Climate change: Why worry?

This presentation reviewed the current state of knowledge related to anthropogenically forced global climate change and projections from climate model simulations performed for the IPCC fourth assessment. While the global projections consistently describe a continued and enhanced warming trend in the 21st century, the models are less consistent in their representation of South American precipitation trends in the Amazon basin and monsoon regions. In addition, a review of recent published literature related to observed climate variability and trends in the Altiplano was presented. There is clear observational evidence of an increasing temperature trend and the effects on receding glaciers in the region. With respect to variability, recent studies suggest that reduced (enhanced) rainfall in the Altiplano is associated with enhanced (reduced) westerly winds, i.e., low level winds and moisture flow from the east are related to wet conditions during the rainy season.