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US Climate Impacts

References

Heat waves and periods of unusually warm weather

1. Llasa, Tibet -- Warmest June on record, 1998. Temperatures hovered above 77°F (25°C) for 23 days.

Reference: GISS. 1998. Goddard Institute of Space Studies. http://www.giss.nasa.gov/data/update/csci
NCDC. 1998. National Climatic Data Center.
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/climate/climatedata.html

2. Christchurch, New Zealand -- Warmest February on record, 1998. Daily temperatures averaged near 67°F (19.4°C).

Reference: GISS. 1998. Goddard Institute of Space Studies. http://www.giss.nasa.gov/data/update/csci
NCDC. 1998. National Climatic Data Center.
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/climate/climatedata.html

3. Cairo, Egypt -- Warmest August on record, 1998. Temperatures reached 105.8°F (41°C) on August 6, 1998.

Reference: GISS. 1998. Goddard Institute of Space Studies. http://www.giss.nasa.gov/data/
update/csci
NCDC. 1998. National Climatic Data Center. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/
climate/climatedata.html

4. Edmonton, Canada -- Warmest summer on record, 1998. Temperatures were more than 5.4°F (3°C) higher than the 116-year average.

5. Southern Africa -- Warmest and driest decade on record, 1985-1995. Average temperature increased almost 1°F (0.56°C) over the past century.

Reference: Arntzen, J., T. Downing, R. Leemans, J. Malcolm, N. Reynard, S. Ringrose, and D. Rogers. 1996. Climate Change and Southern Africa: An exploration of some potential impacts in the SADC region. 104 pp. World Wildlife Fund, Climatic Research Unit.

6. Central England -- Cold days declining, hot days increasing, 1772 to present. 1995 brought 26 days above 68°F (20°C) versus an average of 4 days per year since 1772.

Reference: Hulme, M. 1999. Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, personal communication.

7. Glasgow, Montana -- No sub-zero days, 1997. For the first time ever, temperatures remained above zero degrees Fahrenheit in December. The average temperature was 10.9°F (6°C) above normal.

Reference: Weathervane Magazine, May/June 1998.

8. Little Rock, Arkansas -- Hottest May on record, 1998.

Reference: NCDC, 1998. Climate of 1998-June Extremes. National Climatic Data Center. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/climate/
research/1998/jun/jun98.html

9. Texas -- Deadly heat wave, summer 1998. Heat claimed more than 100 lives in the region. Dallas temperatures were over 100°F (37.8°C) for 15 straight days.

Reference: NCDC, 1998. 1998 Summer Heat and Precipitation Extremes. National Climatic Data Center. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/reports/texas98/texasrecords.html

10. Florida -- June heat wave, 1998. Melbourne endured 24 days above 95°F (35°C); nighttime temperatures in Tampa remained above 80°F (26.7°C) for 12 days.

Reference: NCDC. 1998. Florida Wildfires and Climate Extremes. National Climatic Data Center. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/climate/research/1998/fla/florida.html

11. USA -- Late fall heat wave 1998. An unprecedented autumn heat wave from mid-November to early December broke or tied more than 700 daily-high temperature records from the Rockies to the East Coast. Temperatures rose into the 70°F range (+21°C) as far north as South Dakota and Maine.

Reference: NCDC, 1998. Top weather and climate stories of 1998. 6 January 1999 Climate Prediction Center. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/climate/research/1998/ann/top-99.html

12. Eastern USA -- July heat wave, 1999. More than 250 people died as a result of a heat wave that gripped much of the eastern two-thirds of the country. Heat indices of over 100°F (37.8°C) were common across the southern and central plains, reaching a record 119°F (48.3°C) in Chicago.

Reference: NCDC, 1999. Climate-Watch, July 1999. National Climatic Data Center. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/climate/extremes/
1999/july/extremes0799.html

13. New York City -- Record heat, July 1999. New York City had its warmest and driest July on record, with temperatures climbing above 95°F (35°C) for 11 days—the most ever in a single month.

Reference: Zielbauer, P., 1999. Sweaty July in New York City goes down as worst ever. August 1, 1999, New York Times, New York City;
NCDC, 1999. Selected U.S. city and state extremes-July 1999. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/climate/extremes/
1999/july/julyext1999.html#TEMPERATURE

Spreading Disease

14. Kenya -- Deadly malaria outbreak, summer, 1997. Hundreds of people died from malaria in the Kenyan highlands where the population had previously been unexposed.

Reference: Epstein, P. 1997. Climate, ecology and human health. Consequences 3: 3-19.

15. Andes Mountains, Columbia -- Disease-carrying mosquitoes spreading. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that can carry dengue and yellow fever viruses were previously limited to 3,300 feet (1,006 m) but recently appeared at 7,200 feet (2,195 m).

Reference: Epstein, P., H. Diaz, S. Elias, G. Grabherr, N. Graham, W. Martens, E. M. Thompson, and J. Susskind. 1998. Biological and physical signs of climate change: focus on mosquito borne diseases. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 79: 409-417.

16. Mexico -- Dengue fever spreads to higher elevations. Dengue fever has spread above its former elevation limit of 3,300 feet (1,006 m) and has appeared at 5,600 feet (1,707 m).

17. Tanzania -- Malaria expands in mountains. Higher annual temperatures in the Usamabara Mountains have been linked to expanding malaria transmission.

18. Indonesia -- Malaria spreads to high elevations. Malaria was detected for the first time as high as 6,900 feet (2,103 m) in the highlands of Irian Jaya in 1997.

19. Central America -- Dengue fever spreads to higher elevations. Dengue fever is spreading above its former limit of 3,300 feet (1,006 m) and has been reported above 4,000 feet (1,219 m).

Reference: Epstein, P. 1999. Global Warming: Health and Disease. World Wildlife Fund.

Earlier spring arrival

20. United Kingdom -- Toads, frogs, and newts spawning early. Spawning was 9 to 10 days earlier over a 17-year period.

Reference: Beebee, T. 1995. Amphibian breeding and climate. Nature 374: 219-220.

21. United Kingdom -- Birds laying eggs early. From 1971 to 1995, 31 percent of 65 bird species studied in England showed significant trends towards earlier egg laying, moving up the date by an average of 8.8 days.

Reference: Crick, H., C. Dudley, D. Glue, and D. Thomson. 1997. UK birds are laying eggs earlier. Nature 388: 526.

22. Southern England -- Early leafing of oak trees. The four earliest leafing dates occurred in the past decade, a response to increasing temperatures during January to March over the past 41 years.

Reference: Hulme, M. 1999. Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, personal communication.

23. Lake Mendota, Wisconsin -- Fewer days of ice cover. The number of days per year with ice cover has decreased by 22 percent since the mid-1800s.

Reference: Magnuson, J., R. Wynne, B. Benson, and D. Robertson. 1999. Lake and river ice as a powerful indicator of past and present climates. Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin - Madison. in press.

24. Mirror Lake, New Hampshire -- Earlier spring ice-out. The ice-covered period has declined by about half a day per year during the past 30 years.

Reference: Likens, G. 1998. President/ Director, Institute for Ecosystem Studies, personal communication.

25. Nenana, Alaska -- Early river thaw. During 82 years on record, four out of the five earliest thaws on the Tanana River occurred in the 1990's.

Reference: NSIDC. 1998. The Nenana Ice Classic: Tanana River Ice Annual Breakup Dates. National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital data available from nsidc@kryos.colorado.edu. Boulder, Colorado. NSIDC Distributed Active Archive
Center, University of Colorado at Boulder. http://www-nsidc.colorado.edu/NASA/GUIDE/docs/dataset_documents/
nenana_river_ice_breakup_dataset_document.html

26. Washington, D.C. -- Cherry trees blossoming earlier. Average peak bloom from 1970-1999 came April 3, compared to April 5 from 1921-1970.

Reference: Robert DeFeo, US Park Service, personal communication. Bloomfield, J. and Showell, S., 1997. Global Warming: Our Nation’s Capital at Risk. Environmental Defense Fund, New York, NY.

Plant and animal range shifts and population changes

27. Austria -- Alpine plants retreat up mountains. Over a 70 to 90 year period, alpine plants in the Austrian and Swiss Alps moved higher up on mountain slopes in response to an increase in average annual temperature.

Reference: Grabherr, G., M. Gottfried, and H. Pauli. 1994. Climate effects on mountain plants. Nature 369: 448.

28. California -- Butterfly range shift. Edith's Checkerspot Butterfly has been disappearing from the lower elevations and southern limits of its range.

Reference: Parmesan, C. 1996. Climate and species' range. Nature 382: 765-766.

29. Europe -- Butterfly ranges shift northward. 22 of 35 butterfly species studied have shifted their ranges northwards by 22 to 150 miles, consistent with a 1.4°F (0.78°C) warming over the past century.

Reference: Parmesan, C., et al. 1999. Poleward shifts in geographical ranges of butterfly species associated with regional warming. Nature 399: 579-583.

30. Germany -- Mollusc range shift. 20 percent of 40 mollusc species in a national park have changed their distribution in response to warming.

Reference: Irmler, U., and V. Wiese. 1997. Ecological impacts of climate change on national parks and protected areas of the world. World Wildlife Fund.

31. Olympic Mountains, Washington -- Forest invasion of alpine meadow. Sub-alpine forest has invaded higher-elevation alpine meadows, partly in response to warmer temperatures.

Reference: Peterson, D., R. Rochefort, R. Little, and A. Woodward. 1994. Changes in sub-alpine tree distribution in western North America: a review of climatic and other causal factors. The Holocene 4: 89-100.

32. Antarctica -- Penguin population decline. Adelie Penguin populations have shrunk by 33 percent during the past 25 years in response to declines in their winter sea ice habitat.

Reference: Fraser, W. 1998. Antarctic Biology and Medicine Program, University of Montana, personal communication.

33. Alaska -- Sea bird population decline. The black guillemot population is declining from 1990 levels because melting sea ice has increased the distance the birds must fly to forage for food and reduced the number of resting sites available.

Reference: Markham, A. 1998. Director of Climate Change Campaign, World Wildlife Fund, personal communication.

34. Canadian Arctic -- Caribou die-offs. Peary caribou have declined from 24,000 in 1961 to perhaps as few as 1,100 in 1997, mostly because of major die-offs that have occurred in recent years after heavy snowfalls and freezing rain covered the animals' food supply.

Reference: Gunn, A. 1998. National Recovery Team for Peary and Arctic-Island Caribou, personal communication.

35. Monterey Bay , California -- Shoreline sea life shifting northwards. Changes in invertebrate species such as limpets, snails, and sea stars in the 60-year period between 1931-1933 and 1993-1994 indicate that species' ranges are shifting northwards, probably in response to warmer ocean and air temperatures.

Reference: Barry, J., C. Baxter, R. Sagarin, and S. Gilman. 1995. Climate related, long-term faunal changes in a Californian rocky intertidal community. Science 267: 672-675.

36. Monteverde Cloud Forest, Costa Rica -- Disappearing frogs and toads. A reduction in dry-season mists due to warmer Pacific ocean temperatures has been linked to disappearances of 20 species of frogs and toads, upward shifts in the ranges of mountain birds, and declines in lizard population.

Reference: Pounds, J.A., Fogden, M.P.L., and Campbell, J.H., 1999. Biological response to climate change on a tropical mountain. Nature 398: 611-615.

37. United Kingdom -- Birds shift northward. Over a 20-year period, many birds have extended the northern margins of their ranges by an average of about 12 miles.

Reference: Thomas, C.D. and Lennon, J.J., 1999. Birds extend their ranges northwards. Nature 399: 213.

38. U.S. West Coast -- Sea bird population decline. A decline of about 90 percent in sooty shearwaters from 1987 to 1994 corresponds to a warming of the California Current of about 1.4°F (0.78°C).

Reference: Viet, R. A., J. A. McGowan, D. G. Ainley, T. R. Wahl, and P. Pyle. 1997. Apex marine predator declines ninety percent in association with changing oceanic climate. Global Change Biology 3: 23-28.

Ocean warming, sea-level rise and coastal flooding

39. Chesapeake Bay -- Marsh and island loss. The current rate of a sea-level rise is three times the historical rate and appears to be accelerating. Since 1938, about one-third of the marsh at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge has been submerged.

Reference: Irmler, U., and V. Wiese. 1997. Ecological impacts of climate change on national parks and protected areas of the world. World Wildlife Fund.
Stevenson, C. 1998. Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences, personal communication.

40. Bermuda -- Dying mangroves. Rising sea level is leading to saltwater inundation of coastal mangrove forests.

Reference: Ellison, J. 1993. Mangrove retreat with rising sea-level, Bermuda. Estuarine, Coastal, and Shelf Science 37: 75-87.

41. Senegal -- Sea-level rise. Sea-level rise is causing the loss of coastal land at Rufisque, on the South Coast of Senegal.

Reference: Dennis, K., I. Niang-Diop, and R. Nicholls. 1995. Sea-level rise and Senegal: potential impacts and consequences. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue 14: 243-261.

42. Hawaii -- Beach loss. Sea-level rise at Waimea Bay, along with coastal development, has contributed to considerable beach loss over the past 90 years.

Reference: Nunn, P. 1997. Keimami sa vakila na liga ni Kalou (Feeling the hand of God): Human and nonhuman impacts on Pacific Island environments. School of Social and Economic Development, The University of South Pacific, Suva, Fiji.

43. Fiji -- Sea-level rise. Reports from local inhabitants at 16 sites indicate that the island's average shoreline has been receding half a foot per year over at least the past 90 years.

44. American and Western Samoa -- Land loss. Western Samoa has experienced shore recession of about one and a half feet per year for at least the past 90 years.

45. Recife, Brazil -- Sea-level rise. Shoreline receded more than 6 feet (1.8 m) per year from 1915 to 1950 and more than 8 feet (2.4 m) per year from 1985 to 1995. The dramatic land loss was due to a combination of sea-level rise and loss of sediment supply following dam construction, harbor dredging, and other coastal engineering projects.

Reference: Neves, C., and D. Muehe. 1995. Potential impacts if sea-level rise on the metropolitan region of Recife, Brazil. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue 14: 116-131.

Coral reef bleaching

46. Pacific Ocean, Mexico -- Coral reef bleaching.

Reference: see below.

47. Pacific Ocean, Panama -- Coral reef bleaching.

Reference: see below.

48. American Samoa -- Coral reef bleaching.

Reference: see below.

49. Papua New Guinea -- Coral reef bleaching.

Reference: see below.

50. Philippines -- Coral reef bleaching.

Reference: see below.

51. Indian Ocean -- Coral reef bleaching (inclues Seychelles; Kenya; Reunion; Mauritius; Somalia; Madagascar; Maldives; Indonesia; Sri Lanka; Gulf of Thailand [Siam]; Andaman Islands; Malaysia; Oman; India; and Cambodia).

Reference: see below.

52. Persian Gulf -- Coral reef bleaching.

Reference: see below.

53. Caribbean -- Coral reef bleaching.

Reference: see below.

54. Florida Keys and Bahamas -- Coral reef bleaching.

Reference: see below.

55. Bermuda -- Coral reef bleaching.

Reference: see below.

56. Australia, Great Barrier Reef -- Coral reef bleaching.

Reference: see below.

57. Seychelles Islands -- Coral reef bleaching.

Reference: see below.

58. Galapagos -- Coral reef bleaching..

Reference: see below.

The information for all the coral reef bleaching hotspots comes from maps and text from each of the following four sources combined:

ISRS, 1998. ISRS statement on global coral bleaching in 1997-98. International Society for Reef Studies. http://www.uncwil.edu/isrs/

NOAA, 1999. NOAA/NESDIS 1998 Coral Bleaching Hotspots. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration http://osdpd.noaa.gov

Wilkinson C, Linden O, Cesar H, Hodgson G, Rubens J, Strong AE (1999). Ecological and socioeconomic impacts of 1998 coral mortality in the Indian Ocean: An ENSO impact and a warning of future change? Ambio 28, 188-196.

World Conservation Monitoring Centre, 1998. The 1998 Global Coral Bleaching Incident. 4 December 1998. http://www.wcmc.org.uk/latenews/bleaching.htm

Glaciers melting

59. Garhwal Himalayas, India -- Glacial retreat at record pace. The Dokriani Barnak Glacier retreated 66 feet (20.1 m) in 1998 despite a severe winter. The Gangorti Glacier is retreating 98 feet per year. At this rate scientists predict the loss of all central and eastern Himalayan glaciers by 2035.

Reference: 1998. Himalayan glacier backing off. Science 281: 1277.

60. Caucasus Mountains, Russia -- Half of all glacial ice disappeared in the past 100 years.

Reference: Meier, M., 1998. Land ice on Earth: a beginning of a global synthesis. Unpublished transcript of the 1998 Walter B. Langbein Memorial Lecture, American Geophysical Union Spring Meeting, Boston, MA, 26 May 1998.

61. Kenya -- Mt. Kenya's largest glacier disappearing. 92 percent of the Lewis Glacier has melted in the past 100 years.

Reference: Hastenrath, 1991. Climate dynamics of the tropics. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Netherlands, 488 p.

62. Tien Shen Mountains, China -- Glacial ice reduced by one quarter in the past 40 years.

Reference: Meier, M. 1998.

63. Austria -- Record glacial retreat. Emergence of a frozen Stone Age mummy from a melting glacier in the Oetztal Alps indicates that glacial ice is more reduced today than at any time during the past 5,000 years.

Reference: Haeberli, W., and M. Beniston. 1998. Climate change and its impacts on glaciers and permafrost in the Alps. Ambio 27: 258-265.

64. Andes Mountains, Peru -- Glacial retreat accelerates seven-fold. The edge of the Qori Kalis glacier was retreating 13 feet (4.0 m) annually between 1963 and 1978. By 1995, the rate had stepped up to 99 feet (30.1 m) per year.

Reference: Mosley-Thompson, E. 1997. Glaciological evidence of recent environmental changes. Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geography, Fort Worth, Texas.

65. Glacier National Park, Montana -- All glaciers in the park will be gone by 2070 if retreat continues at its current rate.

Reference: Meier, M. 1998.

66. Spain -- Half of glaciers present in 1980 are gone.

Reference: Martinez de Pison, E., 1998. Observaciones Sobre el Estado de Los Glaciares del Pirineo Espanol. Campana 1995, In La Nieve en las Cordilleras Espanolas, Program ERHIN, Ministerio de Medio Ambiente, Madrid, Spain.

67. New Zealand -- The average elevation for glaciers in the Southern Alps has shifted upslope by more than 300 feet (91.4 m) over the past century.

Reference: Chinn, T. 1996. New Zealand glacier responses to climate change of the past century. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics 39: 415-428.

Arctic and Antarctic warming

68. Interior Alaska -- Permafrost thawing. Permafrost thawing is causing the ground to subside 16-33 feet (4.9-10 m) in parts of interior Alaska. The permafrost surface has warmed by about 3.5°F (1.9°C) since the 1960's.

Reference: Osterkamp, T., and V. Romanovsky. 1998. Permafrost monitoring and detection of climate change-comments. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 9: 87-89.

69. Barrow, Alaska -- Less snow in summer. Summer days without snow have increased from fewer than 80 in the 1950's to more than 100 in the 1990's.

Reference: Springer, A. 1999. Is it all climate change? Why marine bird and mammal populations fluctuate in the North Pacific. Biotic Impacts of Extratropical Climate Change in the Pacific, Aha Huliko'a Proceedings, University of Hawaii.

70. Antarctic Peninsula -- Warming 5 times global average. Since 1945, the Antarctic Peninsula has experienced a warming of about 4.5°F (2.5°C). The annual melt season has increased by 2 to 3 weeks in just the past 20 years.

Reference: NSIDC. 1998. National Snow and Ice Data Center; Watson, R., M. Zinyowera, and R. Moss, eds. 1998. The Regional Impacts of Climate Change: An Assessment of Vulnerability, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

71. Bering Sea -- Reduced sea ice. Sea-ice extent has shrunk by about 5 percent over the past 40 years.

Reference: Weller, G., A. Lynch, T. Osterkamp, and G. Wendler. 1998. Climate trends and scenarios. Pages 157 in G. a. P. A. Weller, ed. Implications of Global Change in Alaska and the Bering Sea Region: Proceedings of a Workshop, Center for Global Change and Arctic System Research, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska.

72. Arctic Ocean -- Shrinking sea ice. The area covered by sea ice declined by about 6 percent from 1978 to 1995.

Reference: Bjorgo, E., O. Johannessen, and M. Miles. 1997. Analysis of merged SMMR-SSMI time series of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice parameters 1978-1995. Geophysical Research Letters 24: 413-416.

73. Antarctica -- Ice shelf disintegration. The 770 square mile Larsen A ice shelf disintegrated suddenly in January 1995.

Reference: NSIDC, 1998. January 1995 Events in the Northern Larsen Ice Shelf and Their Importance. National Snow and Ice Data Center; Scambos, T. 1998. Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), personal communication.

74. Antarctica -- Ice shelf breakup. After 400 years of relative stability, nearly 1,150 square miles (2,978 km²) of the Larson B and Wilkins ice shelves collapsed between March 1998 and March 1999.

Reference: NSIDC, 1999. Antarctic ice shelves breaking up due to decades of higher temperatures. National Snow and Ice Data Center, 7 April 1999. http://www.colorado.edu/PublicRelations/NewsReleases/1999/35.html

74A. Antarctica -- Ice shelf collapse. In the single largest event in a 30 year series of ice retreats, 1260 square miles (3,263 km²) of the Larsen B ice shelf, an area greater than the size of Rhode Island and the thickness of a 60 story building, disintegrated in the span of just 35 days from February to March, 2002. Scientists attribute the retreats to strong regional warming of about 4.5°F (2.5°C) since the late 1940's.

Reference: NSIDC, 2002. Antarctic ice shelf collapses. National Snow and Ice Data Center, 18 March, 2002. http://nsidc.org/iceshelves/larsenb2002/index.html

Downpours, heavy snowfalls, and flooding

75. New South Wales, Australia -- Wettest August on record, 1998. On August 15-17, a storm dumped nearly 12 inches (30.5 cm) of rain on Sydney, over 8 inches (20.3 cm) more than what normally falls during that entire month.

Reference: 1999. Australian Bureau of Meteorology. http://www.bom.gov.au/

76. New England -- Double normal rainfall, June 1998. Rainfall in Boston on June 13-14 broke a 117-year-old record, closing Logan Airport and two interstate roads. Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts each received more than double their normal monthly rainfall.

Reference: New England Regional Climate Center. Climate Impacts- 1998.
http://met-www.cit.cornell.edu/climate/Impacts_06-98.html; 1998. From Yosemite to the east, it's sloshing, soaking wet. Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, Florida.

77. Korea -- Heavy rains and flooding. Severe flooding struck during July and August, 1998, with daily rainfall totals exceeding 10 inches (25.4cm).

Reference: NCDC. 1998. Severe flooding in North and South Korea--July-August 1998 National Climatic Data Center. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/res40.pl?page=gsod.html (go to "Data Files:Severe Events")

78. Black Hills, South Dakota -- Record snowfall, 1998. At the end of February, the Black Hills received 102.4 inches (260 cm) of snow in five days, almost twice as much snow as the previous single-storm record for the state.

Reference: Kocin, P., W. Gartner, and D. Graf. 1998. The 1996-97 snow season. Pages 47-54. Weatherwise.

79. Texas -- Record downpours, 1998. Severe flooding in southeast Texas from two heavy rain storms with 10-20 inch (25.4-50.8 cm) rainfall totals caused $1 billion in damage and 31 deaths.

Reference: NCDC, 1998. Billion dollar U.S. weather disasters, 1980-1999. National Climatic Data Center. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/reports/billionz.html

80. Santa Barbara, California -- Wettest month on record, 1998. 21.74 inches (55.2 cm) of rain fell in February, the most rain in a month since record keeping began.

Reference: NCDC, 1998. California Flooding and Florida Tornadoes -Feb 1998. National Climatic Data Center http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/reports/febstorm/
february98storms.html#CRAIN

81. Mount Baker, Washington -- World record snowfall, 1999. 1,140 inches (2,895.6 cm) of snow fell between November 1998 and the end of June 1999, a world record for most snowfall in a single winter season.

Reference: NOAA, 1999. Mt. Baker holds snowfall record, NOAA Reports. http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s253.htm

Droughts and fires

82. Florida -- Worst wildfires in 50 years, 1998. Fires burned 485,000 acres (196,272.5 ha) and destroyed more than 300 homes and structures.

Reference: NCDC. 1998. Florida Wildfires and Climate Extremes. National Climatic Data Center. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/climate/research/1998/fla/florida.html

83. Mediterranean -- Intense drought and fires. Spain lost more than 1.2 million acres (485,622.8 ha) of forest to wildfires in 1994, and 370,000 acres (132,332.2 ha) burned in each of Greece and Italy in 1998.

Reference: IFFN, 1995. Spain: 1994 Forest Fire Season, International Forest Fire News 12, (January 1995). Forest Fires in Italy 1998, International Forest Fire News 21, (October 1999). http://www.ruf.uni-freiburg.de/fireglobe/
welcome.html#International Forest Fire News

84. Florida, Texas, Louisiana -- Driest period in 104 years, April-June 1998. San Antonio received only 8 percent of its normal rainfall in May. New Orleans suffered its driest and hottest May in history.

Reference: WMO, 1999. WMO statement on the status of
the global climate in 1998. World Meteorological Organization.
http://www.wmo.ch/index.html

85. Mexico -- Worst fires season ever, 1998. 1.25 milion acres (505,857 ha) burned during a severe drought. Smoke reaching Texas triggered a statewide health alert.

Reference: Rodriguez-Trejo, D., and S. Pyne. 1999. Mexican fires of 1998. International Forest Fire News 20 (January 1999).
NRDC. 1998. Scorched Earth: impacts and implications of the 1998 fire disaster in North and Central America. Natural Resources Defense Council.

86. Nicaragua -- 2.2 million acres (890,308 ha) burned, 1998. Over 15,000 fires burned in 1998, and the blazing acreage included protected lands in the Bosawas Biosphere Reserve.

Reference: NRDC. 1998. Scorched Earth: impacts and implications of the 1998 fire disaster in North and Central America. Natural Resources Defense Council.
A.J. de Dixmude, S.Flasse, I.Downey, P.Navarro, C.Searm, P.Ceccato, J.Williams, R. Alvarez, F.Uriarte, A.Ramos, I.Humphrey, and Z.Z'niga . 1999. Country Notes: Nicaragua: A Survey of Three Successive Recent Fire Seasons. International Forest Fire News 20 (March 1999).

87. Indonesia -- Burning rainforest, 1998. Fires burned up to 2 million acres (809,371 ha) of land, including almost 250,000 acres of primary forest and parts of the already severely reduced habitat of the Kalimantan orangutan.

Reference: International Forest Fire Management Program

88. Khabarovsk, Russia -- Wildfires threaten tiger habitat, 1998. Drought and high winds fueled fires that destroyed 3.7 million acres (1,497,337 ha) of taiga and threatened two important nature reserves that are habitat for the only remaining Amur tigers.

Reference: BBC. 1998. Russian fires are 'world disaster.' BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/
asia-pacific/newsid_190000/190654.stm
Forest Fires on the Island of Sakhalin and the Khabarovsk Krai - UNDAC (United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination) Mission Report. September - October 1998. http://www.unep.org/unep/per/for_fire/rundac1.htm

89. Eastern USA -- Driest growing season on record, 1999. The period from April-July 1999 was the driest in 105 years of record-keeping in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Rhode Island. Agricultural disaster areas were declared in fifteen states, with losses in West Virginia alone expected to exceed $80 million.

Reference: NOAA, 1999. Four States in Northeast Have Driest Growing Season on Record. http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s258.htm

New Points (2003)

Heat waves and periods of unusually warm weather

90. Southern India - Heat wave, May 2002. In the state of Andhra Pradesh temperatures rose to 120°F (49°C), resulting in the highest one-week death toll on record (NCDC, 2002a). This heat wave came in the context of a long-term warming trend in Asia in general. India, including southern India, has experienced a warming trend at a rate of 1°F (0.6°C) per century (IPCC, 2001b; NCDC, 1999).

Reference: NCDC, 1999. Area averaged temperature time series for China, India, and the United States. National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC. http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/online/doe/doe.html
NCDC, 2002a. Climate-Watch, May 2002. National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC. http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/extremes.html
IPCC, 2001b. Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II, MacCarthy, J.J. et al., eds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

91. Nepal - High rate of temperature rise. Since the mid-1970s the average air temperature measured at 49 stations has risen by 1.8°F (1°C), with high elevation sites warming the most (Shrestha et al., 1999). This is twice as fast as the 1°F (0.6°C) average warming for the mid-latitudinal Northern Hemisphere (24 to 40°N) over the same time period, and illustrates the high sensitivity of mountain regions to climate change.

92. Chiclayo, Peru - Large increase in average minimum temperatures. Average minimum temperatures along Peru’s north coast increased 3.5°F (2°C) from the 1960s to 2000 (SENAMHI, 2001). The temperature in the high plateau region in extreme southeastern Peru has also risen 3.5°F (2°C), from an average of 48°F (9°C) in the 1960s to 52°F (11°C) in 2001 (Inter-Press Service, 2001). Northwestern South America has warmed by 0.8-1.4°F (0.5-0.8 °C) in the last decade of the 20th century (IPCC, 2001b).

Reference: IPCC, 2001b. Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II, MacCarthy, J.J. et al., eds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
SENAMHI, 2001. Cambio Climatico. Dirección General de Meteorología/DCL, Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología del Perú. Noviembre 2001 (In Spanish). http://www.senamhi.gob.pe/pronosticos/clim/bol/cambio_climat.php.
Inter-Press Service, 2001. Weaker El Niño still to affect Andean glaciers. Article by Abraham Lama, August 31, 2001.

93. Taiwan - Average temperature increase. The average temperature for the island has risen 1.8-2.5°F (1-1.4°C) in the last 100 years. The average temperature for 2000 was the warmest on record (Hsu and Chen, 2002).

Reference: Hsu, H.-H. and C.-T. Chen, 2002. Observed and projected climate change in Taiwan, Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics, 79, 1-2: 87-104.

94. Afghanistan - 2001 - Warmest winter on record. Arid Central Asia, which includes Afghanistan, experienced a warming of 0.8-3.6°F (1-2°C) during the 20th century (IPCC, 1998)(WMO, 2002b).

Reference: WMO, 2002b. The drought in central and southern Asia. World Climate News, No. 20, January 2002, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. http://www.wmo.ch
IPCC, 1998. The Regional Impacts of Climate Change: An Assessment of Vulnerability. Special Report of the IPCC Working Group II, R.T. Watson, M.C. Zinyowera, R.H. Moss and D.J. Dokken, eds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

95. Tibet - Warmest decade in 1,000 years. Ice core records from the Dasuopu Glacier indicate that the last decade and last 50 years have been the warmest in 1,000 years (Thompson et al., 2000). Meteorological records for the Tibetan Plateau show that annual temperatures increased 0.4°F (0.16°C) per decade and winter temperatures increased 0.6°F (0.32°C) per decade from 1955 to 1996 (Liu and Chen, 2000).

Reference: Thompson, L.G., T. Yao, E. Mosley-Thompson, M.E. Davis, K. Henderson, K., and P.-N. Lin, 2000. A high-resolution millennial record of the South Asian Monsoon from Himalayan Ice Cores. Science, 289: 1916-1919.
Liu, X. and B. Chen, 2000. Climatic warming in the Tibetan Plateau during recent decades. International Journal of Climatology, 20: 1729-1742.

96. Mongolia - Warmest century of the past millennium. A 1,738-year tree-ring record from remote alpine forests in the Tarvagatay Mountains indicates that 20th century temperatures in this region are the warmest of the last millennium. Tree growth during 1980-1999 was the highest of any 20-year period on record, and 8 of the 10 highest growth years occurred since 1950. The 20th century warming has been observed in tree-ring reconstructions of temperature from widespread regions of Eurasia, including sites in the Polar Urals, Yakutia, and the Taymir Peninsula, Russia (D’Arrigo, 2001). The average annual temperature in Mongolia has increased by about 1.3°F (0.7°C) over the past 50 years (IPCC, 2001b).

Reference: IPCC, 2001b. Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II, MacCarthy, J.J. et al., eds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
D'Arrigo, R. et al., 2001. 1,738 years of Mongolian temperature variability inferred from a tree-ring width chronology of Siberian Pine. Geophysical Research Letters, 28, 3: 543.

97. Southeast Europe and Middle East - Widespread heat wave, July-August 2000. Temperatures reached as high as 111°F (43.8°C) in locations across Turkey, Greece, Romania, Italy, and Bulgaria. In Bulgaria, 100-year records for daily maximum temperature were broken at more than 75% of the observing stations on July 5th. For Armenia, 2000 was the hottest summer of the century. Jordan reported the longest stretch of summer heat in its 77-year record (NCDC, 2000; WMO, 2000; WMO, 2001). Continental Europe warmed 1.4°F (0.8°C) during the past century, with the last decade being the warmest on record (IPCC, 2001b).

Reference: IPCC, 2001b. Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II, MacCarthy, J.J. et al., eds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
NCDC, 2000. Climate-Watch, July 2000. National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC.
WMO, 2000. WMO Statement on the Status of the Global Climate in 2000, 19 December 2000. http://www.wmo.ch/web/Press/Press657.html
WMO, 2001. Annual Bulletin on the Climate in WMO Region VI - Europe and Middle East - 2000.
www.dwd.de/research/klis/produkte
/monitoring/ra-vi-bulletin/RA6_2000_color.pdf

98. Denmark and Germany - 2001 - Warmest October on record. In Germany temperatures were as much as 7°F (4°C) above average (WMO, 2002a). The record-breaking temperatures occurred in the context of a warming trend of 1.4°F (0.8°C) over continental Europe during the past century (IPCC, 2001b).

Reference: WMO, 2002a. WMO statement on the status of the global climate in 2001. WMO-No. 940, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. http://www.wmo.ch/web/wcp/wcdmp/statement/pdf/wmo940e.pdf
IPCC, 2001b. Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II, MacCarthy, J.J. et al., eds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

99. Central England - 2001 - Warmest October on record. Over the 20th century Central England temperature has warmed by about 1°F (0.5°C). Four of the five warmest years in the 343-year record occurred in the last decade (Hulme, 1999)(WMO, 2002a).

Reference: Hulme, M. 1999. Air Temperature in Central England. Indicators of Climate Change in the UK, Department of the Environment, Transport, and the Regions.http://www.nbu.ac.uk/iccuk/
WMO, 2002a. WMO statement on the status of the global climate in 2001. WMO-No. 940, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. http://www.wmo.ch/web/wcp/wcdmp/statement/pdf/wmo940e.pdf

100. Australia - 2002 - Warmest April on record . This occurred in the context of an average annual temperature increase of 0.9-1.8°F (0.5-1.0°C) per decade over the past century. There has also been an increase in warm days and a decrease in cold winter days (IPCC, 2001b)(Collins, 2002; Reuters 2002).

Reference: Collins, Dean, 2002. Personal communication confirming information in Reuters, 2002. Australian Bureau of Meteorology.
Reuters, 2002. Australia has hottest April on record, article on May 6, 2002. Sydney, Australia.
IPCC, 2001b. Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II, MacCarthy, J.J. et al., eds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

101. Tropical Andes (Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and northernmost Chile) - Increase in average annual temperature. Average annual temperature has increased by about 0.18°F (0.1°C) per decade since 1939. The rate of warming has doubled in the last 40 years, and more than tripled in the last 25 years, to about 0.6°F (0.33°C) per decade (Vuille and Bradley, 2000).

Reference: Vuille, M. and R.S. Bradley, 2000. Mean annual temperature trends and their vertical structure in the tropical Andes. Geophysical Research Letters, 27, 23: 3885-3888.

Spreading Disease

102. North America - Genetic adaptation to global warming in mosquito. Ecologists have identified the first genetic adaptation to global warming in the North American mosquito Wyeomyia smithii. Modern mosquitoes wait nine days more than their ancestors did 30 years ago before they begin their winter dormancy, with warmer autumns being the most likely cause (Bradshaw and Holzapfel, 2001). Higher temperatures, enhancing mosquito survival rates, population growth and biting rates, can increase the risk of disease transmission (Gubler, et al., 2001).

Reference: Bradshaw, W.E. and C.M. Holzapfel, 2001. Genetic shift in photoperiodic response correlated to global warming. Proceedings of the National Academies of Science http://www.pnas.org, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.241391498 (see also: http://www.nature.com/nsu/nsu_pf/011108/011108-6.html).
Gubler, D.J., P. Reiter, K.L. Ebi, W. Yap, R. Nasci and J.A. Patz, 2001. Climate variability and change in the United States: Potential impacts on vector- and rodent-borne disease. Environmental Health Perspectives, 109, Supplement 2: 223-233.

103. Bangladesh - Link between stronger El Niño events and cholera prevalence. Researchers found a robust relationship between progressively stronger El Niño events and cholera prevalence, spanning a 70-year period from 1893-1940 and 1980-2001 (Rodo et al. 2002). There has been a marked intensification of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation phenomenon since the 1980s, which is not fully explained by the known shifts in the Pacific basin temperature regime that began in the mid-1970s. Findings by Rodo et al. are consistent with model projections of El Niño intensification under global warming conditions. The authors make a strong case for the climate-health link by providing evidence for biological sensitivity to climate, meteorological evidence of climate change, and evidence of epidemiological change with global warming. The study likely represents the first piece of evidence that warming trends over the last century are affecting human disease (Patz, 2002).

Reference: Rodo, X., M. Pascual, G. Fuchs, and A.S.G. Faruque, 2002. ENSO and cholera: A nonstationary link related to climate change? Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 99, 20: 12901-12906.
Patz, J.A., 2002. A human disease indicator for the effects of recent global climate change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 99, 20: 12506-12508.

Earlier spring arrival

104. Tornionjoki River, Finland - Earlier ice break-up. Spring ice breakup now comes about 7 days earlier compared to a century ago. Thirty-eight of 39 records of ice cover from throughout the Northern Hemisphere show a trend toward earlier spring ice breakup and later winter freezing between 1846 and 1995 (Magnuson et al., 2000). This shift corresponds with surface air temperature measurements showing the largest rates of warming since 1976 over the mid- and high latitude continental regions of the Northern Hemisphere (IPCC, 2001a).

Reference: Magnuson, J. et al., 2000. Historical trends in lake and river ice cover in the Northern Hemisphere. Science, 289: 1743-1746.
IPCC, 2001a. Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group I, J.T. Houghton et al., eds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

105. Lake Baikal, Russia - Shorter freezing period. Winter freezing is about 11 days later and spring ice breakup is about 5 days earlier compared to a century ago (Magnuson et al., 2000). Some regions of Siberia have warmed by as much as 2.5°F (more than 1.4°C) in just 25 years (IPCC, 2001a).

106. The Netherlands - Earlier flight peak of moths. Between 1975 and 1996 the flight peak of small moths shifted to a date 11.6 days earlier (Ellis et al., 1997). Warmer temperatures promote the earlier appearance of insects and earlier peak flight times.

Reference: Ellis W.N., J.H. Donner and J.H, Kuchlein, 1997. Recent shifts in phenology of Microlepidoprera, related to climatic change (Lepidoptera). Entomologische Berricten (Amsterdam) 57: 66-72.

107. Hungary - Earlier flowering dates. Flowering dates of the locust tree occurred 3-8 days earlier during the period 1983-1994 compared to 1851-1930. The study indicates that a rise in temperature of 1.8°F (1°C) causes an advanced flowering by 7 days (Walkovsky, 1998).

Reference: Walkovsky, A., 1998. Changes in phenology of the locust tree (Robnia pseudoacacia L.) in Hungary. Int. J. Biometerology, 41: 155-160.

108. Europe - Change in timing of spring and autumn events. A study of European plants from 1959 to 1993 shows that spring events (such as flowering) have advanced by about 6 days and autumn events (such as leaf coloring) have been delayed by about 5 days (Menzel and Fabian, 1999). The plant response occurred during a period of a warming. Annual average temperature over continental Europe has increased 1.4°F (0.8°C)over the past century (IPCC, 2001b).

Reference: Menzel, A. and P. Fabian, 1999. Growing season extended in Europe, Nature, 397: 659.
IPCC, 2001b. Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II, MacCarthy, J.J. et al., eds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

109. Colorado - Earlier emergence from hibernation. Marmots are emerging from hibernation on average 23 days earlier than 23 years ago. This coincides with an increase in average May temperatures of about 1.8°F (1°C) over the same time period (Inouye et al., 2000).

Reference: Inouye, D.W. et al., 2000. Climate change is affecting altitudinal migrants and hibernating species. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 97, 4: 1630-1633.

110. Southeast Arizona - Earlier egg-laying. Mexican jays are laying eggs 10 days earlier than in 1971. The earlier breeding coincides with a nearly 5°F (2.8°C) increase in average nighttime temperatures from 1971 to 1998 (Brown et al., 1999).

Reference: Brown, J.L., S. Li, and N. Bhagabati, 1999. Long-term trend toward earlier breeding in an American bird: a response to global warming? Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 96: 5565-5569.

111. Europe - Earlier growing season. A study of the timing of leaf unfolding for four tree species shows that from 1969 to 1998 the beginning of the growing season has advanced by 8 days. The earlier leaf unfolding corresponds with increasing early spring temperatures over the last 30 years. The greatest warming occurred in Portugal, where average air temperatures in early spring (February to March) increased by nearly 1.1°F (0.6°C) per decade, and the beginning of the growing season has advanced by about 14 days since 1969 (Chmielewski and Rötzer, 2001).

Reference: Chmielewski, F.-M. and T. Rötzer, 2001. Response of tree phenology to climate change across Europe. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 108: 101-112.

112. Turku, Finland - Longer growing season. The growing season has lengthened by over 10 days over the last century. Throughout the Nordic region the start of the growing season has become progressively earlier by between 4 and 12 days (Carter, 1998).

Reference: Carter, T., 1998: Changes in the thermal growing season in Nordic countries during the past century and prospects for the future. Agricultural and Food Science in Finland, 7: 161-179.

113. England - Earlier first flowering date. One of the most comprehensive studies of plant species in Britain revealed that the average first flowering date of 385 British plant species has advanced by 4.5 days during the past decade compared with the previous four decades: 16% of species flowered significantly earlier in the 1990s than previously, with an average advancement of 15 days in a decade. These data reveal the strongest biological signal yet of climatic change. Flowering is especially sensitive to the temperature in the previous month, and spring-flowering species are most responsive (Fitter and Fitter, 2002).

Reference: Fitter, A.H. and R.S.R. Fitter, 2002. Rapid Changes in Flowering Time in British Plants. Science, 296: 1689-1691.

Plant and animal range shifts and population changes

114. Alaska - Changing vegetation patterns. Comparison of photographs taken in 1948-50 to those taken in 1999-2000 of the area between the Brooks Range and the Arctic coast show an increase in shrub abundance in tundra areas, and an increase in the extent and density of spruce forest along the treeline (Sturm et al., 2001). The increased vegetation growth is attributed to increasing air temperatures in Alaska, on average 1.8°F (1°C) per decade over the last three decades (Alaska Regional Assessment Group, 1999).

Reference: Alaska Regional Assessment Group, 1999. Preparing for a changing climate; The potential consequences of climate variability and change: Alaska. Center for Global Change and Arctic System Research, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK.
Sturm, M., C. Racine and K. Tape, 2001. Increasing shrub abundance in the Arctic. Nature, 411: 546-547.

115. Western Hudson Bay, Canada - Stressed Polar Bears. Decreased weight in adult polar bears and a decline in birthrate since the early 1980s has been attributed to the earlier spring breakup of sea ice. Rising spring temperatures have shortened the spring hunting season by two weeks over the last two decades (Stirling et al., 1999).

Reference: Stirling, I. et al., 1999. Long term trends in the population ecology of polar bears in Western Hudson Bay in relation to climatic change, Arctic 53, 3: 292-306.

116. Banks Island, Canada - Expanded Ranges. The Inuit now regularly see species common much further south that previously were never seen on the island, such as robins and barn swallows. Thunder and lightning, never before recorded in Inuit oral history, have also been reported (Ashford and Castleden, 2001).

Reference: Ashford, G. and J. Castleden, 2001. Inuit Observations on Climate Change - Final Report. International Institute for Sustainable Development, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. http://www.iisd.org/publications/publication.asp?pno=410

117. Argentine Islands - Antarctic flowering plants changes. The populations of two native Antarctic flowering plants increased rapidly between 1964 and 1990, coincident with the strong regional warming over the Antarctic Peninsula. The Antarctic pearlwort population increased 5-fold while the Antarctic hairgrass increased 25-fold. The unusually rapid increases are attributed to warmer summer temperatures and/or a longer growing season, which enhance the plant’s ability to reproduce (Fowbert and Smith, 1994).

Reference: Fowbert, J.A. and R.I.L. Smith, 1994. Rapid population increases in native vascular plants in the Argentine Islands, Antarctic Peninsula. Arctic and Alpine Research, 26, 3: 290-296.

118. United Kingdom - Birds extend their northern ranges . A comparison of the breeding distributions of birds for two time periods, 1968-72 and 1988-91, showed that the northern margins for many species had moved northwards by an average of about 12 miles (19 km) (Thomas and Lennon, 1999). The range shift occurred during a period when central England’s temperature warmed by about 0.9°F (0.5°C) over the last century, and the 10-year period 1988-1997 was the warmest such period in the record (Hulme, 1999).

Reference: Thomas, C.D. and Lennon, J.J., 1999. Birds extend their ranges northwards. Nature, 399: 213.
Hulme, M. 1999. Air Temperature in Central England. Indicators of Climate Change in the UK, Department of the Environment, Transport, and the Regions. http://www.nbu.ac.uk/iccuk/

Ocean warming, sea-level rise and coastal flooding

119. Chokoria Sundarbans, Bangladesh - Flooded mangroves. Rising ocean levels have flooded about 18,500 acres (7,500 hectares) of mangrove forest during the past three decades (Huq et al., 1999). Global sea-level rise is aggravated by substantial deltaic subsidence in the area with rates as high as 5.5 mm/year (Huq et al., 1995).

Reference: Huq, Z., et al. (eds.), 1999. Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change for Bangladesh. Kluwer Academic Publisher, The Netherlands.
Huq, S., S.I. Ali, and A.A. Rahman, 1995. The implications of sea-level rise and Bangladesh: A preliminary analysis. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue 14: 44-53.

120. China - Rising waters and temperature. The average rate of sea-level rise was 0.09 +/- 0.04 inches/yr (2.3 +/- 0.9 mm/yr) over the last 30 years. Global sea-level rise was aggravated locally by subsidence of up to 2 inches/year (5 cm/year) for some regions due to earthquakes and groundwater withdrawal. Also, ocean temperatures off the China coast have risen in the last 100 years, especially since the 1960s (Han, Hou and Wu, 1995).

Reference: Han, M., H. Jianjun and L. Wu. 1995. Potential impacts of SLR on China's coastal environment and cities: A national assessment. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue 14: 79-95.

121. World Ocean - Worldwide ocean warming. The world ocean has experienced a net warming of 0.11°F (0.06°C) from the sea surface to a depth of 10,000 feet (3000 m) over the past 35-45 years. More than half of the increase in heat content has occurred in the upper 1000 feet (300 m), which has warmed by 0.56°F (0.31°C). Warming is occurring in all ocean basins and at much deeper depths than previously thought (Levitus et al., 2000). These findings lend support to the hypothesis that the oceans are taking up excess heat as the atmosphere warms, and would account for the apparent discrepancy in the magnitude of the observed atmospheric warming as compared to climate model predictions.

Reference: Levitus, J., I. Antonov, T.P. Boyer, and C. Stephens, 2000. Warming of the World Ocean. Science, 287: 2225-2229.

122. Southern Ocean - Strong warming trend. Measurements from data recorders in the Southern Ocean waters around Antarctica show a 0.3°F (0.17°C) rise in ocean temperatures between the 1950s and the 1980s (Gille, 2002).

Reference: Gille, S.T., 2002. Warming of the Southern Ocean since the 1950s. Science, 295: 1275-1277.

123. New Zealand - Ocean warming. The oceans around New Zealand have been warming over the past decade at a rate not seen since the 1930s. Over the last century the average ocean temperatures around New Zealand increased by about 1.8°F (1°C), slightly more than the global average. Despite 20 years of cooling from the 1970s through the early 1990s - due to longer and stronger El Niño events affecting the regional ocean temperatures - New Zealand’s ocean temperature increase over the 20th century is consistent with the global average upward trend. Sea level along the country’s shoreline has been rising accordingly by an average of 0.04-0.08 inches/year (1-2 mm/year) (NIWA, 2002).

Reference: NIWA, 2002. New Zealand’s oceans are hotting up. Media Release, 18 April, 2002. National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research. Auckland, New Zealand.

Coral reef bleaching

124. Fiji - Coral reef bleaching, 2000. A new wave of coral bleaching events has been observed during the southern summer in Fiji and on many other South Pacific atolls (WWF South Pacific Programme, 2000). Satellite measurements by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association documented unusually high temperatures across much of the Pacific (NOAA- ORA/OSDPD Coral Reef Team, 2000). The 1990s has seen several major bleaching events. Repeated and prolonged bleaching episodes - expected as tropical water temperatures warm with climate change - eventually kill corals and cause a decline in associated marine species.

Reference: WWF South Pacific Programme, 2000. Pacific Reefs Hit by Coral Bleaching. Climate Ark. http://www.climateark.org/articles/2000/2nd/paccreez.htm.
NOAA-ORA/OSDPD Coral Reef Team, 2000. Experimental Coral Bleaching HotSpots for the year 2000. http://www.osdpd.noaa.gov/PSB/EPS/SST/climohot_2000.html.

125. Galapagos, Ecuador - Coral reef bleaching, March/April 2002. Sea-surface temperatures rose above 81ºF (27.5ºC) several times, causing repeated coral bleaching events (NOAA-NESDIS, 2002). Repeated and prolonged bleaching episodes - expected as tropical water temperatures warm with climate change - eventually kill corals and cause a decline in associated marine species.

Reference: NOAA-NESDIS, 2002. Sea surface temperature (SST) time series. National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service.
http://orbit-net.nesdis.noaa.gov/orad/sub/sst_series_24reefs.html

Glaciers melting

126. Bhutan - Melting glaciers; swelling lakes . As Himalayan glaciers melt glacial lakes are swelling and in danger of catastrophic flooding. Average glacial retreat in Bhutan is 100-130 ft. (30-40 m) per year (ICIMOD, 2002). Temperatures in the high Himalayas have risen 1.8°F (1°C) since the mid 1970s (Shrestha et al., 1999).

Reference: ICIMOD, 2002. Inventory of Glaciers, Glacial Lakes, and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods, Monitoring and Early Warning Systems in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan Region - Bhutan, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and United Nations Environment Programme. http://www.rrcap.unep.org/issues/glof/.
Shrestha, A.B., C.P. Wake, P.A. Mayewski, J.E. Dibb, 1999. Maximum temperature trends in the Himalaya and its vicinity: An analysis based on temperature records from Nepal for the period 1971-94. Journal of Climate, 12: 2775-2787.

127. India - Himalayan glaciers retreating. Glaciers in the Himalayas are retreating at an average rate of 50 ft. (15 m) per year (Geological Survey of India, 1999), consistent with the rapid warming recorded at Himalayan climate stations since the 1970s. Winter stream flow for the Baspa glacier basin has increased 75% since 1966 and local winter temperatures have warmed, suggesting increased glacier melting in winter (Kulkarini et al., 2002).

Reference: Geological Survey of India, 1999. Inventory of the Himalayan Glaciers: A Contribution to the International Hydrological Programme, Special Publication No. 34, edited by M.K. Kaul.
Kulkarini, A.V., P. Mathur, B.P. Rathore, S. Alex, N. Thakur, M. Kumar, 2002. Effect of global warming on snow ablation pattern in the Himalaya. Current Science, 83, 2: 120-123.

128. Argentina - Receding glaciers. Glaciers in Patagonia have receded by an average of almost a mile (1.5 km) over the last 13 years (Wessels et al., 2001; Painter, 2001). There has been an increase in maximum, minimum, and average daily temperatures of more than 1.8°F (1°C) over the past century in southern Patagonia, east of the Andes (IPCC, 1998).

Reference: Wessels, R., J.S. Kargel, and H.H. Kieffer, 2001. GLIMS: Documenting the demise of the Earth's glaciers using ASTER. Eos Trans. AGU, Spring Meet. Suppl., Abstract 31A-03.
Painter, D., 2001. Melting glaciers signal global warming. Arizona State University News Release, May 29, 2001. http://clasdean.la.asu.edu/news/glacier.htm
IPCC, 1998. The Regional Impacts of Climate Change: An Assessment of Vulnerability. Special Report of the IPCC Working Group II, R.T. Watson, M.C. Zinyowera, R.H. Moss and D.J. Dokken, eds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

129. Heard Island (Australia) - Rising temperatures; retreating glaciers. Since 1947 the island's 34 glaciers have decreased by 11 percent in area and 12 percent in volume, with half the loss occurring in the 1980s. Air temperature has risen 1.3° F (0.7°C) between 1947 and 2001 (Pockely, 2001; Reuters, 2001a).

Reference: Pockely, P., 2001. Climate change transforms island ecosystem. Nature, 410: 616.
Reuters, 2001a. Global warming melts Australia's glaciers. Article by Michael Perry, May 31, 2001, Sydney, Australia.

130. Mt. Everest - Retreating glacier The Khumbu glacier, popular climbing route to the summit of Mt. Everest, has retreated over 3 miles (5 km) since 1953 (UNEP, 2002). The Himalayan region overall has warmed by about 1.8°F (1°C) since the 1970s (Shrestha et al., 1999).

Reference: Shrestha, A.B., C.P. Wake, P.A. Mayewski, J.E. Dibb, 1999. Maximum temperature trends in the Himalaya and its vicinity: An analysis based on temperature records from Nepal for the period 1971-94. Journal of Climate, 12: 2775-2787.
UNEP, 2002. Impact of global warming on mountain areas confirmed by UNEP-backed mountaineers. GRID-Arendel News, United Nationas Environmental Program. June 5, 2002. http://www.grida.no/inf/news/news02/news41.htm

131. Kyrgyzstan - Disappearing glaciers. During 1959-1988, 1081 glaciers in the Pamir-Altai disappeared. Temperatures in the mountains of Kyrgyztan have increased by 0.9-2.7° F (0.5-1.5°C) since the 1950s (UNEP, 2000).

Reference: UNEP, 2000. State of the Environment of the Aral Sea Basin, Regional Report of the Central Asian States’ 2000. http://www.grida.no/aral/aralsea/english/climat/climats.htm

132. Venezuela - Disappearing glaciers. Of six glaciers in the Venezuelan Andes in 1972, only 2 remain, and scientists predict that these will be gone within the next 10 years (OSU, 2001). Glaciers in the mountains of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru show similar rapid rates of retreat (Schubert, 1999). Temperature records in other regions of the Andes show a significant warming of about 0.6° F (0.33°C) per decade since the mid-1970s (Vuille and Bradley, 2000).

Reference: OSU, 2001. Ice caps in Africa, tropical South America likely to disappear within 15 years. Ohio State University press release.
http://www.acs.ohio-state.edu/units/research/archive/glacgone.htm
Schubert, C., 1999. Glaciers of South America - Glaciers of Venezuela. In: Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of The World, R.S. Williams, Jr., and J.G. Ferrigno, eds., U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1386-I-1, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
Vuille, M. and R.S. Bradley, 2000. Mean annual temperature trends and their vertical structure in the tropical Andes. Geophysical Research Letters, 27, 23: 3885-3888.

133. Mount Kilmanjaro, Tanzania - Ice projected to disappear by 2020. 82% of Kilimanjaro’s ice has disappeared since 1912, with about one-third melting in just the last dozen years. At this rate, all of the ice will be gone in about 15 years (OSU, 2001). Scientists hypothesize that less snow on the mountain during the rainy season decreases the surface reflectiveness, leading to higher rates of absorption of heat and increased ice melt (Hardy, 2002).

134. Rwenzori Mountains, Uganda - Disappearing glaciers. Since the 1990s, glacier area has decreased by about 75% (Kaser, 1999). The continent of Africa warmed by 0.9° F (0.5°C) during the past century, and the five warmest years in Africa have all occurred since 1988 (IPCC, 2001b).

Reference: Kaser, G., 1999. A review of modern fluctuations of tropical glaciers. Global and Planetary Change, 22: 93-103.
IPCC, 2001b. Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II, MacCarthy, J.J. et al., eds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

135. Canadian Rockies - Disappearing glaciers. The Athabasca Glacier has retreated one-third of a mile (0.5 km) in the last 60 years and has thinned dramatically since the 1950s-60s (State of the Canadian Cryosphere, 2002). In British Columbia the Wedgemont Glacier has retreated hundreds of meters since 1979, as the climate has warmed at a rate of 2°F (1.1°C) per century, twice the global average (BC Ministry of Water, Land, and Air Protection, 2002).

Reference: State of the Canadian Cryosphere, 2002. Past variability of Canadian glaciers. University of Waterloo.
http://www.socc.uwaterloo.ca/glaciers/glaciers_hist_e.cfm.
BC Ministry of Water, Land, and Air Protection, 2002. Indicators of climate change for British Columbia 2002. Victoria, BC.

136. Alaska - Increasing rate of retreat. A study of 67 glaciers shows that between the mid-1950s and mid-1990s the glaciers thinned by an average of about 1.6 feet (0.5 m) per year. Repeat measurements on 28 of those glaciers show that from the mid-1990s to 2000-2001 the rate of thinning had increased to nearly 6 feet (1.8 m) per year (Arendt et al., 2002). Alaska has experienced a rapid warming since the 1960s. Annual average temperatures have warmed up to 1.8°F (1°C) per decade over the last three decades, and winter warming has been as high as 3°F (2°C) per decade (Alaska Regional Assessment Group, 1999).

Reference: Arendt, A.A., K. A. Echelmeyer, W. D. Harrison, C. S. Lingle, V. B. Valentine, 2002. Rapid wastage of Alaska glaciers and their contribution to rising sea level. Science, 297: 382-386
Alaska Regional Assessment Group, 1999. Preparing for a changing climate; The potential consequences of climate variability and change: Alaska. Center for Global Change and Arctic System Research, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK.

137. Greenland - Rapid thinning of ice sheet. Rapid thinning of the Greenland ice sheet in coastal areas, especially of outlet glaciers, has been measured in two studies during the 1990s (Krabill et al., 2000). The coastal land ice loss is attributed to a combination of warming-driven factors, including increased melting during warmer summers, high snow accumulation rates feeding the outlet glaciers, and increased rates of melting at the bottom of glaciers due to ocean warming (Rignot and Thomas, 2002).

Reference: Krabill, W., W. Abdalati, E. Frederick, S. Manizade, C. Martin, J. Sonntag, R. Swift, R. Thomas, W. Wright, and J. Yungel, 2000. Greenland Ice Sheet: High-Elevation Balance and Peripheral Thinning. Science, 289: 428-430.
Rignot, Eric and Robert H. Thomas, 2002. Mass balance of polar ice sheets. Science, 297: 1502-1506.

Arctic and Antarctic warming

138. Arctic Ocean - Decreasing ice thickness. Ice thickness at 29 stations, as measured by submarine sonar, decreased by an average of more than 4 feet (1.2 m) compared to 20 to 40 years ago, representing a 40% reduction in ice volume (Rothrock et al., 1999). From 1966 to 1995, annual temperatures in the Arctic increased by as much as 1.8°F (1°C) per decade, and spring temperatures increased by as much as 3.6°F (2°C) per decade (Serreze et al., 2000). Temperature reconstructions from tree rings, ice cores, and other long-term records indicate that the 20th century was the warmest century in the Arctic since 1600 (Overpeck et al., 1997).

Reference: Rothrock, D.A., Y. Yu, and G.A. Mayhut, 1999. Thinning of the Arctic sea-ice cover. Geophysical Research Letters 26, 23: 3469-3472.
Serreze, M.C., J.E. Walsh, F.S. Chapin III, T. Osterkamp, M. Dyurgerov, V. Romanovsky, W.C. Oechel, J. Morison, T. Zhang and R.G. Barry, 2000. Observational evidence of recent change in the northern high-latitude environment. Climatic Change, 46: 159-207.
Overpeck, J., K. Hughen, D. Hardy, R. Bradley, R. Case, M. Douglas, B. Finney, K. Gajewski, G. Jacoby, A. Jennings, S. Lamoureux, A. Lasca, G. MacDonald, J. Moore, M. Retelle, S. Smith, A.Wolfe and G. Zielinski, 1997. Arctic environmental change of the last four centuries. Science, 278: 1251-1256.

139. Arctic Ocean - Decreasing ice cover. Satellite measurements indicate the area of perennial ice cover has decreased by about 7% per decade since 1978 (Johannessen et al., 1999).

Reference: Johannessen, O.M., E.V. Shalina, and M.W. Miles, 1999. Satellite evidence for an Arctic sea ice cover in transformation. Science, 286: 1937-1939.

140. Antarctica - Decreasing ice thickness. The permanent ice cover of nine lakes on Signey Island has decreased by about 45% since the 1950s. Average summer air temperature has warmed by 1.8°F (1°C) (Quayle et al., 2002).

Reference: W.C. Quayle, L.S. Peck, H. Peat, J.C. Ellis-Evans, P.R. Harrigan, 2002. Extreme responses to climate change in Antarctic lakes. Science, 295: 645.

141. Antarctic Peninsula - Collapsing ice shelf, January-February 2002. The northern section of the Larsen B ice shelf, an area of 1,250 square miles (3,250 km²), disintegrated in a period of 35 days. This was the largest collapse event of the last 30 years, bringing the total loss of ice extent from seven ice shelves to 6,760 square miles (17,500 km²) since 1974. The ice retreat is attributed to the region’s strong warming trend - 4.5°F (2.5°C) in the last 50 years (NSIDC, 2002).

Reference: NSIDC (National Snow and Ice Data Center), 2002. Antarctic Ice Shelf Collapses. March 18, 2002. http://www.nsidc.org/iceshelves/larsenb2002/index.html

142. Siberia - Melting permafrost. Large expanses of tundra permafrost are melting. In some regions the rate of thawing of the upper ground is nearly 8 inches (20 cm) per year. Thawing permafrost has already damaged 300 buildings in the cities of Norilsk and Yakutsk (Goldman, 2002). In Yakutsk, the average temperature of the permanently frozen ground has warmed by 2.7 °F (1.5°C) during the past 30 years (Romanovsky, 2000; Rozell, 2001).

Reference: Rozell, N., 2001. Alaska and Siberia Permafrost Thawing Together. Alaska Science Forum, Article #1523, January 3, 2001. http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF15/1523.html
Romanovsky, V.E., T.E. Osterkamp, T.S. Sazonova, N.I. Shender, V.T. Balobaev, 2000. Past and future changes in permafrost temperatures along the East Siberian Transect and an Alaskan Transect, Eos Trans. AGU, 81, 48, Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract B71F-09.
Goldman, E., 2002. Even in the High Arctic, nothing is permanent. Science, 297: 1493-1494.

Downpours, heavy snowfalls, and flooding

143. Pampas region, Argentina/Uruguay - Worst flooding on record, August to October 2001. Nearly 8 million acres (3.2 million hectares) of land in the Pampas region were flooded after 3 months of high rainfall (WMO, 2002a). Mean annual precipiation in the humid Pampa increased by 35% in the last half of the 20th century (IPCC, 1998).

Reference: WMO, 2002a. WMO statement on the status of the global climate in 2001. WMO-No. 940, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. http://www.wmo.ch/web/wcp/wcdmp/statement/pdf/wmo940e.pdf
IPCC, 1998. The Regional Impacts of Climate Change: An Assessment of Vulnerability. Special Report of the IPCC Working Group II, R.T. Watson, M.C. Zinyowera, R.H. Moss and D.J. Dokken, eds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

144. Southeastern Norway - Wettest year on record, 2000. The year 2000 was the wettest year since records began in 1895 (WMO, 2001). Precipitation in northern Europe has increased 10-40% in the last century (IPCC, 2001b).

Reference: WMO, 2001. Annual Bulletin on the Climate in WMO Region VI - Europe and Middle East - 2000.
http://www.dwd.de/research/klis/produkte/monitoring/
ra-vi-bulletin/RA6_2000_color.pdf
IPCC, 2001b. Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II, MacCarthy, J.J. et al., eds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

145. Buenos Aires, Argentina - Heaviest rains in 100 years, May 2000. 13.5 inches (342 mm) of rain, more than 4 times the average monthly rainfall, fell in just 5 days (NOAA Office of Global Programs, 2000). Northeastern Argentina is exhibiting a long-term trend of increasing precipitation (IPCC, 2001b).

Reference: NOAA-Office of Global Programs, 2000. Climate Information Project, NOAA Office of Global Programs. http://www.cip.ogp.noaa.gov/
IPCC, 2001b. Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II, MacCarthy, J.J. et al., eds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

146. Venezuela - Heaviest rainfall in 100 years, December 1999 The heaviest rainfall in 100 years caused massive landslides and flooding that killed approximately 30,000 people. Total December rainfall in Maiquetia, near Caracas, was almost 4 feet (1.2 m), more than 5 times the previous December record. The high death toll was attributed to population growth in vulnerable areas and forest clearing on steep hill slopes (Wieczorek et al., 2001; USGS, 2000).

Reference: Wieczorek, G.F., M.C. Larsen, L.S. Eaton, B.A. Morgan, and J.L. Blair, 2001. Debris-flow and flooding hazards associated with the December 1999 storm in coastal Venezuela and strategies for mitigation. USGS Open-File Report 01-0144.
USGS, 2000. Preliminary observations: Flash-flood and landslide disaster of December, 1999, north coast of Venezuela. http://pr.water.usgs.gov/public/venezuela/

Droughts and fires

147. Iran - Desiccated wetlands, 2001 Ninety percent of wetlands have dried up after 2 years of extreme drought (WMO, 2002b). Much of South West Asia has experienced a prolonged three-year drought that is unusual in its magnitude. Out of 102 years of record, 1999, 2000, and 2001 rank as the fifth, third, and seventh driest on record. 1999-2000 was the driest winter on record (NCDC, 2002b).

Reference: WMO, 2002b. The drought in central and southern Asia. World Climate News, No. 20, January 2002, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
http://www.wmo.ch/web/catalogue/New%20HTML/frame/engfil/wcn/wcn20.pdf
NCDC, 2002b. Southwest Asia Eastern Mountains Drought - December 2001. National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC.

148. Pakistan - Longest drought on record, 1999-2001. The prolonged three-year drought, which covers much of South West Asia, has affected 2.2 million people and 16 million livestock in Pakistan (WMO, 2002b).

149. Tajikistan - Lowest rainfall in 75 years, 2001. 2001 marked the third consecutive year of drought, which has destroyed half the wheat crop (UN, 2000; UN, 2001).

Reference: UN, 2000. Warning of famine in Tajikistan, UN appeals for some $77 million for drought aid. September 19, 2000. United Nations.
UN, 2001. Millions of people in East Asia hit by heavy monsoon rains as Central Asia is gripped by drought; Near East reels fro

150. Korea - Worst drought in 100 years of record . It coincided with an average annual temperature increase in Asia’s temperate region, which includes Korea, by more than 1.8°F (1°C) over the past century. The warming has been most pronounced since 1970 (IPCC, 1998)(AFP, 2001; NCDC, 2001; CNN, 2001).

Reference: AFP, 2001. Worst drought in a century hits Korean Peninsula. Agence France-Presse (AFP), June 10, 2001.
CNN, 2001. South Korea drafts troops to fight 100-year drought . June 12, 2001.
http://asia.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf
/east/06/12/skorea.drought.01/
NCDC, 2001. Climate of 2001 - June Global Regional Analysis, July 13, 2001. National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC.
http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research
/2001/jun/global_regional.html#Asia
IPCC, 1998. The Regional Impacts of Climate Change: An Assessment of Vulnerability. Special Report of the IPCC Working Group II, R.T. Watson, M.C. Zinyowera, R.H. Moss and D.J. Dokken, eds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

151. Kenya - Worst drought in 60 years, 2001. Over four million people were affected by a severely reduced harvest, weakened livestock, and poor sanitary conditions (USAID, 2001).

Reference: USAID, 2001. Kenya - Drought Information Bulletin #1 (FY 2001) June 19, 2001 http://www.usaid.gov/hum_response/ofda/kenyadrought_ib1_fy01.html

152. Samos Island, Greece - Fires, July 2000 Fires due to dry conditions and record-breaking heat consumed one-fifth of the island. Temperatures reached up to 104°F (40°C) in some areas (WMO, 2000). Averaged over the continent, Europe has warmed 1.4°F (0.8°C) during the past century (IPCC, 2001b).

Reference: WMO, 2000. WMO Statement on the Status of the Global Climate in 2000, 19 December 2000. http://www.wmo.ch/web/Press/Press657.html
IPCC, 2001b. Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II, MacCarthy, J.J. et al., eds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

153. Argentina - Fire outbreak. 3.7 million acres (1.5 million hectares) burned in La Pampa province, sustained by record temperatures and persistent drought (NOAA-Office of Global Programs, 2001). Annual average temperature in Argentina has increased by nearly 1.8°F (1°C) over the last century (Hulme and Sheard, 1999).

Reference: NOAA-Office of Global Programs, 2001. Climate Information Project, NOAA Office of Global Programs. http://www.cip.ogp.noaa.gov/
Hulme, M. and N Sheard, 1999. Climate Change Scenarios for Argentina. Climatic Research Unit, Norwich, UK. http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/~mikeh/research/wwf.argent.pdf

154. Lake Chad - Disappearing Lake. The surface area of the lake has decreased from 9,650 square miles (25,000 km²) in 1963 to 521 (1,350 km²) today. Modeling studies indicate the severe reduction results from a combination of reduced rainfall and increased demand for water for agricultural irrigation and other human needs (Coe and Foley, 2001).

Reference: Coe, M.T. and J.A. Foley, 2001. Human and natural impacts on the water resources of the Lake Chad basin, Journal of Geophysical Research (Atmospheres),106, D4: 3349-3356.

155. China - Disappearing Lakes, 2001. More than half of the 4,000 lakes in the Qinghai province are disappearing due to drought. The severity of the impact is exacerbated by overpumping of aquifers (Reuters, 2001b). Annual average temperature in China has increased during the past century, with pronounced warming since 1980 (NCDC, 1999). Most of the warming has been in northern areas, including Qinghai Province, and in the winter.

Reference: Reuters, 2001b. Water sources for China Yellow River dry up- Xinhua. October 10, 2001, Reuters New Service, Beijing, China. http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12711/story.htm
NCDC, 1999. Area averaged temperature time series for China, India, and the United States. National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC. http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/online/doe/doe.html

156. South Africa - Burning shores, January 2000. One of the driest Decembers on record and temperatures over 104°F (40°C) fueled extensive fires along the coast in the Western Cape Province. The intensity of the fires was exacerbated by the presence of invasive vegetation species, some of which give off 300% more heat when burned compared to natural vegetation (IFFN, 2000).

Reference: IFFN, 2000. Fires in the Southern Cape Peninsula, Western Cape Province, South Africa January 2000. IFFN, 22, April: 69-75.

The following organizations produced GLOBAL WARMING: Early Warning Signs:
Environmental Defense Natural Resources Defense Council Sierra Club Union of Concerned Scientists	U.S. Public Interest Research Group World Resources Institute World Wildlife Fund
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