Policy Framework for Myanmar Rice Production and In-Depth Study on Greenhouse Gas Emissions

This study assesses the interactive nature of rice and climate change in the context of Myanmar, one of the largest rice-producing countries. In the first section, special emphasis is given to the current situation of Myanmar’s rice production as affected by climate change alongside with possible adaptation strategies. Since only a small share (23.6 %) of the rice area is irrigated, low precipitation climate extremes directly translate into either drought problems due to limited access of water in case of drought or flood problems due to limited drainage. Moreover, more than half of the national rice production derives from the Ayaryewady delta, so that Myanmar’s food security is very susceptible to impacts triggered tropical cyclones such as “Nargis” in 2008. The scope of adaptation to climate change is elaborated at different levels ranging technical options for increasing resilience of the rice crop to policies that alleviate risks for farmers.

Seasonal and interannual variations of MODIS Aqua chlorophyll-a (2003–2017) in the Upper Gulf of Thailand influenced by Asian monsoons

Seasonal and interannual variations of chlorophyll-a (chl-a) in the upper Gulf of Thailand (uGoT) were obtained using new regionally tuned algorithms applied to Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer-Aqua. This long time-series (2003–2017) data were analyzed in the context of variations in environmental conditions associated with the Southeast Asian Monsoon. Chl-a distribution patterns were distinct for the non-monsoon (NOM), southwest-monsoon (SWM), and northeast-monsoon (NEM) seasons. During the SWM/NEM, high/low chl-a concentrations were associated with high/low precipitation and river discharge. During the NOM chl-a concentrations were generally low, because of low precipitation. In general, chl-a variability was tightly coupled to discharge from the Chao Phraya and Tha Chin rivers. Chl-a concentrations were generally higher in the north, but chl-a accumulation in the east/west of the uGoT could be linked to piling of freshwater to the east/west during the SWM/NEM caused by changes in wind direction and the reversal of currents. Interannual changes in chl-a were attributed to El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) rather than Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) driven changes in precipitation, river discharge, and wind patterns. During the SWM, positive/negative chl-a anomalies coincided with high/low precipitation and river discharge during La Niña/El Niño. During the NEM, positive/negative chl-a anomaly coincided with high/low river discharge and strong/weak wind during La Niña/El Niño. Meanwhile, during NOM, positive chl-a anomaly could be attributed to anomalous high wind speed and precipitation during El Niño.

Process-Based Evaluation of Stochastic Perturbed Microphysics Parameterization Tendencies on Ensemble Forecasts of Heavy Rainfall Events

Stochastic model error schemes, such as the stochastic perturbed parameterization tendencies (SPPT) and independent SPPT (iSPPT) schemes, have become an increasingly accepted method to represent model error associated with uncertain subgrid-scale processes in ensemble prediction systems (EPSs). While much of the current literature focuses on the effects of these schemes on forecast skill, this research examines the physical processes by which iSPPT perturbations to the microphysics parameterization scheme yield variability in ensemble rainfall forecasts. Members of three 120-member Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model ensemble case studies, including two distinct heavy rain events over Taiwan and one over the northeastern United States, are ranked according to an area-averaged accumulated rainfall metric in order to highlight differences between high- and low-precipitation forecasts. In each case, high-precipitation members are characterized by a damping of the microphysics water vapor and temperature tendencies over the region of heaviest rainfall, while the opposite is true for low-precipitation members. Physically, the perturbations to microphysics tendencies have the greatest impact at the cloud-level and act to modify precipitation efficiency. To this end, the damping of tendencies in high-precipitation forecasts suppresses both the loss of water vapor due to condensation and the corresponding latent heat release, leading to grid-scale supersaturation. Conversely, amplified tendencies in low-precipitation forecasts yield both drying and increased positive buoyancy within clouds.

Variation In Frequency And Share of Duration of Rainy Days In Iran’s Precipitation

In any region, climate change can be manifested in the form of various characteristics of climatic elements. To investigate the possible precipitation variations, as a sign of climate change in Iran, in the present study, the frequency of duration of rainy days was examined as a precipitation characteristic. To this end, gridded data of precipitation were used for the period of 1971-2016, and days with the precipitation of more than 1 mm were considered as rainy days. Considering the frequency of the rainy days, it was revealed that during the study period, one to thirty six-day duration of precipitation occurred in the country. One-day duration had the highest frequencies and covered the vastest area, while thirty six-day duration had the lowest frequencies and covered the smallest area. Accordingly, the one-day duration played the most significant role in annual precipitation. The share of these types of rainfalls in the low-precipitation parts of the country was more than 80% and in some areas. The findings also revealed that there was an increasing frequency of short-term, especially two-day duration, in large parts of the country, and a decrease in the long-term duration. The results showed that latitude and longitude, respectively, had the most significant impact on the frequency distribution of the duration of rainy days. Latitude had a direct effect (except in terms of the share of one-day duration of annual precipitation) and longitude had an inverse effect (except in the share of one-day duration of annual precipitation).

Summer Drought in 2019 on Polish Territory—A Case Study

The summer 2019 drought in Poland, i.e., the warmest year in observation history, was characterized. Meteorological, agricultural, hydrological, and hydrogeological aspects were taken into account. Meteorological drought in the light of regionally differentiated days of low precipitation frequency lasted the longest, i.e., over 3 months in central-western Poland. In the period between June–August 2019, in the belt of South Baltic Lakes and Central Polish Lowlands, the lowest precipitation sums of 30–60% of the norm were recorded. The values of the climatic water balance (CWB) calculated by the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation (IUNG) method for individual months of June–August for the Polish area were −129, −64, and −53 mm, respectively. The most threatened were fruit bushes, spring cereals, maize for grain and silage, and leguminous plants. In central-western and south-western Poland, the drought accelerated the date of the lowest flows by two months on average from the turn of September and October to the turn of July and August. In the lowland belt, where the drought was the most intensive, the average monthly groundwater level, both of free and tight groundwater table, was lower than the monthly averages for the whole hydrological year.

The response of apple tree varieties to the anomalies in the water and temperature conditions in 2020

The authors establish that the destabilization of the water and temperature conditions in farming areas is currently the most significant factor limiting the development of fruit plants. The results of the weather monitoring in 2020 show significant deviations of the water and temperature conditions in that year from the long-time annual averages, the most significant of which are abnormally dry February and March, cold and humid May, as well as the alternating hot and cold spells and dramatic temperature drops between days and nights. The monitoring of the physiological parameters of apple trees showed that the vegetation period of 2020 featured an early start of plant growth, the suppression of photosynthesis in midsummer due to high air temperatures, low precipitation, and the late beginning of winter lethargy for apple trees.

AI in Third World Farming

The world of today is now encountering high temperatures and low precipitation, successive dry spells, and a shortage of both ground and surface water. The harming impacts of the worldwide environment through farming change are expanding and most harms are anticipated to happen in non-industrial nations because of their over-dependence. These all are happening due to the erratic precipitation and high occurrence of dry seasons which make farming impossible. Most of the provincial populace in Third World Countries relies upon domesticated animal’s creation for their occupations. In this article, you will look at the effects of Third World Farming and the role of Artificial Intelligence on it.

Soil vulnerability index to climatic variability in coffee regions of Colombia

Global climate change is one of the main factors threatening agriculture. In this context, variations in precipitation have the strongest effect on soil fertility, plant nutrient availability, and erosion. This research aimed to assess soil vulnerability to climate variability in the central coffee-growing region of Colombia. This study analyzed soil components involved in the sustainability of the coffee production system as affected by extreme high and low precipitation events. For evaluation, three sensitivity indices were constructed, with a weighted aggregation structure and with weight values defined from expert knowledge. The indices were estimated by randomly selecting 432 coffee farms in the municipalities of Balboa and Santuario in Risaralda department and Salamina in Caldas department. The soil nutrient availability and conservation vulnerability index was moderate in the three municipalities (Balboa=2.87 and coefficient of variation-CV 13%; Santuario=2.88 and CV 10%; Salamina=2.9 and CV 9%). The soil leaching vulnerability index was very low in Balboa (4.33 and CV 3%) and Salamina (4.74 and CV 7%) and low in Santuario (3.57 and CV 19%). The soil loss vulnerability index was low in Balboa (3.32 and CV 10.03%) and Salamina (3.49 and CV 11.43%) and moderate in Santuario (3.13 and CV 9.34%). Lastly, the vulnerability of coffee-growing soil to climate variability was low in Balboa (3.33) and Salamina (3.45) and moderate in Santuario (3.09). Based on these results, in the three municipalities, coffee growers must introduce farming practices towards improving soil resilience and decreasing soil vulnerability to high and low precipitation extremes by adequately managing the sources and doses of fertilizers, soil conditioners, and compost and by implementing integrated management of weeds and litterfall.

Amplified Risk of Compound Heat Stress-Dry Spells in Urban India

Compound warm-dry spells over land, which is expected to occur more frequently and expected to cover a much larger spatial extent in a warming climate, result from the simultaneous or successive occurrence of extreme heatwaves, low precipitation, and synoptic conditions, e.g., low surface wind speeds. While changing patterns of weather and climate extremes cannot be ameliorated, effective mitigation requires an understanding of the multivariate nature of interacting drivers that influence the occurrence frequency and predictability of these extremes. However, risk assessments are often focused on univariate statistics, incorporating either extreme temperature or low precipitation; or at the most bivariate statistics considering concurrence of temperature versus precipitation, without accounting for synoptic conditions influencing their joint dependency. Based on station-based daily meteorological records from 23 urban and peri-urban locations of India, covering the 1970-2018 period, this study identifies four distinct regions that show temporal clustering of the timing of heatwaves. Further, combining joint probability distributions of interacting drivers, this analysis explored compound warm-dry potentials that result from the co-occurrence of warmer temperature, scarcer precipitation, and synoptic wind patterns. The results reveal a 50-year severe heat stress tends to be more frequent and is expected to become 5 to 17-year events at each location. Notably, considering dependence among drivers, a median 6-fold amplification (ranging from 3 to 10-fold) in compound warm-dry spell frequency is apparent relative to the expected annual number of a local 50-year severe heatwave episode, indicating warming-induced desiccation is already underway over most of the urbanized areas of the country.

Cut-Off Low Patterns and Its Simultaneous Precipitation Over Iran

Iran located in arid and semiarid area of the earth with low precipitation. Iran's rainfall is mainly received in the cold period of the year. Although the total annual precipitation is low but sometime, the country receives heavy rainfall. One of the conditions that lead to heavy rainfall is cut-off low patterns. Cut-off low-pressure systems are defined as closed lows in the upper troposphere that have become completely detached from the main westerly current. The characteristics of Cut-off Lows in Iran are studied for the period of 1976–2015. To identify these systems, the Raul Nieto algorithm was used with automatic detection capabilities. The systematic identification of Cut-off Lows is realized by applying an original automated scheme using mean daily geo-potential height, wind and air temperature at 500 hPa NCEP. Cut-off Lows are more frequent during spring in the Iran, with a maximum of frequency in March. Over the period of 1976–2015, the annual Cut-off Lows frequency exhibits a weak positive trend. In this study, the most cut-off lows lasted only 2 days. Simultaneous precipitation with cut-off low pressures was compared with annual precipitation of stations. Northwest of Iran has a larger share of Cut-off low precipitation. Different Cut-off Low patterns were identified under 6 separate patterns. The highest frequency of cut-off lows are the eastern arm of omega pattern.