Whether the characteristics of tropical cyclones have changed or will change in a warming climate — and if so, how — has been the subject of considerable investigation, often with conflicting results. Large amplitude fluctuations in the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones greatly complicate both the detection of long-term trends and their attribution to rising levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases. Trend detection is further impeded by substantial limitations in the availability and quality of global historical records of tropical cyclones.

Five years after the Indian Ocean disaster, the technology is in place, but local preparedness is less advanced.

Efforts to control climate change require the stabilization of atmospheric CO2 concentrations. This can only be achieved through a drastic reduction of global CO2 emissions. Yet fossil fuel emissions increased by 29% between 2000 and 2008, in conjunction with increased contributions from emerging economies, from the production and international trade of goods and services, and from the use of coal as a fuel source. In contrast, emissions from land-use changes were nearly constant.

Concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrous oxide (N2O) and hydrogen (H2), and the stable carbon (? 13C

After an early onset over Kerala on 23 May 2009, further advance of the monsoon over the Indian region was delayed by about two weeks with the monsoon restricted to the west coast and southern
peninsula until 24 June. This resulted in a massive deficit in the all-India rainfall of 54% of the long term average for this period.

In this review article, the authors have examined the skill of the state-of-the-art coupled ocean-atmosphere models in simulating the twentieth century mean climate of the Indian monsoon. Assessment of the skill and systematic biases of the climate models is very important for interpreting and assessing the future climate change projections over the Indian region from these models.