5921–5941One seventh of the world's population lives in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) and the fertile region sustains agricultural food crop production for much of South Asia, yet it remains one the most under-studied regions of the world in terms of atmospheric composition and chemistry. In particular, the emissions and chemistry of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that form surface ozone and secondary organic aerosol through photochemical reactions involving nitrogen oxides are not well understood.

The South Asian summer monsoon directly affects the lives of more than 1/6th of the world’s population. There is substantial variability within the monsoon season, including fluctuations between periods of heavy rainfall (wet spells) and low rainfall (dry spells). These fluctuations can cause extreme wet and dry regional conditions that adversely impact agricultural yields, water resources, infrastructure and human systems.

The Indian Ocean sea surface temperature (SST) during the boreal summer has shown a significant warming of 0.3°C in the recent decade (2001–2010) compared to a former decade (1979–1988), and it is most pronounced in the central tropical Indian Ocean. By using reanalysis and satellite‐derived data sets, we investigated how the monsoon intraseasonal oscillation (MISO) over the South Asian summer monsoon (ASM) region has been influenced by the recent warming in the Indian Ocean.

The Olive Ridley Project was initiated in response to large numbers of olive ridleys turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) found entangled in fishing nets in the Maldives. This species of sea turtle is rarely observed in the Maldives; however, since 2011 marine biologists, dive masters and boat captains have recorded 47 olive ridleys entangled in fishing nets. The recorded entanglements have occurred through chance encounters suggesting the data only reflects a small proportion of the actual number of ghost net entrapments of olive ridleys in this region.

In this paper we investigate how well residents of the Andaman coast in Phang Nga province, Thailand, are prepared for earthquakes and tsunami. It is hypothesized that formal education can promote disaster preparedness because education enhances individual cognitive and learning skills, as well as access to information. A survey was conducted of 557 households in the areas that received tsunami warnings following the Indian Ocean earthquakes on 11 April 2012. Interviews were carried out during the period of numerous aftershocks, which put residents in the region on high alert.