Tiempo Climate Newswatch

The rules for limiting greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol have been adopted. The agreement took place at the First Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, which began on November 28th 2005, alongside the 11th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The meetings are being held in Montreal, Canada. The Kyoto rules cover greenhouse gas accounting, investment in developing countries, emissions trading and other operational details.

Saudi Arabia attempted to block agreement on the provision on compliance with the Protocol commitments, arguing that implementing the compliance provision through an amendment to the Protocol itself would strengthen the compliance mechanism. Others considered the move an attempt to delay agreement on the deal and postpone the discussions on what do after the end of the Kyoto period in 2012. "They're trying to stop any discussion of what to do after 2012," accused Jennifer Morgan of WWF International. There was confidence, though, that agreement would be reached by the end of the meeting. The compliance system stipulates that any country that misses its target will have to make up the shortfall, and an additional 30 per cent penalty, during the next period. Emissions trading rights may be affected.

More information

• ENS
• Reuters
• Stuff
• New Zealand Herald
• Planet Ark

• Webcast
• Earth Negotiations Bulletin, daily reports
• On the Web: The climate negotiations

The Atlantic hurricane season of 2005 drew to an official close on Wednesday November 30th, though activity continued with the formation of Tropical Storm Epsilon following Tropical Storm Delta's eastward progress towards Morocco. The season as a whole broke a number of records. Twenty-six tropical storms formed, compared to the previous high of 21 back in 1933. Thirteen developed into hurricanes, beating the old record of 12 in 1969. Four major hurricanes made landfall in the United States, a new record. A record five storms formed in July. Hurricane Dennis was the most powerful July storm recorded. Three hurricanes reached Category Five status, another record. Hurricane Vince became the first known tropical storm to hit Spain and Portugal. Hurricane Wilma was the most powerful hurricane known to have formed in the Atlantic Basin.

Hurricane Katrina proved the most costly natural disaster to hit the United States, with damage estimated at US$80 billion and an estimated 1300 fatalities. "Within all the record-breaking statistics of the season, there are epic human impacts... suffering on a very large scale," commented Max Mayfield, director of the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC). Forecasters had warned that activity would be high during 2005 because of high ocean temperatures in the tropical Atlantic. High-level wind conditions also played a part. Many storms formed closer to land and developed more rapidly than usual due to the extra energy picked up from the warm water. According to NHC forecaster Stacy Stewart, "Wilma went from a tropical storm to Category Five in 24 hours. That's unprecedented!"

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• New Zealand Herald
• CNN
• National Geographic

• NOAA
• Podcast, NOAA

A new study predicts that the Sahel region of north Africa will become drier as global warming develops. "Our model predicts an extremely dry Sahel in the future," reports Isaac Held of the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "If we compare it against the drought in the 1970s and 80s, the late 21st century looks even drier - a 30 per cent reduction in rainfall from the average for the last century."

The result contradicts the findings of a recent assessment of Sahel predictions. Held reckons that this may be because of differences in the simulation of clouds and recommends the use of multiple models to reduce the effects of uncertainties on the predictions. The modelling attributes the 20th century drought in the Sahel to a combination of anthropogenic factors, aerosol pollution and rising greenhouse gas concentrations, and natural climate variability.

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Background

• SciDev.Net
• BBC
• Research paper, NOAA

• EHP