To better understand the change in global hurricane intensity since 1970, we examined the joint distribution of hurricane intensity with variables identified in the literature as contributing to the intensification of hurricanes. We used a methodology based on information theory, isolating the trend from the shorter-term natural modes of variability. The results show that the trend of increasing numbers of category 4 and 5 hurricanes for the period 1970-2004 is directly linked to the trend in sea-surface temperature; other aspects of the tropical environment, although they influence shorter-term variations in hurricane intensity, do not contribute substantially to the observed global trend.

Using hourly records from 51 rain gauges, spanning between 22 and 28 yr, the authors study the diurnal cycle of precipitation over the tropical Andes of Colombia. Analyses are developed for the seasonal march of the diurnal cycle and its interannual variability during the two phases of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Also, the diurnal cycle is analyzed at intra-annual time scales, associated with the westerly and easterly phases of the Madden–Julian oscillation, as well as higher-frequency variability (<10 days), mainly associated with tropical easterly wave activity during ENSO contrasting years. Five major general patterns are identified: (i) precipitation exhibits clear-cut diurnal (24 h) and semidiurnal (12 h) cycles; (ii) the minimum of daily precipitation is found during the morning hours (0900–1100 LST) regardless of season or location; (iii) a predominant afternoon peak is found over northeastern and western Colombia; (iv) over the western flank of the central Andes, precipitation maxima occur either near midnight, or during the afternoon, or both; and (v) a maximum of precipitation prevails near midnight amongst stations located on the eastern flank of the central Cordillera. The timing of diurnal maxima is highly variable in space for a fixed time, although a few coherent regions are found in small groups of rain gauges within the Cauca and Magdalena River valleys. Overall, the identified strong seasonal variability in the timing of rainfall maxima appears to exhibit no relationship with elevation on the Andes. The effects of both phases of ENSO are highly consistent spatially, as the amplitude of hourly and daily precipitation diminishes (increases) during El Niño (La Niña), but the phase remains unaltered for the entire dataset. We also found a generalized increase (decrease) in hourly and daily rainfall rates during the westerly (easterly) phase of the Madden–Julian oscillation, and a diminished (increased) high-frequency activity in July–October and February–April during El Niño (La Niña) years, associated, among others, with lower (higher) tropical easterly wave (4–6 day) activity over the Caribbean.

Many of the largest rivers on the planet emanate from the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas (Fig. 1a), fed by glacial and snow melting and monsoon rainfall. Nearly 25% of the global population reside in the vast agrarian societies in the Yellow, Yangtze, Mekong, Irrawaddy, Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Indus river basins, each of which is subject to periods of widespread and long-lived flooding. Flooding remains the greatest cause of death and destruction in the developing world, leading to catastrophic loss of life and property. While almost every government in Asia has made substantial progress over the past two decades in saving the lives of victims of slow-onset flood disasters, such events remain relentlessly impoverishing. In India alone, an average 6 million hectares ( A new ensemble flood prediction scheme, with skill to 10 to 15 days, allowed people along the Brahmaputra to evacuate well in advance of floods in 2007/08.

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Background The plant-parasitic nematode Hoplolaimus columbus is a pathogen that uses a wide range of hosts and causes substantial yield loss in agricultural fields in North America. This study describes, for the first time, the complete mitochondrial genome of H. columbus from South Carolina, USA. Methods The mitogenome of H. columbus was assembled from Illumina 300 bp pair-end reads. It was annotated and compared to other published mitogenomes of plant-parasitic nematodes in the superfamily Tylenchoidea. The phylogenetic relationships between H. columbus and other 6 genera of plant-parasitic nematodes were examined using protein-coding genes (PCGs). Results The mitogenome of H. columbus is a circular AT-rich DNA molecule 25,228 bp in length. The annotation result comprises 12 PCGs, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, and 19 transfer RNA genes. No atp8 gene was found in the mitogenome of H. columbus but long non-coding regions were observed in agreement to that reported for other plant-parasitic nematodes. The mitogenomic phylogeny of plant-parasitic nematodes in the superfamily Tylenchoidea agreed with previous molecular phylogenies. Mitochondrial gene synteny in H. columbus was unique but similar to that reported for other closely related species. Conclusions The mitogenome of H. columbus is unique within the superfamily Tylenchoidea but exhibits similarities in both gene content and synteny to other closely related nematodes. Among others, this new resource will facilitate population genomic studies in lance nematodes from North America and beyond.