Namibia is almost entirely semi-arid or arid. With evaporation rates being higher than precipitation rates, farming conditions are extremely adverse. This is exacerbated by the impacts of climate change, namely increased temperature, decreased rainfall and higher rainfall variability, all of which are projected to worsen in the future. More than half of the population is reliant on rain-fed subsistence agriculture for their source of food but these challenging conditions mean that there is widespread food insecurity across the subsistence farming community in Namibia. This leads to a state of vulnerability and dependence on government support in the form of social grants, food aid and remittances from family members in urban areas. The locus for this study is three villages: Omaenene, Okathitukeengombe and Oshihau, in the north-central Omusati region of Namibia. This research investigated local perceptions of climate change vulnerability, farming practices used in other regions that could reduce this vulnerability and finally barriers and enablers to the uptake of new farming practices. These objectives were answered through the use of a systematic literature review and interviews with the local community. Findings revealed that the local population is already experiencing a hotter and drier climate, which has decreased their yield output. Many farmers are concerned about future climatic changes while some are comforted by support from the government or God. In both of these cases, the farmers are vulnerable because they are not currently adapting or planning to adapt to climate change. Although a majority of the farmers claimed that they are willing to try new farming practices, they are inhibited by: limited access to new information, mistrust of new farming practices as well as insufficient labour and resources. Three adaptive farming practices – planting pits, bunds and composting – aimed predominantly at water harvesting, soil conservation and increasing soil quality were selected by the researcher, from a systematic literature review, as appropriate for the village sites. Some of the social and institutional enablers that could be enhanced to promote the uptake of these practices are: i) support from local authorities and possibly enlisting the help of religious and traditional leaders (including building trust within these networks), ii) enhancing information access predominantly through the radio, iii) explaining the severity of climate change and the value of adaptation practices, iv) establishing self-help labour groups and v) the creation of demonstrations sites. In the face of irreversible climate change, this research aims to contribute to empowering local people to adapt their farming practices to the harmful experienced and predicted impacts of climate change and climate variability.

Bibliography: leaves 111-117. / Swartboschkloof forms part of the Jonkershoek catchment complex at the headwaters of the Eerste River, Cape Province, South Africa. It has been selected for multi-disciplinary studies of Mountain Fynbos vegetation. The study area has a mainly equatorial aspect (north-facing) and receives an average of 1600 mm rain per annum, mainly in winter. Temperatures do not reach extremes. Winds blow mainly from the south-east, increasing in strength in summer. North-west winds blow intermittently in winter, bringing rain. The altitude of Swartboschkloof ranges between 285 m and 1200 m and the soils are derived from quartzitic Table Mountain Sandstone and porphyritic Cape Granite. Using the Braun-Blanquet phytosociological method, vegetation and environmental data were collected at 201 relevés throughout the study area; 101 of these relev~s are correlated with a survey of soils of part of the same area. Sixteen fynbos communities, grouped into three groups and five forest communities, grouped into two groups, have been identified. The data of a previous study by Werger, Kruger and Taylor (1972) have been interpreted in the context of this study. A map of the plant communities has been drawn and an attempt has been made to explain the distribution of the communities in terms of environmental factors. There is a strong link between the vegetation and soil geology but application of a method such as principal components analysis would be necessary to explain the relationship clearly.

Central America has been identified as one of the regions in the world where potential climate change impacts on the environment can be pronounced and is considered a climate change ‘hot-spot’. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report indicates that the region around the western Caribbean and Central America is one where a majority of the climate model simulations indicate rather large changes in temperature and precipitation. This region, however, is one with considerable topographic relief, which implies the existence of large gradients in many critical climate variables. The interactions between the complex topography of Central America and the neighboring oceans give rise to numerous climate zones, horizontally and vertically. Consequently, the region has high biodiversity, it harbors high-value ecosystems and it is important to provide more realistic scenarios to assist in adaptation and mitigation work in the region. In this study, I aim to understand climate change in Central America at spatial scales relevant for impacts assessment. A regional climate model PRECIS was employed to carry out two experiments: the baseline (present-day) run and the scenario run, both performed at 25-km horizontal resolution. The thorough examination of the model performance showed model’s success in capturing the spatial and temporal variability of the key climate variables and its strength in simulating topographically-induced regional climate features. The projected increase in temperature, a large decrease in precipitation in most of Central America, and corresponding hydrological changes under the A2 scenario may have serious negative consequences on water resources, agricultural activities and the ecosystem dynamics in the region.

Urban ecosystems play a central role in global and regional climates by disrupting the surface energy balance and modifying nutrient and water cycling. Cities recognize the need for urban design strategies that address urbanization-induced climate stress but are limited by a lack of ecological knowledge to guide best practices in urban planning and design for climate adaptation. This dissertation combines remote sensing, field data collection, stable isotope analysis, and ecosystem modeling techniques to advance our understanding of core processes related to vegetation, heat, and water within urban climate systems. Combining and adapting models of photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, and evapotranspiration, we produce and validate fine spatiotemporal resolution estimates of latent heat flux from urban vegetation that account for unique urban climatological and physiological processes. The innovative modeling framework captures spatial heterogeneity in cooling benefits across the complex landscape of cities at a scale useful for informing policies aimed at mitigating urban heat exposure. We assess the effectiveness of urban greening and albedo manipulation to reduce surface temperatures across climate types in a spatial regression modeling framework. We find significant variability in the surface cooling efficiency of different vegetation forms, with tree cover cooling impacts approximately four times as strong as grass cover cooling impacts. Our results identify surface moisture as a powerful control on vegetation cooling efficiency, highlighting the role of background climate in selecting climate adaptation strategies. Using observed relationships between tree cover, albedo, and surface temperature, we demonstrate the importance of urban land cover composition in guiding effective climate adaptation strategies. Residential regions that are most vulnerable to extreme heat in Boston, Massachusetts are characterized by low canopy cover, few opportunities for tree planting, and a large proportion of flat, dark roofs, making white roof programs a promising strategy for reducing heat exposure disparities. In a field study of unirrigated street trees, we identify precipitation as the primary water source for trees confined to tree pits in a mesic city, supporting the storm water mitigation function of urban vegetation. However, the high proportion of water utilized from precipitation demonstrates the potential vulnerability of street trees to drought stress and points to water supplementation during dry periods as a possible key improvement in urban greening initiative implementation. Altogether, the results presented in this dissertation provide novel information to guide improved urban sustainability, resilience, and equity in a changing climate.

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Hi All, September 2024 is a month we won't be forgetting any time soon. We started off continuing a very dry pattern with Extreme Drought (D3) expanding in Middle Tennessee until receiving some relief from Hurricane Francine. Extreme Drought peaked for this area in the September 10th release of the US Drought Monitor (USDM), while expansion of D3 continued through the September 24th release of the USDM. September 24th was also when a tornado formed in Hancock County - the first September tornado on record in East Tennessee. The biggest story of the month was Hurricane Helene and its many impacts, specifically in Northeast Tennessee. We sent this last week, but feel free to check out our Helene storymap: https://bit.ly/TN_MesonetStory Additional information is provided in the attached September Monthly Climate Summary and we've attached a detailed precipitation infographic of the event. ETSU has also done a video series related to Helene that you can check out here: https://www.etsu.edu/response/appalachia-after-helene.php We're looking at a continued dry pattern so there could be some drought expansion through the end of October. While drought conditions have muted some of our fall colors, many areas are beginning to show some nice colors and that should continue for the next several weeks. Have a great rest of the month everyone! Andrew & Wil Tennessee Climate Office East Tennessee State University Department of Geosciences 310 Ross Hall Johnson City, TN 37614 www.etsu.edu/tn-climate facebook.com/TN.Climate

This study examines the spatial and temporal characteristics of the surface air temperature in Portland, Oregon. Spatial temperature patterns indicate that the dominant control factors on seasonal temperature distribution are local topography, elevation, and urban-rural differences in surface structure. A heat island exists in the Portland area; the intensity of the heat island rang€s from 4° to 10° F, and varies throughout the year. The strongest heat island is found in the July minimum temperature. Temperature distribution in Portland and the adjacent area is affected by winds and rainy conditions, but less influenced under overcast skies. The long-term temperature over the last century shows that Portland's mean annual temperature trends are 0.057° F/yr and 0.052° F/yr in the two warming periods 1900-1940 and 1961-1984, respectively, and these warming trends are largely due to warming in spring and early summer as well as in winter months except January. Comparisons between Portland and other local non-urban climatic stations show a general warming trend in Portland since the end of the last century, which is 0.028° F/yr in the mean annual temperature, and 0.017° F/yr in maximum temperature after the regional trends are removed. Monthly mean temperature in July and January demonstrate a warming by 0.023° F/yr and 0.015° F/yr at Portland, respectively. All these warming trends are due mainly to the impact of urbanization. It is found that the cooling effect on the northern Willamette Valley due to the presence of the Columbia Gorge is most noticeable in the daytime and in January.