Geography

You would have read the news that dry weather is expected to last for 2 more weeks at least last Monday on the Straits Times 2nd March 2014:
http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/environment/story/dry-weather-expected-last-2-more-weeks-least-20150302

How has the weather affected us? 
How has the climate change affected Singapore?

Watch the news on how extreme weather has affected us in 2014: 




1.  What do you think is the main cause of the climate change?
2.  What is the more extreme weather caused by climate change in Singapore?
3.  What are the physical and human impacts of such extreme weather on us?

Fewer tourists visited Singapore last year compared to 2013. International visitor arrivals totalled 15.1 million last year, a 3.1 per cent dip from 2013's 15.6 million, which was a record in visitor arrivals. The drop last year was especially prominent in the China market. The number of Chinese visitors last year fell 24 per cent from 2013.  

Heavy rain brought by NE Monsoon caused flooding in Malaysia.
Watch the video clip and reflect on the following:
1. What causes the formation of the NE Monsoon?
2. Why does the NE Monsoon bring heavy rain to Malaysia?
3. What are the impacts of the heavy rain?

A map for the students to ponder -
What caused the difference in the reasons for deaths globally?
Is it connected to development?
Is it connected to food?

Source": http://www.vox.com/2015/1/2/7474995/map-years-lost-life…

Look at how the HDI varies across the countries on the interactive map. You can also drag the indicator along the time scale to see how the HDI have changed with time.
The interactive map is available on http://hdr.undp.org/en/data/map

2014 is a year full of misfortunes for the tourist industry and yet there is an increase in international tourists worldwide by 5% in the first 10 months of 2014 with more than 1.1 billion according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer,.
http://media.unwto.org/press-release/2014-12-18/international-tourism-track-end-2014-record-numbers

Transport disasters:
1. 239 people (mainly Chinese and Malaysian) on board flight MH370, which disappeared on 8 March on its way from KL to Beijing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Airlines_Flight_370http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_the_MV_Sewol
3. 298 people (mainly Dutch, Malaysian and Australian) were on board MH17, which was shot down over eastern Ukraine on 17 July on their way from Netherlands to Malaysia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Airlines_Flight_17
4. Taiwan: 48 dead (mainly Taiwanese with 2 French exchange program students) in Trans Asia Airways GE222 plane crash on Peng hu island on 23 July http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TransAsia_Airways_Flight_222
5. Air Algerie flight AH5017 crashed in Mali, Africa with 116 people (mainly French on transit) on board 24 July http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Alg%C3%A9rie_Flight_5017
6. 162 people on board Air Asia which lose contact when flying from Surabaya to Singapore. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/live-blog-missing-airasia/1553132.html

Outbreak of diseases:
Ebola outbreak in West Africa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_virus_epidemic_in_West_Africa
Philippines advisory for travellers to ebola affected country - http://www.healthpromo.doh.gov.ph/ebola/

Political unrests:
Thai crisis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013%E2%80%9314_Thai_political_crisis
social unrest in Vietnam http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2014/06/social-unrest-Vietnam
Protests in Vietnam http://www.4hoteliers.com/news/story/13203
unrest in Turkey http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29530640

Terrorism threat in Egypt - https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/egypt

example of travel advisory issued for travellers to countries facing political unrests - http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/Index

Map on travel warnings - http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/travel-warnings/

How did the above affects the tourist industry?

Lava from Pico do Fogo volcano in Cabo Verde which erupted from the 23 November 2014, destroyed two nearby towns and about 1,500 inhabitants were evacuated and continued to advance.

Pictures on the eruption http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30291041

More than 367 people died and nearly 2,000 were injured when a strong earthquake hit southwest China's mountainous Yunnan province on Sunday (August 3). Note the short term responses - setting up the relief team. Though the magnitude of the earthquake is only 6.1, it struck at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometres, many buildings collapsed resulting in more casualties. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/death-toll-from-southwest/1295220.html


What was the impacts of the earthquake?
What are the responses to the earthquake as shown in the video clip?

For my Geography students.. read the article from the link above and note the epicenter of the quake, the magnitude, the tsunamis, the aftershock, breakwater, evacuation and contaminated water... Revise on the cause, impacts and management of tectonic hazards

An eruption of Indonesia's Mount Sinabung on 4 February resulted in an ash plume of 3.6km. Based on dispersion model simulations by the Meteorological Service Singapore as well as Australia's Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre, the volcanic ash is expected to move southeast, and be confined to the northern half of Sumatra for the next 48 hours. The NEA added that three other volcanoes - Mount Karangatang, Mount Lokon and Mount Paluwah are likely to erupt but pose little threats

Scientists projected average surface temperatures across the world will increase by at least 0.3°C – 1.7°C and at most between 2.6°C and 4.8°C, by the years 2081 to 2100, sad the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change report.Applied to the Southeast Asian region, this could translate to between 0.5 to 1°C, or 3 to 4°C, according to estimates from Singapore's Centre for Climate Research (CCRS). Taking the most severe scenario of 3°C, Singapore will see daily maximum temperatures of 34°C more often, and rainfall will increase by 25 per cent every 20 years. As it is, Singapore's temperatures have increased by more than double the rate of the rest of the world — 0.26°C over the past 60 years as compared to 0.12°C. Rainfall intensity has also increased to 107mm from 80mm per hour over the past 30 years, but not necessarily due to global warming, said the CCRS in a statement released by the National Environment Agency. Another key measurement scientists are watching is sea levels, which they project will also increase, depending on the level of greenhouse gas emissions the world produces.The report also cites the melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet, which it predicts will take over a millennium at least to liquidate completely, but when it does, average global sea levels will rise by up to 7m. http://sg.news.yahoo.com/singapore-to-get-warmer--wetter-over-next-century--report-030148990.html