Application of Predictive Model for Efficient Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) Yield in the Face of Climate Variability in Enugu State, Nigeria

Climate variability as occasioned by conditions such as extreme rainfall and temperature, rainfall cessation, and irregular temperatures has considerable impact on crop yield and food security. This study develops a predictive model for cassava yield (Manihot esculenta Crantz) amidst climate variability in rainfed zone of Enugu State, Nigeria. This study utilized data of climate variables and tonnage of cassava yield spanning from 1971 to 2012;as well as information from a questionnaire and focus group discussion from farmers across two seasons in 2023 respectively. Regression analysis was employed to develop the predictive model equation for seasonal climate variability and cassava yield. The rainfall and temperature anomalies, decadal change in trend of cassava yield and opinion of farmers on changes in rainfall season were also computed in the study. The result shows the following relationship between cassava and all the climatic variables: R2 = 0.939;P = 0.00514;Cassava and key climatic variables: R2 = 0.560;P = 0.007. The result implies that seasonal rainfall, temperature, relative humidity, sunshine hours and radiation parameters are key climatic variables in cassava production. This is supported by computed rainfall and temperature anomalies which range from −478.5 to 517.8 mm as well as −1.2˚C to 2.3˚C over the years. The questionnaire and focus group identified that farmers experienced at one time or another, late onset of rain, early onset of rain or rainfall cessation over the years. The farmers are not particularly sure of rainfall and temperature characteristics at any point in time. The implication of the result of this study is that rainfall and temperature parameters determine the farming season and quantity of productivity. Hence, there is urgent need to address the situation through effective and quality weather forecasting network which will help stem food insecurity in the study area and Nigeria at large. The study made recommendations such as a comprehensive early warning system on climate variability incidence which can be communicated to local farmers by agro-meteorological extension officers, research on crops that can grow with little or no rain, planning irrigation scheme, and improving tree planting culture in the study area.

Advancing Malaria Prediction in Uganda through AI and Geospatial Analysis Models

The resurgence of locally acquired malaria cases in the USA and the persistent global challenge of malaria transmission highlight the urgent need for research to prevent this disease. Despite significant eradication efforts, malaria remains a serious threat, particularly in regions like Africa. This study explores how integrating Gregor’s Type IV theory with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) improves our understanding of disease dynamics, especially Malaria transmission patterns in Uganda. By combining data-driven algorithms, artificial intelligence, and geospatial analysis, the research aims to determine the most reliable predictors of Malaria incident rates and assess the impact of different factors on transmission. Using diverse predictive modeling techniques including Linear Regression, K-Nearest Neighbor, Neural Network, and Random Forest, the study found that;Random Forest model outperformed the others, demonstrating superior predictive accuracy with an R2 of approximately 0.88 and a Mean Squared Error (MSE) of 0.0534, Antimalarial treatment was identified as the most influential factor, with mosquito net access associated with a significant reduction in incident rates, while higher temperatures correlated with increased rates. Our study concluded that the Random Forest model was effective in predicting malaria incident rates in Uganda and highlighted the significance of climate factors and preventive measures such as mosquito nets and antimalarial drugs. We recommended that districts with malaria hotspots lacking Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) coverage prioritize its implementation to mitigate incident rates, while those with high malaria rates in 2020 require immediate attention. By advocating for the use of appropriate predictive models, our research emphasized the importance of evidence-based decision-making in malaria control strategies, aiming to reduce transmission rates and save lives.

Thornthwaite moisture index and depth of suction change under current and future climate‒An Australian study

Climate change is one of the major global challenges and it can have a significant influence on the behaviour and resilience of geotechnical structures.The changes in moisture content in soil lead to effective stress changes and can be accompanied by significant volume changes in reactive/expansive soils.The volume change leads to ground movement and can exert additional stresses on structures founded on or within a shallow depth of such soils.Climate change is likely to amplify the ground movement potential and the associated problems are likely to worsen.The effect of atmospheric boundary interaction on soil behaviour has often been correlated to Thornthwaite moisture index(TMI).In this study,the long-term weather data and anticipated future projections for various emission scenarios were used to generate a series of TMI maps for Australia.The changes in TMI were then correlated to the depth of suction change(H s),an important input in ground movement calculation.Under all climate scenarios considered,reductions in TMI and increases in H s values were observed.A hypothetical design scenario of a footing on expansive soil under current and future climate is discussed.It is observed that a design that might be considered adequate under the current climate scenario,may fail under future scenarios and accommodations should be made in the design for such events.

Decadal prediction skill for Eurasian surface air temperature in CMIP6 models

评估CMIP6年代际预测试验对季节平均SAT的预测技巧的结果表明:模式不能有效预测冬季和秋季SAT的年代际变率.IPSL-CM6A-LR和多模式集合平均对于春季SAT展现了预测技巧,其中对于变率的预测技巧好于振幅的结果.基于蒙古和我国华北地区的显著预测技巧,模式对于夏季SAT表现出最佳的预测水平.与外部强迫相比,模式对于SAT的预测技巧可能来自初始化.模式中的一个明显系统性误差值得注意,即模式中冬季SAT的变率可以持续到其他季节,而在观测中其他季节的SAT变化与冬季SAT相对独立.

Multi-Year Simulations and Experimental Seasonal Predictions for Rainy Seasons in China by Using a Nested Regional Climate Model (RegCM_NCC) Part Ⅱ:The Experimental Seasonal Prediction

A nested regional climate model has been experimentally used in the seasonal prediction at the China National Climate Center （NCC） since 2001. The NCC/IAP （Institute of Atmospheric Physics） T63 coupled GCM （CGCM） provides the boundary and initial conditions for driving the regional climate model （RegCM_NCC）. The latter has a 60-km horizontal resolution and improved physical parameterization schemes including the mass flux cumulus parameterization scheme, the turbulent kinetic energy closure scheme （TKE） and an improved land process model （LPM）. The large-scale terrain features such as the Tibetan Plateau are included in the larger domain to produce the topographic forcing on the rain-producing systems. A sensitivity study of the East Asian climate with regard to the above physical processes has been presented in the first part of the present paper. This is the second part, as a continuation of Part Ⅰ. In order to verify the performance of the nested regional climate model, a ten-year simulation driven by NCEP reanalysis datasets has been made to explore the performance of the East Asian climate simulation and to identify the model＇s systematic errors. At the same time, comparative simulation experiments for 5 years between the RegCM2 and RegCM_NCC have been done to further understand their differences in simulation performance. Also, a ten-year hindcast （1991-2000） for summer （June-August）, the rainy season in China, has been undertaken. The preliminary results have shown that the RegCM_NCC is capable of predicting the major seasonal rain belts. The best predicted regions with high anomaly correlation coefficient （ACC） are located in the eastern part of West China, in Northeast China and in North China, where the CGCM has maximum prediction skill as well. This fact may reflect the importance of the largescale forcing. One significant improvement of the prediction derived from RegCM_NCC is the increase of ACC in the Yangtze River valley where the CGCM has a very low, even a negative, ACC. The reason behind this improvement is likely to be related to the more realistic representation of the large-scale terrain features of the Tibetan Plateau. Presumably, many rain-producing systems may be generated over or near the Tibetan Plateau and may then move eastward along the Yangtze River basin steered by upper-level westerly airflow, thus leading to enhancement of rainfalls in the mid and lower basins of the Yangtze River. The real-time experimental predictions for summer in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 by using this nested RegCM-NCC were made. The results are basically reasonable compared with the observations.

The Prediction of Non-stationary Climate Series Based on Empirical Mode Decomposition

This paper proposes a new approach which we refer to as ＂segregated prediction＂ to predict climate time series which are nonstationary. This approach is based on the empirical mode decomposition method （EMD）, which can decompose a time signal into a finite and usually small number of basic oscillatory components. To test the capabilities of this approach, some prediction experiments are carried out for several climate time series. The experimental results show that this approach can decompose the nonstationarity of the climate time series and segregate nonlinear interactions between the different mode components, which thereby is able to improve prediction accuracy of these original climate time series.

Probabilistic Multimodel Ensemble Prediction of Decadal Variability of East Asian Surface Air Temperature Based on IPCC-AR5 Near-term Climate Simulations

Based on near-term climate simulations for IPCC-AR5 （The Fifth Assessment Report）, probabilistic multimodel ensemble prediction （PMME） of decadal variability of surface air temperature in East Asia （20°-50°N, 100°- 145°E） was conducted using the multivariate Gaussian ensemble kernel dressing （GED） methodology. The ensemble system exhibited high performance in hindcasting the deeadal （1981-2010） mean and trend of temperature anomalies with respect to 1961-90, with a RPS of 0.94 and 0.88 respectively. The interpretation of PMME for future decades （2006-35） over East Asia was made on the basis of the bivariate probability density of the mean and trend. The results showed that, under the RCP4.5 （Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 W m-2） scenario, the annual mean temperature increases on average by about 1.1-1.2 K and the temperature trend reaches 0.6-0.7 K （30 yr）-1. The pattern for both quantities was found to be that the temperature increase will be less intense in the south. While the temperature increase in terms of the 30-yr mean was found to be virtually certain, the results for the 30-yr trend showed an almost 25% chance of a negative value. This indicated that, using a multimodel ensemble system, even if a longer-term warming exists for 2006-35 over East Asia, the trend for temperature may produce a negative value. Temperature was found to be more affected by seasonal variability, with the increase in temperature over East Asia more intense in autumn （mainly）, faster in summer to the west of 115°E, and faster still in autumn to the east of 115°E.

CLIMATE PREDICTION EXPERIMENT FOR TROPICAL CYCLONE GENESIS FREQUENCY USING THE LARGE-SCALE CIRCULATION FORECAST BY A COUPLED GLOBAL CIRCULATION MODEL

Based on an analysis of the relationship between the tropical cyclone genesis frequency and large-scale circulation anomaly in NCEP reanalysis, large-scale atmosphere circulation information forecast by the JAMSTEC SINTEX-F coupled model is used to build a statistical model to predict the cyclogenesis frequency over the South China Sea and the western North Pacific. The SINTEX-F coupled model has relatively good prediction skill for some circulation features associated with the cyclogenesis frequency including sea level pressure, wind vertical shear, Intertropical Convergence Zone and cross-equatorial air flows. Predictors derived from these large-scale circulations have good relationships with the cyclogenesis frequency over the South China Sea and the western North Pacific. A multivariate linear regression(MLR) model is further designed using these predictors. This model shows good prediction skill with the anomaly correlation coefficient reaching, based on the cross validation, 0.71 between the observed and predicted cyclogenesis frequency. However, it also shows relatively large prediction errors in extreme tropical cyclone years(1994 and 1998, for example).

A Short-Term Climate Prediction Model Based on a Modular Fuzzy Neural Network

In terms of the modular fuzzy neural network (MFNN) combining fuzzy c-mean (FCM) cluster and single-layer neural network, a short-term climate prediction model is developed. It is found from modeling results that the MFNN model for short-term climate prediction has advantages of simple structure, no hidden layer and stable network parameters because of the assembling of sound functions of the self-adaptive learning, association and fuzzy information processing of fuzzy mathematics and neural network methods. The case computational results of Guangxi flood season (JJA) rainfall show that the mean absolute error (MAE) and mean relative error (MRE) of the prediction during 1998-2002 are 68.8 mm and 9.78%, and in comparison with the regression method, under the conditions of the same predictors and period they are 97.8 mm and 12.28% respectively. Furthermore, it is also found from the stability analysis of the modular model that the change of the prediction results of independent samples with training times in the stably convergent interval of the model is less than 1.3 mm. The obvious oscillation phenomenon of prediction results with training times, such as in the common back-propagation neural network (BPNN) model, does not occur, indicating a better practical application potential of the MFNN model.

A Review of Seasonal Climate Prediction Research in China

The ultimate goal of climate research is to produce climate predictions on various time scales. In China, efforts to predict the climate started in the 1930 s. Experimental operational climate forecasts have been performed since the late 1950 s,based on historical analog circulation patterns. However, due to the inherent complexity of climate variability, the forecasts produced at that time were fairly inaccurate. Only from the late 1980 s has seasonal climate prediction experienced substantial progress, when the Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere project of the World Climate Research program（WCRP） was launched. This paper, following a brief description of the history of seasonal climate prediction research, provides an overview of these studies in China. Processes and factors associated with the climate variability and predictability are discussed based on the literature published by Chinese scientists. These studies in China mirror aspects of the climate research effort made in other parts of the world over the past several decades, and are particularly associated with monsoon research in East Asia. As the climate warms, climate extremes, their frequency, and intensity are projected to change, with a large possibility that they will increase. Thus, seasonal climate prediction is even more important for China in order to effectively mitigate disasters produced by climate extremes, such as frequent floods, droughts, and the heavy frozen rain events of South China.

A new nudging scheme for the current operational climate prediction system of the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center of China

A new nudging scheme is proposed for the operational prediction system of the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center(NMEFC)of China,mainly aimed at improving El Niño–Southern Oscillation(ENSO)and Indian Ocean Dipole(IOD)predictions.Compared with the origin nudging scheme of NMEFC,the new scheme adds a nudge assimilation for wind components,and increases the nudging weight at the subsurface.Increasing the nudging weight at the subsurface directly improved the simulation performance of the ocean component,while assimilating low-level wind components not only affected the atmospheric component but also benefited the oceanic simulation.Hindcast experiments showed that the new scheme remarkably improved both ENSO and IOD prediction skills.The skillful prediction lead time of ENSO was up to 11 months,1 month longer than a hindcast using the original nudging scheme.Skillful prediction of IOD could be made 4–5 months ahead by the new scheme,with a 0.2 higher correlation at a 3-month lead time.These prediction skills approach the level of some of the best state-of-the-art coupled general circulation models.Improved ENSO and IOD predictions occurred across all seasons,but mainly for target months in the boreal spring for the ENSO and the boreal spring and summer for the IOD.

Progress and Challenge of the Short-Term Climate Prediction

The experience of developing a short-term climate prediction system at the Institute of Atmospheric Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is summarized,and some problems to be solved in future are discussed in this paper.It is suggested that a good system for short-term climate prediction should at least consist of (1) well-tested model(s),(2) sufficient data and good methods for the initialization and assimilation,(3) a good system for quantitative corrections,(4) a good ensemble prediction method,and (5) appropriate prediction products,such as mathematical expectation,standard deviation,probability,among others.

EXPERIMENTS WITH SHORT-TERM CLIMATE PREDICTION MODELS ON SSTA OVER THE NINO OCEANIC REGION

Predictions of averaged SST monthly anomalous series for Nino 1-4 regions in the context of auto-adaptive filter are made using a model combining the singular spectrum analysis (SSA) and auto-regression (AR). The results have shown that the scheme is efticient in forward forecaning of the strong ENSO event in 1997- 1998, it is of high reliability in retrospective forecasting of three corresponding historical strong ENSO events. It is seen that the scheme has stable skill and large accuracy for experiments of both independent samples and real cases.With modifications, the SSA-AR scheme is expected to become an efficient model in routine predictions of ENSO.

PREDICTION AND UNCERTAINTY OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN CHINA DURING 21ST CENTURY UNDER RCPS

Based on integrated simulations of 26 global climate models provided by the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project(CMIP), this study predicts changes in temperature and precipitation across China in the 21 st century under different representative concentration pathways(RCPs), and analyzes uncertainties of the predictions using Taylor diagrams. Results show that increases of average annual temperature in China using three RCPs(RCP2.6, RCP4.5,RCP8.5) are 1.87 ℃, 2.88 ℃ and 5.51 ℃, respectively. Increases in average annual precipitation are 0.124, 0.214, and 0.323 mm/day, respectively. The increased temperature and precipitation in the 21 st century are mainly contributed by the Tibetan Plateau and Northeast China. Uncertainty analysis shows that most CMIP5 models could predict temperature well, but had a relatively large deviation in predicting precipitation in China in the 21 st century. Deviation analysis shows that more than 80% of the area of China had stronger signals than noise for temperature prediction;however, the area proportion that had meaningful signals for precipitation prediction was less than 20%. Thus, the multi-model ensemble was more reliable in predicting temperature than precipitation because of large uncertainties of precipitation.

Recent Trends and Future Predictions until 2060 of Urban Warming in Four Israeli Cities Employing the RegCM Climate Model

During periods of global warming (GW), expected increases in urban temperatures can have adverse impacts on city climate and thermal discomfort due to combined urban and global warming effects. The different climates in four cities in Israel are studied for the purpose of differentiating global vs. urban warming. Trends in urban and nearby rural areas were compared in order to estimate the urbanization effect on the local climate zones. Daily 06:00 and 15:00 Local Time (LT) temperatures for July 1980-2014 were investigated. The linear relationship between the urban warming and population growth observed in present climate data is assumed to continue into the near future. The Regional Climate Model (RegCM) temperature trends into the 21st century are assumed to represent primarily the GW because of the relatively coarse grid interval of 25 km. Hence, this study first differentiates between global and local warming past trends, and then uses this past result to make future projections that consider both factors. A unique feature of this study is the large climatic variety over Israel—a small country that encompasses no less than 5 different K?ppen climatic zones. The urban minus rural temperature (1980-2014) changes, ΔTu-r, show more intense warming in the afternoon in all 4 cities. For instance, in Jerusalem and Eilat, the ΔTu-r has increased by ~1.2°C. Following the RegCM predictions, by 2060 with “No population growth”, this temperature increase is expected to continue, by 1.114°C and 1.119°C, respectively. If, however, these cities grow rapidly, air temperature will increase by 2.937°C - 4.129°C and 2.778°C - 3.939°C, respectively.

Preface to the Special Issue:Towards Improving Understanding and Prediction of Arctic Change and its Linkage with Eurasian Mid-latitude Weather and Climate

The dramatic changes in the Arctic climate system during recent decades are one of the most prominent features of global climate change.Two most striking and fundamental characteristics are the amplified near-surface warming at a rate twice the global average since the mid 20th century(e.g.,Blunden and Arndt,2012;Huang et al.,2017),and the rapid

ENSO hindcast skill of the IAP-DecPreS near-term climate prediction system:comparison of full-field and anomaly initialization

本文使用中国科学院大气物理研究所近期气候预测系统IAP-DecPreS,评估了全场初始化和异常场初始化对ENSO的预测技巧。结果表明:采用异常场初始化方法对典型ENSO和El NioModoki的预报技巧均优于采用全场初始化方法的预报技巧。采用异常场初始化方法的回报结果能超前10个月回报强ENSO事件,超前4-7个月回报相对较弱的ENSO事件。采用异常场初始化方法对El Nio Modoki和典型ENSO的预报技巧相当。此外,采用异常场初始化方法的回报结果能超前1-4个月模拟出典型ENSO和El NioModoki的冬季海表面温度、降水以及大气环流异常的主要空间分布特征。

Seasonal Prediction of Monthly Precipitation in China Using Large-Scale Climate Indices

In this study, seasonal predictions were applied to precipitation in China on a monthly basis based on a multivariate linear regression with an adaptive choice of predictors drawn from regularly updated climate indices with a two to twelve month lead time. A leave-one-out cross validation was applied to obtain hindcast skill at a 1% significance level. The skill of forecast models at a monthly scale and their significance levels were evaluated using Anomaly Correlation Coefficients （ACC） and Coefficients Of Determination （COD）. The monthly ACC skill ranged between 0.43 and 0.50 in Central China, 0.41-0.57 in East China, and 0.41 0.60 in South China. The dynamic link between large-scale climate indices with lead time and the precipitation in China is also discussed based on Singular Value Decomposition Analysis （SVDA） and Correlation Analysis （CA）.

The global climate change and forest prediction in China

The climate change prediction in China based on OCU model as well as summary ana-lyses of GFDL, GISS, NCAR, OCU and UKMO models are used for discussing the approaches topredict the response of the forest in China under double concentration of atmospheric carbondioxide after about 2020. The growth, production and distribution boundary of Chinese fir(Cunninghamia lanceolata), the tree composition and their growth in cold temperete Daxingan Moun-tain region, and potential forest zones in China are discussed in this paper as example.

A TIME FILTERING SCHEME FOR THE SHORT RANGE CLIMATE PREDICTION MODEL PRODUCTS AND ITS REAL CASE ANALYSIS

A filtering / extracting scheme for various timescale processes in short range climate model out-put is established by using the scale scattering method. And the climatological meanings as well as the impor-tance of the filtered series are discussed. In the latter part of work, the effectiveness of the filtering method and the performance of the prediction model are analyzed through a real case.