Available at www.gccapitalideas.com, Guy Carpenter Asia-Pacific Climate Impact Centre Annual Report 2010 covers a wide range of climate-related events and phenomena affecting Asia Pacific, including:
Tropical Cyclones – tropical cyclone variability and predictions for the coasts of South China, Japan and Korea, as well as the North Indian Ocean and Southern Hemisphere.
Monsoons – various factors correlating to summer and winter monsoons, the different impact of El Niño and El Niño Modoki on China’s rainfall and El Niño and El Niño Modoki’s impact on the Western North Pacific summer monsoon.
Monsoon-Typhoon Interaction – the asymmetric modulation of the Western North Pacific Cyclogenesis by the Madden-Julian Oscillation under ENSO (El Niño/Southern Oscillation) conditions, the seasonality of super typhoon activities in the Western North Pacific and high-resolution model simulations of ENSO Modoki’s impact on Western North Pacific monsoon and tropical cyclone activity.
Diurnal Variations – semi-diurnal variations in rainfall over Southeast China and seasonal variation of diurnal and semi-diurnal variations in rainfall over the same region.
General Climate – a planetary-scale land-sea breeze over the East Asian continent, discrepancy among different reanalyses, drought regions, heat waves, the climatic impact of modern volcanic eruptions and the correlation between global warming and local climate changes in China.
Air Quality and Climate – the source and patterns of nitrogen oxide pollutants for air quality predictions; the probability of dust events in Hong Kong caused by transported desert dust
and their impact on local air quality and the correlation between global warming and air pollution levels.
Air-Sea Interaction –the teleconnected influence of North Atlantic Sea surface temperature on the onset of El Niño as well as the interannual variability of upper ocean heat content in the South China Sea and its response to ENSO events.
Paleoclimate – analyzing aspects of environmental change in the Pearl River mouth region as part of a long-term project on the reconstruction of environmental change over the past half million years.
Professor Johnny Chan, Director, Guy Carpenter Asia-Pacific Climate Impact Centre, said, “Through the ongoing research initiatives of GCACIC, we can focus on the critical study of climate-related phenomena in the Asia-Pacific region. This, in turn, will lead to the further development of prediction tools that can provide a better assessment of the possible climate impacts of these phenomena.”
David Lightfoot, Head of GC AnalyticsSM – International, Guy Carpenter & Company, said, “The Asia-Pacific region is vulnerable to a variety of climate-related perils, from tropical cyclones to summer and winter monsoons. GCACIC’s dedicated work in this area helps the insurance industry gain a better understanding of how to best prepare for and manage these catastrophic risks.”