Snowstorm catastrophes in the United States

Extremely damaging snowstorms, those causing more than $1 million in property losses across the US, were studied, and the spatial and temporal characteristics of the storm activity during 1949–2001 were defined. There were 155 catastrophic snowstorms and they caused insured losses of $21.6 billion (2001 dollars). The northeastern US had the nation's maximum storm occurrences (79 storms), greatest total losses ($7.3 billion), and highest storm intensity. Two-thirds of all US losses occurred in the Northeast, Southeast, and Central climate regions, and storm occurrences and losses were least in the western US. The incidence of storms peaked during the 1976–1985 period and exhibited no up or down trend during 1949–2001. However, losses had a significant upward time trend, as did storm sizes and intensity. New York and Pennsylvania had the greatest number of storms with fewest in Montana, Idaho, and Utah. Time distribution of losses in the northeastern and southeastern US were U-shaped with flat time trends for 1949–2001. Losses in the western regions and Deep South had distinct upward trends in losses, storm intensity, and storm size. More than 90 percent of all storm losses in the western US have occurred since 1980. These findings indicate that rapidly growing population and property at risk have been major factors in increasing losses as well as atmospheric changes leading to greater storm intensity and size.     

Characterizing the urban heat island in current and future climates in New Jersey

Climate change caused by increased anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other greenhouse gases is a long-term climate hazard with the potential to alter the intensity, temporal pattern, and spatial extent of the urban heat island (UHI) in metropolitan regions. Particular meteorological conditions—including high temperature, low cloud cover, and low average wind speed—tend to intensify the heat island effect. Analyses of existing archived climate data for the vicinities of Newark and Camden, New Jersey indicate urban to suburban/rural temperature differences over the previous half-century. Surface temperatures derived from a Landsat thermal image for each site were also analyzed for spatial patterns of heat islands. Potential interactions between the UHI effect and projected changes in temperature, wind speed, and cloud cover are then examined under a range of climate change scenarios, encompassing different greenhouse gas emissions trajectories. The scenarios include those utilized in the Metropolitan East Coast Regional Assessment of Climate Variability and Change and the A2 and B2 scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES).

The UHI effect was detected in Newark and Camden in both satellite surface-temperature and meteorological station airtemperature records. The average difference in urban—nonurban minimum temperatures was 3.0 °C for the Newark area and 1.5 °C for Camden. Extrapolation of current trends and the selected global climate models (GCMs) project that temperatures in the case study areas will continue to warm in the current century, as they have over the past half-century. An initial analysis of global climate scenarios shows that wind speed may decline, and that cloud cover may increase in the coming decades. These generally small countervailing tendencies suggest that urban—nonurban temperature differences may be maintained under climate change.

Overall warmer conditions throughout the year may extend the spatial and temporal dimensions of the urban-suburban heat complex. The incidence of heat-related morbidity and mortality are likely to increase with interactions between the increased frequency and duration of heat waves and the UHI effect. Camden and Newark will likely be subjected to higher temperatures, and areas experiencing UHI-like conditions and temperature extremes will expand. Thus, urban heat island-related hazard potential is likely to increase in a warmer climate.     

Climate hazards: Lessons from recent events in the United States

Three recent cases of climate extremes are studied to identify human impacts and response strategies and to identify common characteristics that may help illuminate the nature of climate hazards. The 1980 heat wave in the central United States, 1981 cold wave in Boston, Massachusetts, and recent flooding and lake level rise in northern Utah, illustrate several important aspects of climate hazards that separate them from the more traditional set of catastrophic events (e.g. tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes) usually dealt with by hazards research and management. Among those characteristics are an emphasis on health impacts rather than physical damage, accumulative effects rather than short shocks, a tendency for impacts to accrue to certain socio-economic classes, and relatively slow onset. The management and research implications of these hazard characteristics are explored.     

The impacts of climate change on the risk of natural disasters

Human emissions of greenhouse gases are already changing our climate. This paper provides an overview of the relation between climate change and weather extremes, and examines three specific cases where recent acute events have stimulated debate on the potential role of climate change: the European heatwave of 2003; the risk of inland flooding, such as recently in Central Europe and Great Britain; and the harsh Atlantic hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005. Furthermore, it briefly assesses the relation between climate change and El Ni?o, and the potential of abrupt climate change. Several trends in weather extremes are sufficiently clear to inform risk reduction efforts. In many instances, however, the potential increases in extreme events due to climate change come on top of alarming rises in vulnerability. Hence, the additional risks due to climate change should not be analysed or treated in isolation, but instead integrated into broader efforts to reduce the risk of natural disasters.     

A case study of perceptions of climate change impacts and child well-being: Implications for development programming

Climate change will affect those most vulnerable in the developing world, and humanitarian relief and development organizations will need to respond. Using a quantitative survey, the attitudes of World Vision staff towards climate change and its risks for children were examined. Results indicate a very strong awareness of climate change and its risks to the key outcome indicator of the organization (child well-being), but there are significant variations within the organization. Specific groups perceive fewer risks to child well-being and may be less supportive of action on climate change. Internal strategies are needed to build necessary commitments to organizational action.     

气候变暖对黑龙江省灾害气候影响及减灾对策

黑龙江省自上世纪80年代以来的20年里，年均温度较前30年上升了1℃。增温最大的季节是冬季，增温1．6℃，其次春季，夏秋季分列第3，4位；增温高值中心在呼玛。增温主要表现在最低气温的增高，年平均最低气温增高1．7℃，年较差变小1．16℃。气候变暖对灾害天气的影响包括：(1)风速减弱，大风次数减少；(2)暴雨次数增加；(3)干旱增强；(4)大涝次数减少；(5)低温次数减少；(6)初霜日后延；(7)寒潮次数减少；(8)大雪次数增加。针对这一情况，提出了防灾减灾的3项对策。     

Estimating the economic,social and environmental impacts of wildfires in Australia

It is often said that bushfires are a fact of life in Australia. While Australian communities will always be affected by the impacts of bushfires, there is an element of human involvement that makes at least some bushfires avoidable. In Australia more bushfires are started by deliberate lighting than are caused by lightning or other natural sources. This creates an element of criminality in relation to bushfires which includes the establishment of bushfire arson as a serious criminal offence. The author presents a motive-based typology of deliberately lit bushfires and argues that a greater understanding of the reasons why people light bushfires can help prevention, investigation and treatment of offenders.     

Community-based disaster preparedness and climate adaptation: local capacity-building in the Philippines

Community-based disaster preparedness (CBDP) approaches are increasingly important elements of vulnerability reduction and disaster management strategies. They are associated with a policy trend that values the knowledge and capacities of local people and builds on local resources, including social capital. CBDP may be instrumental not only in formulating local coping and adaptation strategies, but also in situating them within wider development planning and debates. In theory, local people can be mobilised to resist unsustainable (vulnerability increasing) forms of development or livelihood practices and to raise local concerns more effectively with political representatives. This paper focuses on the potential of CBDP initiatives to alleviate vulnerability in the context of climate change, and their limitations. It presents evidence from the Philippines that, in the limited forms in which they are currently employed, CBDP initiatives have the potential both to empower and disempower, and warns against treating CBDP as a panacea to disaster management problems.     

我国水稻对气候变化的敏感性和脆弱性

采用PRECIS模型输出的B2气候情景,结合CERES-Rice作物模型数据,依据产量的变化率和GIS技术对我国未来(21世纪70年代)水稻的气候变化敏感性和脆弱性进行了研究.结果表明:受气候变化影响,未来我国绝大部分地区的雨养水稻将会减产,仅个别地区有增产趋势.负敏感区(减产区)主要集中在东北的辽宁和赤峰、华北平原大部、江淮及东南沿海地区;而在黑龙江西南部、福建大部、陕西与四川交界地区的雨养水稻有增产趋势.我国的灌溉水稻也以减产为主,负敏感区主要集中在辽宁、吉林西部、华北地区、陕西、宁夏、新疆南部、淮河流域、长江中下游及其以南广大水稻主产区;增产区主要集中在黑龙江西南部、内蒙古东部地区及陕西与湖北交界等地.未来我国雨养水稻的脆弱区主要分布在:(1)东北地区的中南部;(2)山东北部及淮河流域;(3)南部沿海和海南岛;(4)西南地区.未来我国灌溉水稻的脆弱区面积较大,主要分布在辽宁、黄河中游和下游、新疆南部及广西大部地区.     

美国的洪水资源化利用

<正>密西西比河密西西比河是世界第四长河,也是北美洲流程最长、流域面积最广、水量最大的河流。它滋润着美国大陆41%的土地,水量比任何其它的美国河流都要多,是千万的美国人饮用水的来源。流域包括美国31个州和加拿大的两个省的全部或一部分。     

气候变化对区域经济的影响及其对策研究

采用经济学上著名的“投入－产出”分析方法,结合气候变化对工业影响的统计模型和对农业产量影响的计算机模拟系统,建立了气候变化对区域经济影响的投入－产出模型,预测了未来不同气候变化情景对经济部门国内生产总值和总产出量的影响;分析了当气候变化对工业、农业部门的生产和产品发生影响时,导致的国民经济其他部门生产和产品的改变、部门间需求量的变化和各部门间投入产出流量的变化,为决策者提供了一些适应气候变化的相应对策,研究结果为实现气候变化情景下区域经济的平衡与协调发展,以及制定区域经济的发展规划提供了理论依据。     

Public perception of drought and climate change in southeast England

Droughts occur as a natural feature of many climates. Several southern areas of the UK experienced water stress during 2004–2006 because of low water availability and high water demand. Climate change scenarios suggest that drought frequency could increase here in the future. This will increase the competition for water across all sectors. Understanding people's perceptions of drought and climate change is likely to be an important factor for sustainable water management by pointing to barriers to behavioural change. A mixed methodology study using questionnaires and focus groups was conducted in the Anglian and southern regions of the UK to explore public perceptions of drought and climate change. Respondents attributed the 2004–2006 regional drought to lower than average rainfall. Water-intensive lifestyles, a growth in population, increasing housing developments, leaking pipes and the privatization of water companies were also implicated. The majority of respondents claimed to change their behaviour to conserve water during 2006. Regarding the future, and under a number of different scenarios, people were more inclined to accept restrictions than agree to pay more to ensure the supply of water. They were concerned about climate change and recognized that more frequent water shortages may be one of the impacts, but this concern did not necessarily translate into action. Barriers to engagement with climate change and water-efficient behaviour included a lack of accessible information, a lack of knowledge regarding the integration of environmental spheres, a lack of resources, and a perceived lack of institutional engagement. The barriers identified appear to pose a major challenge to successful adaptation to climate change.     

Race, Ethnicity and Disasters in the United States: A Review of the Literature

In this paper we synthesise past disaster research that addresses issues of race and ethnicity in the United States. Using an eight-stage typology to organise the findings, this literature review presents the results from a wide range of studies. The synthesis shows how various racial and ethnic groups perceive natural hazard risks and respond to warnings, how groups may be differentially affected, both physically and psychologically, and how disaster effects vary by race and ethnicity during the periods of emergency response, recovery and reconstruction. We show that studies have important findings, many illustrating that racial and ethnic communities in the US are more vulnerable to natural disasters, due to factors such as language, housing patterns, building construction, community isolation and cultural insensitivities. By presenting these studies together, we are able to witness patterns of racial and ethnic inequalities that may be more difficult to see or interpret in individual studies that take place in one specific time and place. We conclude the review with policy and research recommendations.     

北京极端天气事件及其与区域气候变化的联系

应用逐日观测资料分析了北京极端天气事件的变化及其与区域气候变暖的可能联系，得到了如下结论：（1）近30多年来高温和闷热事件在增加，低温、大风、雷暴和大雾事件在减少，暴雨和沙尘暴的出现频率无明显的变化。（2）高温、闷热、低温、大风、雷暴和大雾存在着较强的年际变化，但不具有明显的周期性特征，暴雨和沙尘暴事件分别存在10年和8～10年的主周期变化。（3）年平均气温和高温、闷热、低温、大风等极端事件之间存在着较强的相关性，这些极端天气事件的变化与区域气候变暖关系密切。     

江淮地区极端气候事件的时空变化特征

利用1951—2003年的温度和降水资料，研究了江淮地区极端气候事件的空间结构及年代际变化特征。结果发现：（1）气候变暖影响了极端气候事件的变化，这种影响是由气候平均值和方差的共同变化引起的。（2）气候变暖加速了水分的循环过程，导致20世纪90年代以来江淮地区旱涝频率和强度加大，强降水事件增加；冬季极端最低温度升高，低温日数减少；夏季极端最高温度和高温日数开始回升。（3）从极端事件分布的区域变化来看，气候变暖对淮北的影响最大，使这个脆弱性本来就很严重的区域变得更加脆弱。     

Analysis of hazardous material releases due to natural hazards in the United States

Natural hazards were the cause of approximately 16,600 hazardous material (hazmat) releases reported to the National Response Center (NRC) between 1990 and 2008-three per cent of all reported hazmat releases. Rain-induced releases were most numerous (26 per cent of the total), followed by those associated with hurricanes (20 per cent), many of which resulted from major episodes in 2005 and 2008. Winds, storms or other weather-related phenomena were responsible for another 25 per cent of hazmat releases. Large releases were most frequently due to major natural disasters. For instance, hurricane-induced releases of petroleum from storage tanks account for a large fraction of the total volume of petroleum released during 'natechs' (understood here as a natural hazard and the hazardous materials release that results). Among the most commonly released chemicals were nitrogen oxides, benzene, and polychlorinated biphenyls. Three deaths, 52 injuries, and the evacuation of at least 5,000 persons were recorded as a consequence of natech events. Overall, results suggest that the number of natechs increased over the study period (1990-2008) with potential for serious human and environmental impacts.     

黄河断流对全球气候变化的响应

全球气候的异常变化导致了我国北方趋于干暖化 ,出现黄河断流现象 ,并成为我国一个严重的环境问题。黄河断流在历史时期就已存在 ,并非现在才出现。由于全球气候的异常变化 ,整个黄河流域变得干暖 ,降水量减少并集中分布在夏季 ,且多以暴雨形式出现 ;蒸发量因干旱强度的增大而增大 ;水土流失使河床淤高 ,增加了河水的下渗量和蒸发量 ,使中下游地区的水流无法汇入到黄河干流 ,最终造成断流。黄河断流是该河流对全球气候变化的响应 ,是全球气候异常变化的必然结果。为了解决黄河断流问题 ,可以采取全流域人工降雨、下游低洼地区蓄水以及南水北调中线工程等有效措施。     

长江中下游地区21世纪气候变化情景预测

利用IPCC数据分发中心提供的7个模式的模拟结果,分析了由于人类活动影响,温室气体(GG)增加以及温室气体和硫化物气溶胶(GS)共同增加时,长江中下游地区未来50～100年的气候变化情景.结果表明,长江中下游地区21世纪的未来温度变化与全球和全国一样,都将呈增加的趋势.GG作用下,2050年和2100年长江中下游地区的变暖幅度分别为2.2℃和4.5℃左右,比全国以及东部和西部地区的变暖幅度小;GS作用下2050年和2100年,其分别为1.2℃和3.9℃,总体上,长江中下游地区的变暖幅度低于全球与全国的变暖幅度.各个季节相比,春季和冬季的增温幅度最大,夏季最小,在两种情形下,长江中下游地区21世纪中期夏季温度将分别增加2.3和0.8℃,2100年将分别增加4.1和3.1℃.对降水变化的分析表明,GG作用下,长江中下游地区与全球、全国以及中国西部和东部地区相比,降水增加的幅度最大;GS作用下,降水增加趋势不明显;综合7个模式的模拟结果,GG作用下,春季和秋季降水增加最明显,夏季次之;GS作用下,长江中下游地区的年平均降水变化不明显,夏季降水增加.同时,本文还对长江中下游地区21世纪中期和末期的温度和降水变化的地理分布进行了分析,两种情形下,都是长江以北的增温幅度大于长江以南.GG作用下,春季长江中下游地区21世纪中期降水将增加5%～7.5%,夏季则是长江下游地区降水增加较大,将增加10%,而长江中游地区降水增加不明显;21世纪末,春季和夏季长江中下游地区的降水增加幅度都将加大,尤其是长江以南地区的降水增加最明显;考虑GG和GS的共同影响后,长江以南的地区降水增加,长江以北地区降水减少.     

美国的灾害应急管理及其对我国相关工作的启示

在介绍美国灾害应急管理体系的基础上，结合中国实际，对美国气象灾害应急管理工作进行了分析，并借鉴其成功经验，提出了建立和完善中国气象灾害应急机制的一些措施。认为广泛吸纳国际社会在灾害应急管理方面的成功模式和经验，形成具有中国特色的现代化气象灾害应急管理机制，从而进一步加快中国气象灾害管理体系的建设，是科学应对气象灾害，减少人民生命财产损失，实现国家安全和经济社会可持续发展的一个重要举措。