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Articles 1 - 9 of 9
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
El Niño And The Human-Environment Nexus: Drought And Vulnerability In Singapore 1877-1911, Fiona Williamson
El Niño And The Human-Environment Nexus: Drought And Vulnerability In Singapore 1877-1911, Fiona Williamson
Research Collection College of Integrative Studies
This chapter brings a climatic perspective to the study of Singaporean history by exploring the impacts of the strong El Niño inspired droughts of 1877, 1902 and 1911. The narrative focuses on unpacking the nexus of nature-inspired versus human-induced vulnerability to drought within the contexts of colonial urbanisation and looks at the short-to medium-term impacts of the events on society. It also explores how such events inspired new questions about the climate and regional teleconnections, as a wealth of evidence became available due to the increasingly connected nature of scientific institutions, scientific literature, and communications systems across the Indian Ocean …
Just Doing Their Job: The Hidden Meteorologists Of Colonial Hong Kong C.1883–1914, Fiona Williamson
Just Doing Their Job: The Hidden Meteorologists Of Colonial Hong Kong C.1883–1914, Fiona Williamson
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
This article investigates the contribution made by indigenous employees to the work of the Hong Kong Observatory from its inception and into the early twentieth century. As has so often been the case in Western histories of science, the significance of indigenous workers and of women in the Hong Kong Observatory has been obscured by the stories of the government officials and observatory director(s). Yet without the employees, the service could not have functioned or grown. While the glimpses of their work and lives are fleeting, often only revealed in minor archival references, this article seeks to interrogate these sources …
Building A Long-Time Series For Weather And Extreme Weather In The Straits Settlements: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach To The Archives Of Societies, Fiona Williamson
Building A Long-Time Series For Weather And Extreme Weather In The Straits Settlements: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach To The Archives Of Societies, Fiona Williamson
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
In comparison to the Northern Hemisphere, especially Europe and North America, there is a scarcity of information regarding the historic weather and climate of Southeast Asia and the Southern Hemisphere in general. The reasons for this are both historic and political, yet that does not mean that such data do not exist. Much of the early instrumental weather records for Southeast Asia stem from the colonial period and, with some countries and regions changing hands between the European powers, surviving information tends to be scattered across the globe making its recovery a long and often arduous task. This paper focuses …
‘Living In A State Of Filth And Indifference To … Their Health’: Weather, Public Health And Urban Governance In Colonial George Town, Penang, Fiona Williamson, Katrina Proust
‘Living In A State Of Filth And Indifference To … Their Health’: Weather, Public Health And Urban Governance In Colonial George Town, Penang, Fiona Williamson, Katrina Proust
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
This article explores the development of public health infrastructure in George Town, Penang, before the 1930s. It argues that the extreme weather of the tropical climate led to a unique set of health challenges for George Town’s administrators, as the town grew from a small British base to a multi-cultural and thriving port. Weather and public health were (and still are) integrally connected,although the framing of this relationship has undergone significant shifts in thinking and appearance over time. One lens into this association is the situation and expression of these elements within municipal structures.During the nineteenth century, government departments were …
Unlocking Pre-1850 Instrumental Meteorological Records: A Global Inventory, Stefan Bronnimann, Rob Allan, Linden Ashcroft, Saba Baer, Mariano Barriendos, Fiona Williamson, Et Al
Unlocking Pre-1850 Instrumental Meteorological Records: A Global Inventory, Stefan Bronnimann, Rob Allan, Linden Ashcroft, Saba Baer, Mariano Barriendos, Fiona Williamson, Et Al
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
A global inventory of early instrumental meteorological measurements is compiled. It comprises thousands of series, many of which have not been digitized, pointing to the potential of weather data rescue.Instrumental meteorological measurements from periods prior to the start of national weather services are designated “early instrumental data”. They have played an important role in climate research as they allow daily-to-decadal variability and changes of temperature, pressure, and precipitation, including extremes, to be addressed. Early instrumental data can also help place 21st century climatic changes into a historical context such as to define pre-industrial climate and its variability. Until recently, the …
The Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions Over The Earth (Acre) Initiative Acre China Workshop: Recovery, Digitization, And Analysis Of Pre-Mid-Twentieth Century Climate Observational Data In East Asia Workshop On 23-24 August, Beijing, China, Fiona Williamson, Guoyu Ren, Rob Allan
The Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions Over The Earth (Acre) Initiative Acre China Workshop: Recovery, Digitization, And Analysis Of Pre-Mid-Twentieth Century Climate Observational Data In East Asia Workshop On 23-24 August, Beijing, China, Fiona Williamson, Guoyu Ren, Rob Allan
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
This commentary discusses a recent workshop designed to explore the extant historic instrumental record of weather observations for China, East Asia, and the China Seas region; to uncover new sources of observations; and to work on joint initiatives for their recovery and inclusion in open access data sets. The workshop was funded by the UK Newton Fund's Climate Science for Service Partnership China. It was organized by the Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions over the Earth China, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), the Beijing Climate Centre, and the China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) and held at CMA offices in Beijing.
Prioritizing Urban Sustainability Solutions: Coordinated Approaches Must Incorporate Scale-Dependent Built Environment Induced Effects, Matei Georgescu, Winston T. L. Chow, Z. H. Wang, Anthony J. Brazel, Barbara Trapido-Lurie, M. Roth, Valeria Benson
Prioritizing Urban Sustainability Solutions: Coordinated Approaches Must Incorporate Scale-Dependent Built Environment Induced Effects, Matei Georgescu, Winston T. L. Chow, Z. H. Wang, Anthony J. Brazel, Barbara Trapido-Lurie, M. Roth, Valeria Benson
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Because of a projected surge of several billion urban inhabitants by mid-century, a rising urgency exists to advance local and strategically deployed measures intended to ameliorate negative consequences on urban climate (e.g., heat stress, poor air quality, energy/water availability). Here we highlight the importance of incorporating scale-dependent built environment induced solutions within the broader umbrella of urban sustainability outcomes, thereby accounting for fundamental physical principles. Contemporary and future design of settlements demands cooperative participation between planners, architects, and relevant stakeholders, with the urban and global climate community, which recognizes the complexity of the physical systems involved and is ideally fit …
New Directions In Hydro-Climatic Histories: Observational Data Recovery, Proxy Records And The Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions Over The Earth (Acre) Initiative In Southeast Asia, Fiona Williamson, Rob Allan, Adam Switzer, Johnny C. L. Chan, Robert James Wasson, Rosanne D'Arrigo, Richard Gartner
New Directions In Hydro-Climatic Histories: Observational Data Recovery, Proxy Records And The Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions Over The Earth (Acre) Initiative In Southeast Asia, Fiona Williamson, Rob Allan, Adam Switzer, Johnny C. L. Chan, Robert James Wasson, Rosanne D'Arrigo, Richard Gartner
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
The value of historic observational weather data for reconstructing long-term climate patterns and the detailed analysis of extreme weather events has long been recognized (Le Roy Ladurie, 1972; Lamb, 1977). In some regions however, observational data has not been kept regularly over time, or its preservation and archiving has not been considered a priority by governmental agencies. This has been a particular problem in Southeast Asia where there has been no systematic country-by-country method of keeping or preserving such data, the keeping of data only reaches back a few decades, or where instability has threatened the survival of historic records. …
Technology, Unilateral Commitments And Cumulative Emissions Reduction, Shurojit Chatterji, Sayantan Ghosal
Technology, Unilateral Commitments And Cumulative Emissions Reduction, Shurojit Chatterji, Sayantan Ghosal
Research Collection School Of Economics
In this article, we argue that weak property rights over transnational pollution and the limited threat of retaliatory punishments blunts the effectiveness of a broad-based multilateral agreement to deliver the emission reductions required to mitigate climate change. Instead, we propose a policy framework that builds on unilateral commitments, endogenous innovation and technology transfer that could lead to cumulative emissions reduction by altering the participation constraints of nations over time.