Anthropogenic intensification of short-duration rainfall extremes

Short- duration (1-3 h) rainfall extremes can cause serious damage to societies through rapidly developing (flash) flooding and are determined by complex, multifaceted processes that are altering as Earth's climate warms. In this Review, we examine evidence from observational, theoretical and modelling studies for the intensification of these rainfall extremes, the drivers and the impact on flash flooding. Both short- duration and long- duration (\textgreater1 day) rainfall extremes are intensifying with warming at a rate consistent with the increase in atmospheric moisture (~7% K-1), while in some regions, increases in short- duration extreme rainfall intensities are stronger than expected from moisture increases alone. These stronger local increases are related to feedbacks in convective clouds, but their exact role is uncertain because of the very small scales involved. Future extreme rainfall intensification is also modulated by changes to temperature stratification and large- scale atmospheric circulation. The latter remains a major source of uncertainty. Intensification of short- duration extremes has likely increased the incidence of flash flooding at local scales and this can further compound with an increase in storm spatial footprint to considerably increase total event rainfall. These findings call for urgent climate change adaptation measures to manage increasing flood risks

Exploring the capability approach to conceptualize gender inequality and poverty in Fiji

This article highlights the gaps in Fiji's poverty literature, notably the persistent insensitivity to gender within mainstream approaches to poverty measurement. To address the androcentric biases in household analyses, the author suggests the capability approach as more suited to conceptualize and assess gender inequality and women's poverty within the household. This article uses the capability framework to indicate a space within which intrahousehold comparisons are made using empirical evidence from Fiji. The article explores the ways in which one could operationalize the methodologies for gender-sensitive measures of poverty, which are capable of reflecting the experiences of women and men

The Sterling Area 1945-1972

The Sterling Area was an international monetary system that operated for almost thirty years after the end of the Second World War. Born from wartime exchange controls, it was initially a short term response to global imbalances in the wake of the war, and the failure of the new Bretton Woods institutions to support multilateral trade and payments. From 1945 to 1972 members of the Sterling Area agreed to maintain fixed exchange rates with sterling, to hold the bulk of their foreign exchange reserves in sterling and to impose exchange control in common with Britain to protect against possible flight from sterling to other currencies. In return, members enjoyed freer trade with Britain and freer access to British capital than other countries. In the early years, it was defined by Britain’s war debts, but through the 1950s these were retired and replaced by fresh accumulations of sterling by other members. But by the 1960s, a weaker pound and waning enthusiasm for monetary cooperation among its members undermined the system and it became part of the crumbling of the wider Bretton Woods system. A concerted multilateral effort supported the gradual retreat from sterling until it was finally abandoned without fanfare in 1972