Climatic Change and Variability: A Southern Perspective

This book was first published in 1978. It responds to a rapid growth of scientific and popular interest in questions of climatic change, variability and stability. The many distinguished contributors have combined to present a broad and authoritative interdisciplinary approach to the study of climatic change and its impact on mankind. There is a particular reference to data from the southern hemisphere. The topics discussed include a description of the physical basis of climate; the long- and short-term climatic record; models and mechanisms of climatic change; climate forecasting; and the economic, social and political implications of climatic change. While the book was intended as a university text suitable for introductory courses in the earth sciences, it is written with a minimum of mathematics and jargon. It is therefore intelligible to the interested lay person, and of relevance to those having responsibilities in areas such as economics, agriculture and environmental planning.

This 1978 book responds to a rapid growth of scientific and popular interest in questions of climatic change, variability and stability. The many distinguished contributors to this volume present a broad and authoritative interdisciplinary approach to the study of climatic change and its impact on mankind.