Tiempo Climate Newswatch

Tuvalu wants all its energy to come from renewable sources by the year 2020. "We look forward to the day when our nation offers an example to all - powered entirely by natural resources such as the sun and the wind," said public utilities minister Kausea Natano. It is estimated that it will cost about US$20 million to generate all Tuvalu's electricity using renewables. The government is working with the non-profit energy consortium, e8, to achieve its aim.

During the first stage of the project, the roof of the capital's football stadium has been covered in solar panels, supplying five per cent of the electricity needed by the city. After 14 months' operation, 17,000 tons of generator fuel shipped from New Zealand has been saved. "There may be other larger solar power installations in the world, but none could be more meaningful to customers than this one," said Takao Shiraishi of the Kansai Electric Power Company, which helped implement the project. "We thank those who are helping Tuvalu reduce its carbon footprint as it will strengthen our voice in upcoming international negotiations. And we look forward to the day when our nation offers an example to all - powered entirely by natural resources such as the sun and the wind," said Natano.

Tibet is experiencing the worst drought in 30 years, with five of the nation's six prefectures affected over the past 12 months. The dry spell has affected 33,627 hectares of cropland, 8313 hectares of forests and 2027 hectares of grassland and has led to the deaths of 13,601 cattle, according to the flood control and drought relief headquarters of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Economic losses have reached 58.76 million yuan. In Lhasa, Xigaze and Shannan, precipitation is reported down by 70 to 80 per cent.

Elsewhere in the region, Bangladesh is coping with a delayed start to the monsoon season. "For weeks there have been no rains in the northern and central districts, the country's main food belt. Tens of millions of farmers could not sow summer rice as their farmlands have dried up," said Ruhul Amin, food planning chief. "If no rain comes in the next couple of weeks, it will be a severe drought," he continued. Power supplies are being diverted to the countryside to irrigate rice crops. "Sowing of rice has been delayed in most parts of the northern region... So we've decided to connect 9470 deep tube wells with free power throughout the region," said agriculture minister Matia Chowdhury.

Fruit and nut crops in California are at risk as milder winters reduce the period of dormancy, disrupting flowering time, a team of American researchers reports. Winter chill times could decrease by as much as 80 per cent below the 1950 baseline by the end of the century. Winter chill had already declined by up to 30 per cent in some parts of the Central Valley, where most fruit and nut production occurs.

"Farmers and consumers need to be prepared for major cultural changes in the tree crops California farmers are growing," warned Minghua Zhang, University of California - Davis. New breeding programmes based on inducing genetic changes or chemical methods for artificially lengthening dormancy times are needed and farmers may need to consider looking for growing areas farther north. "Since orchards often remain in production for decades, it is important that growers now consider whether there will be sufficient winter chill in the future to support the same tree varieties throughout their producing lifetime," she said.