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Jul 3, 2010
Invest in water management to avoid flooding
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WITH reference to Monday's report ('PM: Don't expect flood-free Singapore'), Singapore sits near what has been the southern edge of the North-Equatorial band of the Intertropical Convergence Zone, about one degree north of the equator.
Data from three American solar observation sites - Mauna Kea, Kitt Peak and White Mountain - confirm that there has been a sharp drop in net solar heating since 2008. This may be a trend that is going to carry on for several decades; a reversion to the mean after an unusually active solar period in the late 20th century.
The reduced heating - a spectral shift due to less infrared 'light' from sunspots - has narrowed the zone and moved the centre from plus or minus three degrees to about two degrees latitude. It has also expanded the earth's 'dry bands' centred about 20 degrees latitude.
The results are rising rainfall in the narrower zone (for example, in Singapore) and less rainfall in the dry bands (for example, in Hawaii and Mexico). With a growing population, water may become more important than oil as a strategic resource for ensuring not only prosperity, but also survival.
So, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is generally correct. Singapore must invest in water management systems that can handle higher volumes of water to avoid flooding.
Brian Lynch
Austin, Texas
Invest in water management to avoid flooding
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<!-- end left side bar --><!-- story content : start -->
WITH reference to Monday's report ('PM: Don't expect flood-free Singapore'), Singapore sits near what has been the southern edge of the North-Equatorial band of the Intertropical Convergence Zone, about one degree north of the equator.
Data from three American solar observation sites - Mauna Kea, Kitt Peak and White Mountain - confirm that there has been a sharp drop in net solar heating since 2008. This may be a trend that is going to carry on for several decades; a reversion to the mean after an unusually active solar period in the late 20th century.
The reduced heating - a spectral shift due to less infrared 'light' from sunspots - has narrowed the zone and moved the centre from plus or minus three degrees to about two degrees latitude. It has also expanded the earth's 'dry bands' centred about 20 degrees latitude.
The results are rising rainfall in the narrower zone (for example, in Singapore) and less rainfall in the dry bands (for example, in Hawaii and Mexico). With a growing population, water may become more important than oil as a strategic resource for ensuring not only prosperity, but also survival.
So, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is generally correct. Singapore must invest in water management systems that can handle higher volumes of water to avoid flooding.
Brian Lynch
Austin, Texas
