MonsoonMaiden

While reading about the Singapore government's Climate Change Strategy I wasn't too clear on how carbon trading works but this Shell advertisement actually does quite a good job of explaining it. Encouraging businesses to clean up Most people agree we need to reduce the level of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. It is a global problem which needs global solutions. One way is to use the power of the world’s markets to provide businesses with a strong incentive to clean up. Carbon Trading is a new market and owes its origins to the worldwide agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions signed in Kyoto in 1997. Under the Kyoto Protocol, European countries agreed to reduce the emission of six greenhouse gases by 8% below 1990 levels by 2012. It was left up to the individual signatory countries to find ways of achieving this. How can the UK, and the other 25 member states of the EU, reach their targets? A major part of the EU’s response has been to launch the EU Emissions Trading Scheme at the start of 2005. This trading system puts in place laws obliging thousands of EU companies to hold one allowance for every ton* of CO2 emissions they release each year. The total volume of CO2 that can be emitted to the atmosphere from the companies that are covered has been capped and reduced below “business-as-usual” levels. But this is a trading system that offers carrots to those companies that reduce emissions below as well as sticks to any company that might fail to do its bit. How Carbon Trading works At the start of each year companies receive an allocation of allowances to emit a certain quantity of CO2. For example a company might receive 1 million allowances for 2005. If that company expects to emit more than this allowance then it must choose whether it’s financially better to make the necessary emission reductions or whether it’s more cost effective to buy allowances in the market from other companies. Either way the company has to meet its legal obligation to hold a volume of allowances equal to its actual emissions at the end of the year. The carrot appears with the market price of these allowances. For example, if the allowances trade at €24 (the price in September 2005) then a company can look at its activities to see if it can take action to reduce emissions at a cost of less than €24 per ton* of CO2. Companies may find new technologies or better working practices that can all reduce emissions more cheaply than buying allowances. So let’s assume that the company makes the decision to invest in an emissions abatement project since it figures it can do so at a cost of only €15 per ton* of CO2. In this case the company can quickly see a pretty big carrot! If it reduces its emissions below its actual allocation level, it will have surplus allowances, which it can then sell in the market. And if the company is making these reductions for €15 and selling the surplus allowances for €24, that’s a €9 per ton* CO2 incentive for cleaning up. In this way the market establishes a cost on emissions and a very clear incentive for reducing them! * Based on UK(long) tons (one ton = 2240 pounds) Note: US(short) ton = 2000 pounds

Given the government's track record it's likely that many of the measures will be implemented ... I think that raising public awareness with regard to climate change will be more of a problem.

INDUSTRIES Our Strategy Our approach towards industries is a "win-win" one. We acknowledge that industries in Singapore produce largely for international markets. Therefore, regulations that are too tight may create compliance costs that force industries to relocate elsewhere, with an adverse impact on the Singaporean economy without a significant reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, we will focus on improving the energy efficiency of our industries, which not only lowers their carbon intensity but renders them more cost-competitive in the current high oil price environment. The global concern with climate change also brings with it new business opportunities, such as the export of carbon-efficient technologies to support the sustainable development aspirations of other developing countries and the provision of carbon services such as emissions trading. These opportunities match Singapore 's environmental, engineering, and financial expertise, and we will engage local industries to seek out such opportunities. This would contribute to global efforts in mitigating climate change. We also have an Accelerated Depreciation Allowance Scheme that allows companies to fully depreciate the capital expenditure energy efficient equipment over one year instead of the usual three. This scheme encourages companies to replace old, energy-consuming equipment with more energy efficient ones and to invest in energy-saving equipment. Proposed Measures a) Promote Cogeneration Cogeneration, or combined heat and power, is an efficient method of generating both heat and electricity in an integrated process, and is applicable in instances where both electricity and heat are required. By making use of the waste heat generated in the combustion process, cogeneration can increase the energy efficiency of power generation from about 40%-50% to more than 75%. While cogeneration is a technology more commonly used in industrial facilities, it can also be extended to buildings in general. Cogeneration or even trigeneration (combined heat, power and chilled water generation) is currently used and test-bedded in some facilities in Singapore Trigeneration at a factory belonging to Aalst Pte Ltd. Aalst, a manufacturer of industrial chocolates, has installed a micro-turbine and waste-heat recovery system to test the trigeneration of power, heat and chilled water. The system was installed in September 2004 and is producing electricity, hot water as well as chilled water for use in the manufacturing process and for air-conditioning needs. BUILDINGS Buildings can be designed to encourage greater use of natural light and ventilation. Proper insulation also ensures that less energy is used to cool down buildings. Studies have shown that energy-efficient buildings can reduce energy use by 35%. The Housing Development Board (HDB) being the largest developer in Singapore, has been actively studying, adapting and implementing measures that are environmentally friendly and energy-efficient throughout its entire building and development process, from planning, design, pre-construction to post-construction. In its planning process, HDB emphasises the orientation of its buildings to minimise solar radiation into the units. It also uses insulated concrete wall for the gable ends facing the sun, and sun shades for western-facing dwelling units. To prevent heat transfer to the roof top units, there is an air gap to act as insulation between the secondary roof and the main roof. In the design of precincts, greening is conserved, and vehicle-free access connectors are provided for a better living environment. In common area lighting, HDB has introduced the use of electronic ballasts to save energy. Energy Savings in Buildings - Companies' Experiences City Developments Ltd installed motion-detecting lights in stairwells of 13 commercial properties. This is expected to reduce electricity use in stairwells by 93%. Promote Solar Energy The use of zero-emissions solar technologies will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As PV cells become less expensive and oil prices continue to rise, the 'sunbelt' countries along the equator would likely be among the first for which PV electricity is competitive on a commercial basis. In line with our national push towards developing our alternative-energy industry, we will explore the use of solar photovoltaic cells in demonstration projects in both the public and private sector. As noted, solar thermal water heaters are already an economically viable means of renewable energy. Currently, solar thermal water heaters cost more than conventional water heaters but have a payback period of 4 to 12 years. The government will further promote the usage of this clean form of energy, for example through awareness-raising. HOUSEHOLDS Green Corners The Green Corners programme was launched in March 2003. Retail stores participating in the programme commit to one of the following: (i) sell energy-labelled products exclusively (e.g. Hong Tar) (ii) allocate a section of their showroom to featuring energy-labelled products (e.g. Gain City), or (iii) ensure that at least 35% of their displayed appliance models are energy-labelled (e.g. Best Denki, Best Tech and All Best). This programme seeks to help consumers select energy-efficient appliances by increasing the visibility of energy-labelled products. COMPETENCY BUILDING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE Research and Development into Low-Carbon Technology Technology will play a crucial role in our ability to address climate change adequately in the long term. Research into renewable energy will decrease our reliance on carbon-intensive fossil fuels, while developing energy-efficient technology and carbon sequestration techniques will reduce the impact of our growing energy needs. Similarly, new adaptation technology will help us address our vulnerabilities to climate change. The objective of our research is not only to improve the current state of technology, but also to bring down production costs to a level that would make large-scale adoption commercially viable. In Singapore's context, our focus in the nearer term would be on energy efficiency technology as well as on solar photovoltaics and bio-fuels, both energy sources being abundant in the region. We will also continue to promote R&D in fuel-cells, both for micro-generation and transportation use. Growing our Environmental Industry The environment industry is estimated to be worth about US$600 billion globally and has been identified by EDB as a new strategic growth area for Singapore. A key contributor to this growth will be the alternative energy industry. Alternative energy technologies such as solar power and biofuels will be instrumental not just in our domestic efforts to address climate change, but also in global efforts as demand for renewable energy increases worldwide. Singapore's capabilities in engineering and environmental technology make it an attractive centre for the production of alternative energy products. Already we have attracted some investments in solar and biodiesel. These climate-friendly technological solutions if used in other countries can contribute to the global effort to address climate change.

I've been reading through the Singapore government's Climate Change Strategy recently, & I'm actually quite impressed by it. The panel seems to have explored every possible area in which the climate change issue can be addressed, & the policies mentioned seem sound & pragmatic (of course, reports like these are often beautifully written but don't reveal the entire reality, however in this case I'm being positive & giving them the benefit of the doubt ). I found much of the report interesting, having never realised that some of these measures have been implemented or for that matter, really thought much about the climate change issue locally. The technology is also fascinating. Have jotted down those parts that I found interesting : - Singapore became a Party to the Kyoto Protocol in 2006. - Being an island in the tropics, Singapore 's key vulnerabilities to climate change are likely to be: *Land loss and flooding *Water resource impacts *Higher energy demand and heat stress *Public Health Impact from Resurgence of Diseases *Impacts on island and marine biodiversity Land Loss and Flooding A sea level rise of 88cm by 2100 could result in some coastal erosion & land loss in Singapore. A higher sea level would also make it more difficult for rainwater to drain into the sea and this could aggravate inland flooding during storm surges and thunderstorms. In order to minimise the impact of this sea level rise, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) has been requiring all coastal land to be built to a level 40cm higher than the new sea level after an 88cm sea level rise. PUB also has a storm water management system in place to minimise flooding, and has been reducing the amount of flood-prone area by raising platform levels in the country and implementing a pumped drainage system where it is not possible to raise the platform level. Water Resource Impacts An 88cm water level rise in 100 years could also result in seawater flowing into some coastal reservoirs. Additional steel plates on tidal gates will be installed in the future to address this issue. Higher Energy Demand and Heat Stress Warmer temperatures would result in greater use of air-conditioning and thus higher energy demand. A range of measures exist that can lower ambient temperature, such as increased amount of greenery (e.g. city parks, rooftop gardens, vertical greening in buildings) and modifications to building layouts and designs (e.g. using building materials with better thermal properties, lighter-coloured building surfaces, designing building interiors and exterior building layouts for better ventilation and to maximise the wind tunnel effect). The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the National Parks Board (NParks) have been promoting rooftop and vertical greenery in our buildings through the planning guidelines. URA also works closely with NParks to encourage greenery along our streetscape islandwide, such as providing parks and green space, as well as planting strips along the road reserve and developments. The Housing Development Board (HDB) is in the process of introducing rooftop greenery to multi-storey carparks and residential buildings where feasible. Greenhouse Gas Emissions The main contribution to Singapore's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is carbon dioxide (CO2) from the use of energy to meet development and human needs. Unlike other countries, Singapore's methane production is negligible, as Singapore has no agricultural base. We also incinerate all our waste and the little methane emitted from the existing landfill is flared off. POWER GENERATION SECTOR The power generation sector is the single largest primary source of CO2 emissions in Singapore, accounting for about 50% of our carbon emissions in 2004. The electricity generated is then consumed by secondary users such as industries, commercial buildings, and residential homes. Our Strategy The strategy for power generation is to improve the power generation efficiency as well as to encourage the move towards cleaner, less carbon-intensive fuels (e.g. natural gas, renewable energy) while keeping in mind the need to keep electricity costs affordable. Our Efforts and Achievements Use of Cleaner Fuels In meeting our energy demand, we have always made a conscious effort to safeguard environmental interests. This was one of the reasons why conventional coal, with its environmental impacts, was never encouraged for power generation. In recent years, we have made significant progress in the power generation sector to make it even cleaner. Our electricity market was liberalised in 2001, thus introducing competition among the gencos. This created incentives for gencos to use the most efficient technology for power generation and created a market in which environmental interests are aligned with economic interests. Investments were also made in natural gas (NG) pipeline infrastructure. These measures have facilitated a significant switch from burning fuel oil to natural gas for power. Within just 5 years, the proportion of electricity generated by gas in Singapore has grown from 19% in 2000 to 74% in 2005, one of the highest levels in the world. This has led to significantly lower CO2 emissions from the power sector, as natural gas emits 40% less CO 2 than fuel oil per unit of electricity generated. Use of Energy-Efficient Generation Technology At the same time, the adoption of more efficient technologies such as combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGT) in gas-fired power plants has improved our overall generation efficiency from 37% in 2000 to 44% in 2004, reducing our CO2 emissions even further. Waste-To-Energy Singapore is also one of the few countries that incinerates all of its incinerable waste and recovers energy through the process. Since 2000, our waste-to-energy plants have contributed up to 2% of our energy supply. Thus, unlike other countries, Singapore produces negligible amounts of methane from landfills. Renewable Energy In terms of renewable energy, solar energy offers the greatest potential in Singapore . However, the cost of generating solar energy through photovoltaic (PV) cells is still higher than conventional grid electricity, and Singapore has been involved in various research efforts on renewable energy technologies to increase the yield and lower the cost. The National Environment Agency (NEA) encourages private and public sector partners to explore and test-bed new technologies (e.g. solar energy, fuel cell) through schemes such as the Innovation for Environmental Sustainability (IES) fund, which co-funds innovative environmental projects and the Environmental Test-bedding Initiative, which allows access to public infrastructure for test-bedding purposes. For instance, NEA, together with the Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Energy Market Authority (EMA), facilitated the installation of a 14.5 kW p grid-connected PV system at the German European School in Singapore.

In early 1998, we heard that a team of mountaineers from Singapore was planning to try climbing Mt Everest. They were hoping MSS could provide them with weather data, & I remember two of the team (I think Khoo Swee Chiow & Johann Annuar) coming to our office to have a look at what was available. Unlike the days of Edmund Hillary, things are so high-tech now that we were able to email the data to them every day. Since that first expedition, there have been many others, but at the time it was a novelty especially as Singapore is a tropical island & does not have an alpine environment. Public interest in mountain climbing was limited to nearby Mt Kinabalu & Mt Ophir, & although a lot of Singaporeans do go trekking in Nepal, something like a full-scale climb of a mountain like Everest was unheard of. The media gave the team quite a lot of coverage, & at that time the Singapore Omnitheatre also decided to feature the film "EVEREST - The Movie". It was interesting discovering how gruelling the climb can be. I also approved of the respect our climbers showed for the mountain - when the press kept harping about how we were going to "conquer Everest", one of the team finally said, "We do not conquer Chomalungma (as the Tibetans call the mountain). Chomalungma, if she is willing, allows us to climb her." Edwin Siew & Khoo Swee Chiow at the summit Since we were providing them with weather data, I was more than a little interested in the team's progress, & was glad when two of the climbers, Edwin Siew and Khoo Swee Chiow, made it to the summit on 27 May 1998. I think a lot of people didn't really believe they would make it. There was, however, quite a furore when it was discovered that the two who planted the Singapore flag on the summit were Malaysians (Singapore permanent residents). David Lim, the team leader, has given answers to this and other objections. (Incidentally, both Edwin Siew & Khoo Swee Chiow have since taken up Singapore citizenship). After their success, the team was grateful to those who had supported & believed in their cause, & posed with various sponsors' banners for photos. They asked MSS if we had a banner (we had sent them the data free of charge) but it hadn't occurred to us to have one made. When I later contacted Johann Annuar to ask for a few photos for our Annual Report, he was most helpful. Johann was an undergrad at NUS at the time & I met up with him at his hostel (Eusoff Hall) to look through the photos. I asked him for an account of the weather conditions there, & came up with this report : "One of the major obstacles to the expedition’s success was the harsh weather conditions the team would experience. The timing of the expedition was scheduled with this in mind, taking place from early March (the end of winter) to late May (late spring) when conditions are mildest. At over 8000 metres above sea-level – almost the cruising level of most commercial aircraft – air is extremely thin; team members risked the danger of mountain sickness, and had to spend several weeks acclimatizing as they ascended from Camp 4 to Base Camp. With only a thin layer of atmosphere as a shield against radiation from space, sunlight, and in particular ultraviolet radiation, was very intense, so much so that temperatures during the daytime at Base Camp tended to become quite hot; a thermometer in one of the tents was known to have recorded more than 40oC at one time. During the nights, temperatures inside the tents would plummet to –20o C, while outside the tents, with windchill and other factors, it reached as low as –40oC. Khoo Swee Chiow showing two extremes of temperature Base Camp was mostly sheltered from the more severe forms of weather, being surrounded on three sides by mountains at the end of a valley. The weather there followed a diurnal cycle, with mornings starting off fair and temperatures becoming quite warm in the afternoons. At around 4pm, conditions would normally deteriorate as katabatic winds would start to blow down from the higher peaks, bringing extensive snow with them. Strong winds blow snow off the summit The team suffered a setback on 1 April when a violent windstorm swept down upon the camp around 2am, sending team members scrambling for cover as tent poles snapped and tents collapsed. Nearly all the Singapore team’s tents were destroyed. Team members estimated the winds ranged between 120-150 km/hr, while the sherpas present claimed that winds of such force are usually only encountered at much higher altitudes. The incident set the expedition back for about a week as new tents and equipment had to be obtained. Aftermath of the windstorm A bad spate of weather also occurred during the second week of May, when heavy snowfall reduced visibility to 200 metres and winds of up to 180 km/hr were whipping the mountain. The weather was so severe that the team built a helicopter landing pad near Base Camp in case they needed to be evacuated at short notice. Another threat to the expedition came from farther afield in the form of Tropical Cyclone “01B” which formed in the Bay of Bengal on 18 May. Its presence caused the Singapore team some anxiety as after making landfall, the remnants of the cyclone could easily track over to the Himalayas and cause heavy snowfall over the Everest region. This might have been so had the storm tracked north-northwest; fortunately, it chose to follow a more northeasterly track, making landfall near Chitaggong, Bangladesh, before dissipating on 20 May with minimal effect on the expedition."

Temperature variations? Can't think of any way to access that at the moment, however you can get a lot of other haze info on this page. The world seems to be getting smaller ...

Well, I like you listing "Anything & everything which entails learning new skills or acquiring knowledge, if not wisdom" under your interests. MM

"Sun Sad" by Mike Muk The smoke haze is back in Singapore. It made front page news in the local newspapers & was reported in Channel News Asia as well. Quite a number of people also sent hazy photos to the Stomp website. The National Environment Agency (of which Met Services Division is a part) has also posted a haze update on its website. For the haze to be such a newsworthy item actually speaks well for our usual air quality - in some large cities, smog prevails every day & such atmospheric conditions are the norm, & would not cause even the slightest of hiccups in the local news.

Heh.

A Von Karman vortex street caused by the airflow over the island of Jan Mayen in the Greenland Sea : Such vortices can be seen in many other places; these trails off Alaska's Aleutian Islands are even more spectacular : I must confess I have a soft spot for the Jan Mayen vortices, though, because Jan Mayen was where I first heard of the phenomenon ... the book Spacious Skies had several photos of them. I find them amazing - never realised such regular & intricate cloud patterns existed. :lol: Spacious Skies began that section by saying, "Jan Mayen is one of the most interesting islands in the world ..." It is a little-known Norwegian-administered island, 600 km north of Iceland, hosting the northernmost active volcano (Beerenburg) on earth, & covered with a great glacier. It is uninhabited except for a rotating crew of 18 people, manning the LORAN and meteorological stations (Info taken from this site). Some other Von Karman vortex links : About Von Karman vortex streets Von Karman vortices in other locations SPACE.com article

Yes I hope this answers your question on the Singapore weather thread. BTW I still miss your other avatar. MM

After the Hurricane Workshop in Miami, I met D at Heathrow & we rented a car & drove straight to Wales. It might have been more logical to stay on in the U.S. & have a holiday there, but I wasn't so familiar with getting around the U.S. & driving on the right side of the road; I'd lived a year in the UK & I wanted a holiday where I could really relax. I chose Wales because I'd already been around Scotland & England. Some of the places we visited were Tenby, Aberystwyth, Landudno & Lake Vyrnwy. We drove through Pembrokeshire & Snowdonia National Park. Initially I thought of stopping at Carmartheon, which I think is where Merlin is supposed to have been born, but we didn't in the end. I liked Aberystwyth where we stayed at a B&B right next to the seafront. We had an attic room all panelled with wood which made it look cosy, & if it hadn't been raining so much, we would have had a good view of sea. As it was, the weather was pretty bad & the waves were strong & we could hear them crashing down on the shore the entire time we were there. I spent the whole night just listening to them. It made me think of my childhood, when my family used to rent a chalet by sea - I used to listen to the waves on the shore at night, & it's a sound that I think I'll never get tired of. We had look at the castle there & also the museum. D got bored in the museum & went outside to wait but I rather liked it. It looked old & a bit run-down, but there was a section on geology which was quite nice, & also some old furniture & ceramics to look at. Another interesting article on display was a set of love spoons, carved by some sailor. I actually copied down the information given : The centuries old Welsh custom of giving love spoons meant that a would-be suitor gave a spoon as an indication that he desired to court a particular girl. A girl may therefore have received several spoons from as many suitors. The oldest surviving spoon, made in 1667, is in the Welsh Folk Museum at St Fagan's Castle, Cardiff, although it is known that love spoons were made well before this date by the menfolk of Wales. Love spoons are symbolic, and have several meanings. To begin with, they suggest that a suitor can help the one he loves - to food - for which they were originally designed. Later, they became quite ornamental, with long handles and the means by which to hang them on a wall. The designs on the spoon are also symbolic. For instance, a heart means, "my heart is yours". Spoons with cages in which run spheres indicate the number of children the suitor would like to have. Double spoons denote togetherness. A key indicates the key to one's heart. I thought it rather nice because it's an old tradition & because of the symbolism. I saw quite a number of love spoons in the souvenir shops later, but they were expensive, 6 pounds just for a teaspoon-sized one, 12 pounds for a larger. In the end I bought one for my parents, since their wedding anniversary was just around the corner. At Tenby, I wanted to visit Caldey Island because there is a monastery there, but unfortunately it wasn't the season for visiting. We attended mass at the Church of the Holyrood & St Teilo. I noticed one curious thing about the stained glass - all the windows were plain except for one with what looked like a Great Tit on it. To this day I'm still wondering why - was there some story behind it, or did the stained glass supplier just do it for a joke? I regret not asking the priest there about it. Another nice place we stayed at was a B&B which had a view of Cader Idris. I'd heard about this mountain from Susan Cooper's The Grey King - it is supposed to mean "The Seat of Arthur". Our room had a good view (whatever could be seen through the rain) of the mountain, plus Lake Tal-y-Llyn, and sheep grazing in a pasture. The low clouds made the mountain look rather forbidding, which in a way was more interesting than if it had been a fair day. The landlady there told us she'd lived in Singapore four years before the British moved out. This was the second person to tell us such a thing - in Tenby, the landlord told us that he'd lived in Seletar before. We also took a detour to visit a reservoir called Nant-y-moch. This was really isolated and the road was extremely narrow. Being from Singapore, it was quite an experience to be in the middle of nowhere with not a soul for miles except for sheep. When we got to the reservoir, the wind was really strong. There was a small monument to Owain Glyndwr (a Welsh hero) there. I wanted to get out of the car to read the inscription, but the wind almost blew me away when I opened the door. We also visited Lake Vyrnwy, which was lovely because it really seemed unspoiled. There were very few buildings there - one hotel, one farm, & some small shops, including an RSPB store. The weather had cleared by this time & when we arrived in the evening, the sunset over the lake made a good picture. The B&B, not surprisingly, was already taken, so there was no place to stay except the hotel which was pretty expensive. There were some bird-viewing huts scattered along the lake, & the following morning we spent a few hours sitting inside one of them, watching the birds. I could only recognise the common ones, like the tits. A squirrel also came along to check out the food, and there were some robins. I have a fondness for robins. :lol: We also stopped at a craft shop along the way, & the first thing I saw when I entered the door was a stone carving of a little mole sitting on the floor, laughing up at me. He was just so incredibly cute. I was a bit doubtful about buying him, though, because he was heavy, but D chivalrously volunteered to carry him in his hand luggage aboard the plane. In the end I also bought another smaller mole, reclining on its side. Wales was cold & it rained half the time we were there. Later, when I'd mentioned this to a friend who works in the UKMO, he joked that I'd chosen a good time to visit - April 2000 had been a record-breaking month for rainfall in many areas, almost three times the national average.

Just in case anyone's interested, the Singapore government has posted its Climate Change Strategy at this site.

What about some photos of her dancing?

Why, you're most welcome.

Noticed this in Craig's post under the South China Heatwave thread. Yep, good names. :lol: Spring Begins Feb 4 Rain Water Feb 19 Awakening of Insects Mar 6 Spring Equinox Mar 21 Clear and Bright Apr 5 Grain Rains Apr 20 Summer Begins May 6 Grain Fills May 21 Grain in Ear Jun 6 Summer Solstice Jun 21 Slight Heat Jul 7 Great Heat Jul 23 Autumn Begins Aug 8 End of Heat Aug 23 White Dew Sep 8 Autumn Equinox Sep 23 Cold Dew Oct 8 Hoar Frost Oct 23 Winter Begins Nov 7 Little Snow Nov 22 Great Snow Dec 7 Winter Solstice Dec 22 Little Cold Jan 6 Great Cold Jan 20 More info can be found in Wikipedia.

Our newest colleague made these mooncakes. :lol: He seems to have missed his vocation - they look really professional. Well, maybe he'll set up his own bakery one day. :lol: The Chinese words are "zhong qiu yue bing, hua hao yue yuan" which translates as "Midautumn mooncakes, beautiful flowers & full moon (also signifying conjugal bliss)". Read about the Midautumn festival here. :o

When Pat & I started work, colleagues would sometimes joke that we should double up as TV weather girls for MSS. Fortunately, MSS tried this out sometime before we joined & scrapped the idea because none of the forecasters was telegenic enough. Personally I would find it quite horrid to have to appear on TV. :lol: Some years later we really did have some weather girls, the first of which was Charlene, sister of one of our local actors Adrian Pang. Presenting weather on TV isn't as straightforward as it might seem. For one thing, there is actually nothing behind you but a green screen. There was a PS21 Exhibition at Suntec City that year (its lengthy aim was : to showcase the govt's vision in attaining a 1st-class civil service for the 21st Century), & MSS had a booth with a large green stage where members of the public were allowed to try giving a TV weather presentation. Our boss reminded those of us manning the booth not to wear anything green unless we wanted a disembodied appearance on screen. It was quite a success - I remember one guy who actually went off to buy a green T-shirt & came back wearing it just for the fun of seeing how he'd look with it on TV. :lol: Charlene was there as well, & got to show our then Prime Minister, Mr Goh Chok Tong, the ropes. Unfortunately the TV weather presentation was scrapped from the evening news after a while, because it got to be very monotonous. Singapore's daily temperature range doesn't vary much from day to day (around 24 to 32 deg Celsius) & it is possible to get rain every day. There aren't any distinct weather features like frontal systems either; nor is the general public very interested in weather. Also, none of the weather girls lasted very long, partly because none of them were meteorologists (as I think weather presenters in other countries are) - they were using it as a stepping stone to bigger things. We had a whole string of them; one went on to star in some other local TV dramas. There was one who wasn't very good-looking & one of my aunts used to be rather unkind about her. "Who's that girl on TV?! Terrible, her face looks like a horse!!!" Charlene & Mr Goh Our best presenter was Charlene. It took her a while to get the hang of presenting, but once she did she was very good. My supervisor once remarked that "Charlene's now pointing all over the place on the screen". She left after a while, & the last I heard she'd taken up a career in singing with her own band.

Tropical Storm "Greg" (43W) was an unusual weather system in that tropical cyclones (TCs) seldom occur at latitudes low enough to affect Malaysia. The country is divided into West Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia) and East Malaysia (consisting of the states of Sabah & Sarawak). GMS IR image at 240400Z. 2 hours later, the JTWC upgraded the cloud cluster to Tropical Depression status "Greg" was first observed as a cloud cluster that developed on the night of 20 Dec 1996, over the South China Sea to the northeast of East Malaysia. Cloud clusters are a common feature in this area during the Northeast Monsoon, but this one proved to be unusually long-lived, with convective development enhanced by low-level convergence between westerly winds and northeasterly monsoonal flow. On 240600Z the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC) assigned it tropical depression status. Winds to the north of the system continued to be enhanced by the northeasterly monsoon, so that by 250000Z tropical storm intensity had been reached. The storm's movement was unusual : it began tracking east-southeast toward the East Malaysian coast. "Greg" affecting Sabah on Christmas night. “Greg” moved into Sabah at around 251600Z (Christmas night), depositing heavy rains that triggered floods and caused rivers to overflow their banks. Powerlines were downed, water supplies disrupted and road and communication links washed out. The storm affected a total of 17000 people from 226 villages along Sabah’s west coast. At least 163 people died, most of them migrant workers. The sad thing about these workers is that many had entered the country illegally from Indonesia & were never accounted for. Another 3000 were left homeless. Post-analysis from JTWC 1996 Pacific Typhoon Season Summary : Greg's east-southeastward motion was very unusual. TCs which form within (or move into) the South China Sea late in the year are often blocked from moving west by well-established northeasterly monsoon flow. Such TCs often remain quasi-stationary or move southwestward and dissipate. 242330Z Dec GMS imagery showing five tropical cyclones : Greg (G), Fern (FN), Ophelia (OP), Phil (P) and Fergus (FG) lying within twin monsoon troughs Greg formed in the South China Sea when an unusual large-scale wind pattern dominated the region : During the second half of Dec 1996, twin low-latitude monsoon troughs became established between approx 100 deg E and 170 deg E, one trough north and the other south of the equator, and a belt of low-level westerly winds existed in equatorial latitudes between them. A total of five tropical cyclones - two in the northern hemisphere and three in the southern hemisphere - were formed within these monsoon troughs. It is hypothesized that the strong westerly winds to the south of Greg provided the flow asymmetry responsible for its eastward motion. This factor plus the existence of the large circulation of Fern (42W) to Greg's northeast were cited as possible sources of the east-southeast movement of Greg.

The smoke haze in southern Kalimantan is looking bad. The people there must be almost suffocating. If winds in the area remain easterly/southeasterly, it's going to drift over to Singapore ... :lol: