New models in Maldives to combat climate change

Posted on May 15, 2013 by gopikrishna

A fresh study on possible climate change impacts on the Maldives has called for new resilience models, beating the oft-repeated gloom and doom projections. MORE …

It is the same old, same old

Posted on May 15, 2013 by gopikrishna

Despite grand promises and the even grander city beautification projects, one short, heavy burst of rainfall and Colombo city grinds to a halt. This was the case on Monday night when torrential downpours submerged a number of roads in and around Colombo, most of them in the so-called affluent areas, causing massive traffic jams and forcing motorists to seek out alternate routes. A common sight on Monday night was of stalled cars and stranded motorists wading knee deep in water, looking for assistance that wasn’t forthcoming. MORE …

SREX sheds light

Posted on May 15, 2013 by gopikrishna

While the debate continues on the alarmist predictions of extreme weather events and climate science being indeed a speculative science and requiring to be treated with a strong dose of skepticism, climate scientists have been able to collate and present long-term observations indicating vulnerability levels of specific regions. MORE …

An altered SL map by 2100

Posted on May 15, 2013 by gopikrishna

The current rate of atmospheric change is likely to leave a strong impact on Sri Lanka, with the island’s northern tip and the nearby small islands likely to suffer severe inundation by 2100, a top scientist warns. MORE …

Extreme weather deja vu

Posted on May 15, 2013 by gopikrishna

The headlines in this week’s newspapers made grim reading. Heavy rains experienced in most parts of the island, extensive flooding and the invariable earth slips have all exacted a disquieting toll of death and destruction in the past few days. By Wednesday evening, 23 people were reported killed, 15 missing, 34 injured and 266,740 affected. MORE …