Climate Change Index for week ending 4 Oct. 2009

Launched last month, our weekly Climate Change Index tracks research findings and events directly attributable to global warming. Our aim is to provide a numerical, week-to-week indicator of climate change developments.

Items that qualify for listing in each week’s index include new climate data published in peer-reviewed academic journals and extreme weather incidents or other natural events that are likely directly linked to the global warming trend.

The Climate Change Index for this week, ending 4 Oct. 2009 (details below): 6

28 September: Officials in Adelaide, Australia’s fifth-largest city, say they might soon have to ship in drinking water as local supplies become increasingly scarce and saline.

1 October: The Arctic is warming far faster than previous climate change models projected, meaning we’ll also likely see a greater than expected impact on global weather patterns and ocean circulation patterns.

1 October: Climate change and declining freshwater resources are threatening some 20 per cent of all the Mediterranean’s dragonfly and damselfly populations, according to a new report from the IUCN.

1 October: The World Wildlife Fund and the US Fish and Wildlife Service blame climate change on a mass die-off of young walruses in the Arctic.

2 October: Thick, multi-year ice in the Arctic is fast disappearing, according to findings from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

3 October: An exceptional drought is threatening the way of life for numerous residents in East Africa.