2009: A Year of More and Less

A Brief Forecast For the Year Ahead

2009 may be remembered as a year of more extremes of climate and weather: More drought and more deluge, with less food and less clean water available globally than the previous years.

Global Fire Maps. For details and credits see MODIS Rapid Response System

Our colleagues at MSRB believe that poultry, hog and cattle producers would cut production in 2009 to soften the blow of  rising feed costs. With less meat on the retail market the prices would rise higher.

2009 will see more people out of job, and with less food available globally at higher prices, food riots could break out throughout the world.

Civil conflicts could erupt in a dozen countries. In the United States seeds of large-scale civil unrests would be sown. Job riots could plague China, U.S., Europe and other countries.

Several embryos of a terminal global war have already been developed and implanted in multiple socioeconomic and geopolitical ‘uteruses.’

The 2009 Atlantic hurricane season will be somewhat more active than the average 1950-2000 season, according to Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University.

They estimate that 2009 will have 7 hurricanes (average is 5.9), 14 named storms (average is 9.6), 70 named storm days (average is 49.1), 30 hurricane days (average is 24.5), 3 intense (Category 3-4-5) hurricanes (average is 2.3) and 7 intense hurricane days (average is 5.0).

Our Colleagues at FEWW forecast more earthquakes and more volcanic unrest throughout 2009 and beyond. There could be as much as 37 percent more earthquakes in the United States in 2009, some in areas that are not prone to earthquakes. A magnitude MW 7.9 or larger quake could strike close to Anchorage.

FEWW team also believe 2008/9 may be heralding the beginning of a new period of intense global volcanic unrest.

Continued …

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