Breaking News, Business, Financial and Economic News, World News from EconoTimes

Become a contributor

Bookmark Econotimes

Mon, May 06, 2024 10:18 AM All times are UTC

Follow Series

©Econometrics LLC . All Rights Reserved.

Robert Wilby

Professor of Hydroclimatic Modelling, Loughborough University
My research is about the management of freshwater and built environments under climate variability and change. This spans reconstruction of drought and flood indices to assess the severity of recent extreme events through to detailed monitoring of river temperatures for ecological purposes. Time spent in the water industry, government, and consultancy has given me a very practical and pragmatic approach to this work.

Following secondments to the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado I co-developed the Statistical DownScaling Model (SDSM). This freely available climate scenario tool has underpinned many climate change risk assessments including for water supplies, fluvial floods, storm surge, air quality and urban heat island intensity in countries such as Canada, China, Morocco, Tajikistan and Yemen.

My latest research is exploring smarter approaches to climate risk assessment and decision making under deep uncertainty about the future climate. This shifts the focus onto better understanding then managing the climate vulnerability of human and natural systems. Recent projects include seasonal river flow forecasting for hydropower plants in Central Asia, modelling urban water and sanitation hazards in East Africa, and evaluation of extreme indoor temperatures in low income communities of Ghana.

'Natural' flood management would be overwhelmed by Britain's winter super-floods

Feb 25, 2020 13:13 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature

As large swathes of the UK endure the worst floods in living memory, hearts and minds are rightly focused on protecting people and property. At one point the governments Environment Agency had issued a record 594 flood...

London to be as hot as Barcelona by 2050? I research urban heat, and I'm sceptical

Jul 12, 2019 09:58 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature

Barcelona just had a week of temperatures above 30℃. Its a few degrees hotter than the long-term average, but no heatwave. In winter, Spains second largest city is typically a mild 15℃ or so. With its climate regulated by...

Economy

Nigerians throw naira notes around to show love: but it could land you in jail

The legal implication of physically damaging the naira, Nigerias currency, came into focus recently with the prosecution of at least two celebrities by the countrys Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Nigeria has a...

The US is one of the least trade-oriented countries in the world – despite laying the groundwork for today’s globalized system

Given the spate of news about international trade lately, Americans might be surprised to learn that the U.S. isnt very dependent on it. Indeed, looking at trade as a percentage of gross domestic product a metric...

Beyond the spin, beyond the handouts, here’s how to get a handle on what’s really happening on budget night

Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, TV or news websites on budget night. The quickest way to find out what...

Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility

Ivan Vladislavić is Johannesburgs literary linkman. He tells us, in the first pages of his new book, The Near North, that before cities were lit, first by gaslight and later electricity, people of means paid torchbearers...

Economist Chris Richardson on an ‘ugly’ inflation result and the coming budget

With Jim Chalmerss third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief beyond the tax cuts although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As this weeks consumer price...

Politics

Sudan’s civil war is rooted in its historical favouritism of Arab and Islamic identity

The current civil war in Sudan goes beyond a simple power struggle between two generals. It reflects a deep-rooted crisis within the countrys governing structure thats been present since it gained independence from the...

South Africa’s youth are a generation lost under democracy – study

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa recently painted a rosy picture in which the countrys youth democracys children had enormous opportunities for advancement, all thanks to successive post-apartheid governments led...

Sadiq Khan on track for third term as London mayor – but nearly half of Londoners dissatisfied with performance

Polls have consistently shown that the incumbent mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, appears to be on track to win a third term in office at the upcoming mayoral elections on May 2. One poll we commissioned as part of our...

The politics stopping the UK from opening a youth mobility scheme with Europe

Earlier this week, it seemed possible that young people in the UK might soon be able to travel freely to work and live in Europe again. The European Commission laid out proposals to open mobility to millions of 18- to...

Biden administration tells employers to stop shackling workers with ‘noncompete agreements’

Most American workers are hired at will: Employers owe their employees nothing in the relationship except earned wages, and employees are at liberty to quit at their option. As the rule is generally stated, either party...

Science

IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects

About a trillion tiny particles called neutrinos pass through you every second. Created during the Big Bang, these relic neutrinos exist throughout the entire universe, but they cant harm you. In fact, only one of them is...

The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup

A critical NASA mission in the search for life beyond Earth, Mars Sample Return, is in trouble. Its budget has ballooned from US$5 billion to over $11 billion, and the sample return date may slip from the end of this...

Dark matter: our new experiment aims to turn the ghostly substance into actual light

A ghost is haunting our universe. This has been known in astronomy and cosmology for decades. Observations suggest that about 85% of all the matter in the universe is mysterious and invisible. These two qualities are...

A Nasa rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilised life on Mars

While we go about our daily lives on Earth, a nuclear-powered robot the size of a small car is trundling around Mars looking for fossils. Unlike its predecessor Curiosity, Nasas Perseverance rover is explicitly intended to...

The rising flood of space junk is a risk to us on Earth – and governments are on the hook

A piece of space junk recently crashed through the roof and floor of a mans home in Florida. Nasa later confirmed that the object had come from unwanted hardware released from the international space station. The 700g,...

Technology

South Korea Excludes Crypto in Donation Law Update, Charities at Risk

South Koreas recent amendments to donation laws have raised concerns as cryptocurrency remains excluded from permissible donation methods. The Ministry of Public Administrations decision, reported by local media outlet...

Shiba Inu Burn Rate Skyrockets: 81M SHIB Destroyed, Prices Surge

Shiba Inu, the beloved dog-themed meme coin, experiences an astounding 4000% surge in its burn rate, resulting in the destruction of over 81 million SHIB coins. This significant development has sparked optimism among...

Samsung Trails Apple, Remains 2nd in Global Tablet Rankings, Q1 2024

In the first quarter of 2024, Samsung emerged as the second-largest tablet manufacturer globally, despite a slight sales decline compared to last year, as the International Data Corporation (IDC) reported. Samsungs...

Russia's Crypto Clampdown: Tight Regulations Aim to Curb Cryptocurrency Activities

Russia is poised to enact stringent regulations on cryptocurrency trading, aiming to curb the mass trade of digital assets like Bitcoin within its borders. This move, driven by geopolitical tensions and sanctions, signals...

Bitcoin's Ongoing Battle at $64K; Cardano's Hoskinson Ends Ripple Debate

Bitcoin traders are on edge as the cryptocurrency battles to sustain its position above $64,000, with analyst Josh Olszewicz warning of lingering concerns. Meanwhile, Cardanos Charles Hoskinson settles the Ripple and XRP...