We talk to the pioneering climate-change researcher Prof. Hans Joachim Schellnhuber about the role of decency in fighting climate change, and why excellent climate science requires freedom and trust.
Prof. Paweł Rowiński, Vice-President of the Polish Academy of Sciences, talks about how climate change will affect Poland and what signs of it should we look for in our rivers.
It’s difficult to imagine a more curious continent: Antarctica, once very austere and inhospitable, is now becoming greener as a result of climate change.
Any effective response to ecological crisis calls for collaboration of all parties involved.
Prof. Tandong Yao and Prof. Fahu Chen describe our growing understanding of climate change impacts in the “Pan-Third Pole” region, discussing both coping strategies and research initiatives focusing on the region.
Air quality and climate change, as two crucial environmental emergencies confronting our societies, are still generally viewed as separate problems requiring different research and policy frameworks. However, they should rightfully be viewed as two sides of the same coin. What we truly need to seek, therefore, are “win-win” solutions.
Uncertainties as to how the climate will change and how it will influence the necessities and trends of irrigation development lead to a number of serious questions to be answered in the near future. How irrigation and water systems will have to adapt to climate changes is a challenge that planners, designers and O&M services will have to cope with.
It is widely accepted that air temperature in Poland will increase of 2–4°C, however a total yearly precipitation will not vary yet its pattern during the year may change towards higher in winter and lower in summer. Evapotranspiration and crop water demand may rise due to both an increase in temperature and duration of crop growth cycles.
Three main factors are expected to exert an accelerating influence on the development of irrigation: increased frequency and intensity of droughts and long-lasting precipitation-free periods with the high insolation and high air temperatures resulting from climate change; the intensification of agricultural production (e.g. in horticulture, orchards, seed crops), being forced by both domestic and European free-market competition; the necessity of reaching high level of quality for the majority of agricultural products.
To mitigate negative effects of climate change and extreme events, appropriate adaptation methods and adaptation strategies should be developed and implemented in existing irrigation and water control systems. A number of technological and organisational steps should be taken to improve operation, management, administration and decision making processes.
On the basis of selected mean monthly climatic elements from the 5-year period of whole-year expedition of the Polish Academy of Sciences to Spitsbergen climatic conditions in Hornsund are presented. Thermal seasons of year have been distinguished and the weather course in the annual cycle is discussed.
Height, frequency and spatial differentiation of atmospheric precipitation of the summer season for the period 1975-1982 are presented. Results of the respective investigations are compared with atmospheric precipitation in other areas of the western coast of Spitsbergen.
Prof. Zbigniew Kundzewicz from the PAS Institute of Agricultural and Forest Environment in Poznań talks about the negative impact of climate change on our lives and what we can do to save ourselves.
From 2009 to 2018, a total of 80 wheat crops were studied at plot and regional scales to predict stripe rust epidemics based on influential climatic indicators in Kermanshah province, Iran. Disease onset time and epidemic intensity varied spatially and temporarily. The disease epidemic variable was classified as having experienced nonepidemic, moderate or severe epidemics to be used for statistical analysis. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify climatic variables associated with occurrence and intensity of stripe rust epidemics. Two principal factors accounting for 70% of the total variance indicated association of stripe rust epidemic occurrence with the number of icy days with minimum temperatures below 0°C (for subtropical regions) and below −10°C (for cool temperate and semi-arid regions). Disease epidemic intensity was linked to the number of rainy days, the number of days with minimum temperatures within the range of 7−8°C and relative humidity (RH) above 60%, and the number of periods involving consecutive days with minimum temperature within the range of 6−9°C and RH% > 60% during a 240-day period, from September 23 to May 21. Among mean monthly minimum temperatures and maximum relative humidity examined, mean maximum relative humidity for Aban (from October 23 to November 21) and mean minimum temperature for Esfand (from February 20 to March 20) indicated higher contributions to stripe rust epidemic development. Confirming PCA results, a multivariate logit ordinal model was developed to predict severe disease epidemics. The findings of this study improved our understanding of the combined interactions between air temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, and wheat stripe rust development over a three-season period of autumn-winter-spring.
Despite many years of research, we have yet to discover all the myriad ways various components of the climate interact. For instance, it looks likely that the circulation of oceanic waters has a much broader impact than previously thought.
Prof. Patrick Meire of the University of Antwerp discusses subtle interdependencies in marine ecosystems and the transformations that they undergo under the influence of climate change.