionnaires and interviews carried out on selected samples of residents, decision-makers, and emergency managers. The trend analysis of air temperature data detailed an overall increase in all seasons, whereas rainfall data showed decrease in winter, spring, and summer, and increase in autumn, influencing river flow changes. Marine data showed a warming of the water column after the year 1990, particularly relevant in the cold season. Surface salinity increased in spring and summer and strongly decreased in autumn and also in winter (due to the spreading over the basin of the increased autumnal river runoff). These changes, combined with anthropogenic effects, appear to influence the northern Adriatic marine environment and ecosystems. Impacts in the coastal areas are also evident inland; the analysis of Aridity index, and potential water deficit, suggests negative impacts in terms of soil deterioration and agricultural productivity, particularly in the area near the coastline. At the same time, the analysis of social data revealed awareness among local residents of these impacts and associated risks connected to climate change. Yet, this awareness is not currently translated into preventive and protective actions; among the main reasons for this delay is also ineffective information exchange among citizens, public administrators, and the scientific community.     

Role of climate risks and socio-economic factors in influencing the impact of climatic extremes: a normalisation study in the context of Odisha,India

Economic costs imposed by climatic extremes have been increasing over the years and are expected to follow a similar trend in the coming years as well. Such costs are incurred due to two factors: (1) natural climate variability and anthropogenic climate change and (2) exposure and vulnerability of socio-economic factors. The impact of these factors as identified separately through a ‘normalisation technique’ is analysed in the existing normalisation studies conducted mostly in developed country contexts; these have produced mixed results. However, one needs to enquire about the influence of the above two factors in a developing country context where the anticipated impacts of climate extremes are significant. This study, therefore, makes an attempt to adjust impact data, in terms of the reported population affected and economic damages of three extreme events, namely cyclones, floods and droughts, together for societal changes between 1972 and 2009 in Odisha in eastern India. Further, the second component is analysed in two ways: (1) assuming that exposed socio-economic factors are equally vulnerable similar to the other normalisation studies, i.e. no adaptation and (2) incorporating adaptation in the existing normalisation methods—which has attracted less attention so far in the literature. The results suggest that: (a) both the natural climate variability and the socio-economic factors influence the increasing damages in the recent decades, and (b) when adaptation is introduced in the normalisation model, economic losses have reduced significantly compared to the estimates using the existing normalisation models.     

Climate change and village adaptation impact on reliability of irrigation wells in China

This paper builds a water supply reliability econometric model to analyze climate changes and adaptation impact factors on water supply reliability of irrigation wells by using 100 villages’ three-year (2010–2012) field survey data of five middle and eastern provinces of China. The results show that long-run climate change factors, adaptation measures, village-level organizations of irrigation management, as well as extreme climate factors affect the water supply reliability of irrigation wells significantly. Meanwhile, there are significant differences impacting different crops and provinces. This paper suggests that agriculture meteorological disaster monitoring and warning systems should be strengthened by increasing irrigation facilities construction and maintenance, promoting reform of agricultural irrigation water management system, and developing various forms of peasant cooperation organization in order to improve agricultural production capacity to adapt to climate change.     

近50年安徽省双季稻安全生产期变化特征

为进一步了解安徽省双季稻安全生产界限温度日期变化特征，以安徽省22个双季稻生产市(县)气象观测站1961～2017年日平均气温为基础，采用线性趋势法和Mann-Kendall非参数检验法，分析了安徽省沿江双季稻区早稻安全播种期、移栽期和晚稻安全齐穗期、成熟期及双季稻安全生长期日数、积温变化特征。结果表明:近50年安徽省沿江地区早稻安全播种期呈显著提前趋势(P<0.05)，其中薄膜育秧平均提前1.8 d/10 a，露天育秧提前1.5 d/10 a；早稻安全移栽期呈极显著提前趋势(P<0.01)，平均提前2.5 d/10 a；晚稻安全齐穗期、成熟期推迟趋势不显著(P>0.05)；安全生产期日数和积温增加显著(P<0.01)，平均增幅分别为2.6和62.7℃·d/10 a。安全生产期日数和积温增加对双季稻种植和品种选择具有积极作用，但晚稻采用直播、机插等栽种方式有遭遇低温冷害的风险。     

近45 a来我国农业气象灾害变化特征及其对粮食产量的影响

利用农业部种植业管理司发布的数据,针对近45 a(1970~2014年)来我国农业气象灾害变化特征及其对粮食产量影响的问题,采用数理统计和偏相关分析方法进行了研究。结果表明:黑龙江、山东和河南是受灾和成灾面积最大的省份;山西和内蒙古是受灾率和成灾率最高的两个省份;旱灾是我国主要的气象灾害,洪涝灾害波动明显,沿海地区台风灾害持续上升;东北地区旱灾比重增加,低温灾害有所减轻;华东地区洪涝、低温和台风灾害比重增加;华北地区低温和风雹呈现上升趋势;华南地区台风灾害增长显著;西北地区风雹和低温增加;西南地区旱灾和洪涝走势相反;中南地区旱灾减轻,洪涝加重;气象灾害直接影响到粮食总产量,干旱和洪涝灾害影响尤为明显;气象灾害与粮食产量的关系呈现出先上升后下降趋势。     

Dangerous levels of climate change for agricultural production in China

There are increasing attempts to define the measures of ‘dangerous anthropogenic inference with the climate system’ in context of Article 2 of the Framework Convention on Climate Change, due to its linkage to goals for stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations. The criteria for identifying dangerous anthropogenic interference may be characterized in terms of the consequences of climate change. In this study, we use the water stress index (WSI) and agricultural net primary production (NPP) as indictors to assess where and when there might be dangerous effects arising from the projected climate changes for Chinese agricultural production. The results showed that based on HadCM3-based climate change scenarios, the region between the North China Plain and Northeast China Plain (34.25–47.75°N, 110.25–126.25°E) would be vulnerable to the projected climate change. The analyses on inter-annual variability showed that the agricultural water resources conditions would fluctuate through the period of 2001–2080 in the region under IPCC SRES A2 scenario, with the period of 2021–2040 as critical drought period. Agricultural NPP is projected to have a general increasing trend through the period of 2001–2080; however, it could decrease during the period of 2005–2035 in the region under the IPCC SRES A2 scenario, and during the period of 2025–2035 under IPCC SRES B2 scenario. Generally, while projected climate change could bring some potentially improved conditions for Chinese agriculture, it could also bring some critical adverse changes in water resources, which would affect the overall outcome. At this stage, while we have identified certain risks and established the general shape of the damage curve expressed as a function of global mean temperature increase, more works are needed to identify specific changes which could be dangerous for food security in China. Therefore, there is a need for the development of more integrated assessment models, which include social-economic, agricultural production and food trade modules, to help identify thresholds for impacts in further studies.     

Mid-21st century climate and weather extremes in Cyprus as projected by six regional climate models

We present climate change projections and apply indices of weather extremes for the Mediterranean island Cyprus using data from regional climate model (RCM) simulations driven by the IPCC A1B scenario within the ENSEMBLES project. Daily time-series of temperature and precipitation were used from six RCMs for a reference period 1976–2000 and for 2026–2050 (‘future‘) for representative locations, applying a performance selection among neighboring model grid-boxes. The annual average temperatures of the model ensemble have a ±1.5°C bias from the observations (negative for maximum and positive for minimum temperature), and the models underestimate annual precipitation totals by 4–17%. The climatological annual cycles for the observations fall within the 1σ range of the 6-model average, highlighting the strength of using multi-model output. We obtain reasonable agreement between models and observations for the temperature-related indices of extremes for the recent past, while the comparison is less good for the precipitation-related extremes. For the future, the RCM ensemble shows significant warming of 1°C in winter to 2°C in the summer for both maximum and minimum temperatures. Rainfall is projected to decrease by 2–8%, although this is not statistically significant. Our results indicate the shift of the mean climate to a warmer state, with a relatively strong increase in the warm extremes. The precipitation frequency is projected to decrease at the inland Nicosia and at the coastal Limassol, while the mountainous Saittas could experience more frequent 5–15 mm/day rainfall. In future, very hot days are expected to increase by more than 2 weeks/year and tropical nights by 1 month/year. The annual number of consecutive dry days shows a statistically significant increase (of 9 days) in Limassol. These projected changes of the Cyprus climate may adversely affect ecosystems and the economy of the island and emphasize the need for adaptation strategies.     

Climatic changes and their impact on socio-economic sectors in the Bhutan Himalayas: an implementation strategy

This paper contributes to an enhanced understanding of present climatic conditions, observed climate trends and regional climate vulnerability of the Bhutan Himalayas. Bhutan’s complex, often high-altitude terrain and the severe impact of the Indian summer monsoon leads to a strong exposure of the countries’ key economic sectors (agriculture, forestry, hydropower generation and tourism) to climatic changes. Climate change also threatens Bhutan’s vast biodiversity and increases the likelihood of natural hazards (e.g. glacier lake outburst floods, flash floods, droughts and forest fires). A better understanding of Bhutan’s climate and its variability, as well as observed and possible climate impacts, will help in improving the handling of regional social, economic and ecologic challenges not limited to the Himalayas. Only a few climatological studies exist for the eastern Himalayas. They mainly focus on adaptation to immediate threats by glacier lake outbursts. In contrast, this paper (1) investigates the average spatial and inner-annual diversity of the air temperature regime of Bhutan, based on local meteorological observations, (2) discusses past temperature variability, based on global datasets, and (3) relates effects of observed warming to water availability, hydropower development, natural hazards, forests, biodiversity, agriculture, human health and tourism in the Bhutan Himalayas. Results indicate a large spatial and temporal temperature variability within Bhutan and considerably increasing temperatures especially over recent decades. Implications of regional climatic changes on various socio-economic sectors and possible adaptation efforts are discussed.     

秦岭南北地区农业气候资源时空变化特征

利用秦岭南北地区1960~2016年47个气象站点的观测资料，运用气候倾向率、Mann-Kendall趋势检验、相关分析与反距离加权插值等方法分析了秦岭南北地区光、热、水等农业气候资源的时空变化特征。结果表明：1960年以来，秦岭南北地区气温、≥10℃活动积温呈显著增加趋势，1995年后气温快速上升，并在2002年增温达到显著水平。春、冬、秋季增温明显，空间上秦岭以北增温倾向率大于秦岭以南。 1960~2016年，秦岭南北地区降水量总体呈微弱下降趋势，从时间上看，1995年前降水量以下降为主，1995年后降水量转为上升趋势；从空间上看，1960~2016年，下降较明显地区为秦岭以北、嘉陵江沿线，其次为汉水流域丹江口水库区域；部分地区呈现微弱上升趋势，主要分布在巴巫谷地、汉水流域大巴山等山地段和秦岭南坡东部。相对湿度呈微弱下降趋势；日照时数呈显著下降趋势，四季下降程度为夏>冬>秋>春，下降显著地区为研究区东部平原、汉中盆地、关中盆地及巴巫谷地。 关键词： 农业气候资源，时空变化，秦岭南北地区     

2011年长江中下游春旱的气候特征分析

利用我国高分辨率逐日降水资料，从降水量、无降水日数、连续无降水日数、气象干旱指数（CI）等指标对2011年春季长江中下游地区发生的气象干旱进行了分析评估。结果表明，2011年春季长江中下游地区降水量为近60 a同期最少，无降水日数、气象干旱影响范围均为近60 a同期最大，重度以上气象干旱日数为近几十年来同期罕见。此次严重气象干旱具有强度强、持续时间长、干旱范围广、影响程度重等特点，为近60 a来长江中下游地区春季发生的最严重的气象干旱，对水资源、水产养殖业、农业生产等造成了重大影响。还从大气环流、水汽输送角度对气象干旱的成因进行了初步分析，认为2011年冬春季北方冷空气势力强大，向南扩张明显，南方热带对流系统不活跃，向长江中下游地区水汽输送弱，是造成此次气象干旱的主要原因     

Climate impact on agroeconomy in semiarid region of Armenia

With 21 % of gross domestic product (GDP) in agricultural sector and having consistently experienced natural disasters (e.g., drought, flood), Armenia is very vulnerable to climate and its change. Given the fact that 63 % of the entire land is planted with grains, this study primarily focuses on the market for wheat flour and bread. Economic welfare loss due to drought episodes is calculated using the economic data integrated with climate measures. Economic data are utilized for the period 1995–2011 (obtained from Statistical Office of Armenia) and specifically include the quantity produced and consumed of wheat flour and bread combined with mean prices, population income, GDP in the agricultural sector, GDP in the planting sector, and governmental expenditure on subsidies. Climate data include temperature and precipitation during the period 1966–2011 (obtained from National Hydrometeorological Service of Armenia). The analysis includes three main components. The first utilizes a market framework that analyzes the impact of climate on equilibrium prices and quantities as well as trade and tax effects. The second employs a logarithmic utility function to estimate the effective insurance policy for the agricultural sector using risk management strategies. Lastly, a macroeconomic model has been developed to assess the efficient sum of governmental expenditure on subsidies and irrigation during the drought episodes and during the mean climatic conditions. All three parts of the study are developed for the first time.     

Assessment of the impacts of climate change and variability on water resources and use,food security,and economic welfare in Iran

Climate change influences the agricultural sector by reducing available water resources, thereby influencing income, consumer and producer surplus, and crop prices. So, it is necessary to have a comprehensive integrated method to measure the effects of these changes on natural resources and social conditions. The present study aims to use the positive mathematical programming method to discover the trend and conditions of groundwater resources, agricultural water use, food security, and economic welfare of the agricultural sector in Iran. To this end, data for the period 2000–2015 was used under four different scenarios of normal climate change, climate change, climate variability, and concurrent climate change The results showed that the mean agricultural water use will amount to 35,103.6, 26,533.8, 35,216, and 26,510.7 million m³ and the mean decline in the reserves of aquifers will amount to 4422.22, 11,165.6, 4438.25, and 11,267.4 million m³ under the scenarios, respectively. With respect to food security, the net farm revenue will be 314,560, 248,753, 315,427, and 248,574 billion IRR, respectively. The mean crop price per ton will reach 905.3, 1141.8, 904, and 1142.8 million IRR, respectively. The mean consumer surplus will be 172,107.7, 166,450, 172,024, and 166,403 billion IRR and the mean producer surplus will be 419,959.2, 395,380, 419,751, and 395,204 billion IRR, respectively. Based on the results, to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change on different studied aspects, it is necessary to change policymaking in the water and agricultural sectors, especially regarding the shift from traditional agricultural water allocation to its market-based allocation and to change planting pattern.

     

Integrating disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation: key challenges—scales, knowledge, and norms

Statistical data shows that the increase in disasters due to natural hazards over the past 20 years has, for the most part, been caused by meteorological and hydrological events. This increase has been largely assigned to climate change [Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), 2010, http://www.emdat.be/Database/Trends/trends.html], that is, with climate-related hazards being major triggers for the majority of disasters. Consequently, there is obvious concern about how a changing climate will exacerbate the situation in the future (McBean and Ajibade in Curr Opin Environ Sustain 1:179–186, 2009). However, the attribution of a single hazard event or specific losses to climate change is still difficult, if not impossible, due to the complexity of factors that generate disaster losses. Disaster risk is a product of the interaction of the hazard (event) and the vulnerability conditions of the society or elements exposed. As a result, the need for a systematic linkage between disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) to advance sustainable development, and finally human security is being discussed within the ongoing climate change negotiations as well as within the disaster risk community, for example, in the framework of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change special report on ‘Managing the risks of extreme events and disasters to advance climate change adaptation’. However, crucial differences between DRR and CCA exist that have widely limited or hampered their integration in practice. A review of existing literature on the topic and current national and local adaptation strategies, as well as 38 expert interviews conducted between April and May 2009, have led the authors to hypothesise that most of these differences and challenges can be categorised with respect to different spatial and temporal scales, the knowledge base, and norm systems. This paper examines the reasons for the practical barriers when linking CCA and DRR according to these three aspects. Finally, we outline recommendations and measures that need to be adopted in order to overcome existing barriers. In addition, quality criteria are formulated that should be applied in order to constantly monitor and evaluate adaptation strategies designed to simultaneously meet DRR requirements and vice versa.