20151109 Standard_Start of Winter(立冬)Heat is on as winter arrives

Monday, November 09, 2015

It was the first day of winter or Lidong yesterday, according to the Chinese calendar. But Hong Kong scorched at 28.7 degrees Celsius at noon, making it the fifth hottest start to winter since 1947.
The 28.7-degree figure was recorded at the Tsim Sha Tsui Observatory, and reflected the heat of urban areas. It also happened to be the sixth-hottest Lidong since 1885.
Hong Kong Observatory scientific officer Christy Leung Yan-yu said the long-term picture is more complex.
"If we look at the long-term trends, there are no significant warming trends for this particular day," she said.
The highest temperature recorded yesterday was in Sheung Shui, which peaked at an impressive 31.9 degrees.
Leung said it isn't unusual for inland areas like Sheung Shui, Tuen Mun or Yuen Long to have significantly higher daily maximum temperatures than urban areas, given their greater distance from the sea.
Temperatures today will be 25 to 29 degrees, with inland areas seeing 30 to 31 degrees.
The four times when the observatory recorded Lidong temperatures higher than yesterday were in 1947, 1980, 1996, and 2008, with the last holding the record for the hottest at 29.4 degrees.

Temperatures will drop later in the week, falling to 21 degrees on Saturday. TIMOTHY LEE

20150928 BBC_Shell stops Arctic activity after 'disappointing' tests

Image copyrightAP

Royal Dutch Shell has stopped Arctic oil and gas exploration off the coast of Alaska after "disappointing" results from a key well in the Chukchi Sea.

In a surprise announcement, the company said it would end exploration off Alaska "for the foreseeable future".

Shell said it did not find sufficient amounts of oil and gas in the Burger J well to warrant further exploration.

The company has spent about $7bn (£4.5bn) on Arctic offshore development in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas.

"Shell continues to see important exploration potential in the basin, and the area is likely to ultimately be of strategic importance to Alaska and the US," said Marvin Odum, president of Shell USA.

"However, this is a clearly disappointing exploration outcome for this part of the basin."

Environmental groups oppose Arctic offshore drilling and say industrial activity and more greenhouse gases will harm polar bears, walrus and ice seals.

Over the summer, protesters in kayaks unsuccessfully tried to block Arctic-bound Shell vessels in Seattle and Portland, Oregon.

Shell said it would take financial charges as a result of halting exploration, which it would disclose during its third quarter results. The company has existing contracts for rigs, ships and other assets.

The US Geological Survey estimates that the Arctic holds about 30% of the world's undiscovered natural gas, as well as 13% of its oil.

According to Shell, this amounts to around 400 billion barrels of oil equivalent, 10 times the total oil and gas produced in the North Sea to date.

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Image copyrightPA

Analysis: Roger Harrabin, BBC environment analyst

Environmentalists are jubilant at Shell's withdrawal from the Arctic.

Greenpeace ran a campaign protesting that firms have already found three times more fossil fuels than scientists say can be safely burned without risk of destabilising the climate.

They also warned that an accident was likely in the brutal Arctic weather. And they said if a spill happened, it would impossible to clear up oil spreading under sea ice.

Shell maintained that it had the technology to cope with a spill, and that the world still needed oil and gas.

But some other leading figures in the oil industry said they were staying out of the Arctic because of the huge exploration costs and reputational risk - especially at a time of low oil prices.

And Hillary Clinton, a Democratic hopeful for the US Presidency, has said she would block new permits for Alaskan offshore drilling because it's too risky.