1st Edition

Climates of the British Isles Present, Past and Future

Edited By Elaine Barrow, Mike Hulme Copyright 1997
    494 Pages
    by Routledge

    494 Pages
    by Routledge

    Our understanding of climate and its role in human affairs has changed markedly over recent years, as have climate observation systems and modelling capabilities. Reliance on recent weather statistics to provide a guide for future climate is no longer viable. Evidence of human-induced climate change has placed climate high on political and the media agendas.
    Climates of the British Isles provides a comprehensive account of what we know about climate and changing climates at the end of the twentieth century. Integrating the historical and geographical dimensions of climate, the crucial link between past and future climatic conditions is examined through the geographical lens of the British Isles. Climates of past ages are reconstructed and full descriptions of present climate are illustrated by a wealth of graphs, maps and images. Important climate data sets are provided.
    Marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the internationally acclaimed Climatic Research Unit, this book distils much of the leading research of present and recent members of the unit and presents an authoritative, accessible view of climatic change and prospects for the next millenium and beyond.

    1: Introducing Climate Change; 1: The British Isles Climate; 2: Explaining the Climate of the British Isles; 3: Describing the Surface Climate of the British Isles; 2: Reconstructing the Past; 4: The Climates of Past Ages; 5: Reconstructing Late-Glacial and Holocene Climates; 6: Documenting the Medieval Climate; 3: Monitoring the Present; 7: Observing and Measuring the Weather; 8: Classifying the Winds and Weather; 9: The Changing Temperature of ‘Central England'; 10: Precipitation Variability and Drought; 11: Wind; 12: The Air that we Breathe; 13: ‘Phew! What a Scorcher'; 4: Forecasting the Future; 14: Forecasting the British Isles Weather; 15: Global Warming and the British Isles; 16: Climate Beyond the Twenty-First Century

    Biography

    Mike Hulme and Elaine Barrow are Senior Research Associates at the Climatic Reserach Unit, university of East Anglia.

    '...a useful source of practical classroom information and material. At £17.99 the volume is reasonably priced, and the reviewer recommends it without reservation to scientist, teacher and weather enthusiast alike.' - Geographical Journal, March 99