Trends in smoke concentrations before and after the clean air act of 1956

Claims made on behalf of the Clean Air Act of 1956 are examined in the light of longterm data on smoke concentrations from Kew. If the trends observed prior to 1956 are extrapolated to 1970/71, the result appears to be not greatly different from what has been observed and credited to the operation of the Act. Short-term records from three cities (Norwich, Brighton and Plymouth) without major smoke-control programmes also show significant declines in mean winter smoke concentrations. None of the evidence examined lends much support for the claims made for the success of the Clean Air Act

SOI phase relationships with rainfall in eastern Australia

Abstract Phases of the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) have been identified using cluster analysis. The monthly phases are associated with amounts of rainfall expressed in terms of probability distributions for various locations in eastern Australia. The phase representing rapid rise in SOI indicates above median rainfall during Southern Hemisphere autumn and spring at the locations analysed. The phase representing consistently positive SOI generally corresponds with above median rainfall amounts while the phase representing consistently negative SOI corresponds with below median rainfall amounts. As SOI phases relate to actual rainfall amounts, expressed in terms of probability distributions, the phases have, for instance, direct application to agricultural decision support programmes

Myocardial infarct death, the population at risk, and temperature habituation

Daily myocardial infarct deaths from Brisbane, 29°28′ S, and Montreal, 45°30′ N, were used to derive a "pool of susceptible individuals". Pool size had no effect on the minimum death temperature but large pools increased the value of the acceleration temperature in Brisbane and the maximum death temperature in Montreal. Moderately sized pools in Montreal appeared to produce reduced death rates in cold conditions from both cold avoidance and habituation. A generalized relationship between temperature and myocardial infarct death is postulated