Neil Plummer

A New Perspective on Recent Global Warming: Asymmetric Trends of Daily Maximum and Minimum Temperature

Abstract Monthly mean maximum and minimum temperatures for over 50% (10%) of the Northern (Southern) Hemisphere landmass, accounting for 37% of the global landmass, indicate that the rise of the minimum temperature has occurred at a rate three times that of the maximum temperature during the period 1951–90 (0.84°C versus 0.28°C). The decrease of the diurnal temperature range is approximately equal to the increase of mean temperature. The asymmetry is detectable in all seasons and in most of the regions studied. The decrease in the daily temperature range is partially related to increases in cloud cover. Furthermore, a large number of atmospheric and surface boundary conditions are shown to differentially affect the maximum and minimum temperature. Linkages of the observed changes in the diurnal temperature range to large-scale climate forcings, such as anthropogenic increases in sulfate aerosols, greenhouse gases, or biomass burning (smoke), remain tentative. Nonetheless, the observed decrease of the diur...

HOMOGENEITY ADJUSTMENTS OF IN SITU ATMOSPHERIC CLIMATE DATA: A REVIEW

Long-term in situ observations are widely used in a variety of climate analyses. Unfortunately, most decade- to century-scale time series of atmospheric data have been adversely impacted by inhomogeneities caused by, for example, changes in instrumentation, station moves, changes in the local environment such as urbanization, or the introduction of different observing practices like a new formula for calculating mean daily temperature or different observation times. If these inhomogeneities are not accounted for properly, the results of climate analyses using these data can be erroneous. Over the last decade, many climatologists have put a great deal of effort into developing techniques to identify inhomogeneities and adjust climatic time series to compensate for the biases produced by the inhomogeneities. It is important for users of homogeneity-adjusted data to understand how the data were adjusted and what impacts these adjustments are likely to make on their analyses. And it is important for developers of homogeneity-adjusted data sets to compare readily the different techniques most commonly used today. Therefore, this paper reviews the methods and techniques developed for homogeneity adjustments and describes many different approaches and philosophies involved in adjusting in situ climate data.

Changes in Climate Extremes Over the Australian Region and New Zealand During the Twentieth Century

Analyses of high quality data show that there have been some interesting recent changes in the incidence of some climate extremes in the Australian region and New Zealand.

Data Rescue in the Southeast Asia and South Pacific Region: Challenges and Opportunities

BY CHER M. PAGE, NEVILLE NICHOLLS, NEIL PLUMMER, BLAIR TREWIN, MIKE MANTON, LISA ALEXANDER, LYNDA E. CHAMBERS, YOUNGEUN CHOI, DEAN A. COLLINS, ASHMITA GOSAI, PAUL DELLA-MARTA, MALCOLM R. HAYLOCK, KASIS INAPE, VICTOIRE LAURENT, LUC MAITREPIERRE, ERWIN E.P. MAKMUR, HIROSHI NAKAMIGAWA, NONGNAT OUPRASITWONG, SIMON MCGREE, JANITA PAHALAD, M.J. SALINGER, LOURDES TIBIG, TRONG D. TRAN, KALIAPAN VEDIAPAN, AND PANMAO ZHAI

Regional Cooperation on Drought Prediction Science for Disaster Preparedness and Management

What: Approximately 100 participants from academia, government, and the private sector presented research regarding innovative techniques in drought monitoring and seasonal climate prediction along with drought risk reduction and policy making at various administrative scales. When: 11–13 November 2013 Where: Jakarta, Indonesia REGIONAL COOPERATION ON DROUGHT PREDICTION SCIENCE FOR DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND MANAGEMENT

Meteorology and the Energy Sector

The energy sector has a diverse requirement for meteorological services to support decision-making for both day-to-day operations and for longer term strategic planning. This requirement is driven in part by the natural climate variability (including extreme weather events) and increasingly by climate change as manifested through the physical climate and through policy responses to the issue. The meteorological services required for decision-making in this sector can be broadly categorised into two ways: (i) those that support decision-making concerning the implementation and operation of new technologies for energy production, and (ii) those that support decision-making for maintaining service and reducing emissions by existing energy sector infrastructure. This chapter focuses on the electricity production sector and examines the types of services that are currently available, and also those that are likely to be needed in the future. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the likely climate and weather service provision mechanisms that will best meet the energy sector’s needs, and the role that the Global Framework for Climate Services could be expected to play in meeting these needs.