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Throughout the late nineteenth century, the British established observatories, meteorological posts, and stations across their burgeoning empire. These institutions and their networks were part of a global endeavor to map and understand the weather by collating vast quantities of data, and, it has been argued, they were also emblematic of imperial prowess and reach. In the Straits Settlements, however, unlike almost every other British colony, observatories came and went, and meteorology lacked central coordination and funding. This essay explores the reasons behind this erratic and often elusive meteorological provision and interest. It argues that contemporary perceptions of the Straits Settlements climate as stable and lacking in seasonality or extremes led to a lack of interest in meteorology at local and international levels. This resulted in a bureaucratic disinclination to invest in the science, despite its major value to agricultural productivity, the linchpin of the economy. In so doing, this study interrogates the absence of formal provision or structure, focusing instead on the diluted mechanisms and sites that kept a meteorological narrative alive until its formal institutionalization in Singapore in 1929. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flood mortality in SE Asia: Can palaeo-historical information help save lives? Asia is one of the world's most flood-prone regions by many metrics: high flood magnitudes, frequency, severity; the number countries affected, the area of inundation; the number of people at risk; and importantly, flood-related fatalities (AIR, 2014; Luo, Maddoks, Iceland, Ward, & Winsemius, 2015; Table 1). We explore the idea that flood-related mortality from river overbank flows in the SE Asian region could be reduced by incorporating evidence from the past to foster a better understanding of the realm of plausible flood regimes, and hopefully guide improved flood hazard management practices in the future (Lebel, Manuta, & Garden, 2011). Dams and reservoirs must therefore be designed to withstand extreme flows from upstream flooding: palaeo-historical flood information of past flood discharges is useful in this process, again by augmenting short gauged flow records. [Extracted from the article]

In comparison to the Northern Hemisphere, especially Europe and North America, there is a paucity of information regarding the historic weather and climate of Southeast Asia and the Southern Hemisphere in general. The reasons for this are both historic and political, yet that does not mean that such data do not exist. Much of the early instrumental weather records for Southeast Asia stem from the colonial period, and with some countries and regions changing hands between the European powers, surviving information tends to be scattered across the globe making its recovery a long and often arduous task. This paper focuses on two countries that were once joined under British governance: Singapore and Malaysia. It will explore the early stage of a project that aims to recover instrumental weather records available for both countries from the late 1780s to the 1950s, with early research completed for the Straits Settlements between 1786 and 1917. Taking an historical approach, the main focus here is to explore the types of records available and the circumstances of their production. In so doing, it will consider the potential for inaccuracy, highlight gaps in the record and use historical context to explain how and why these problems and omissions may have occurred. It will also explore the availability of narrative and data evidence to pinpoint extreme periods of weather such as drought or flood and consider the usefulness of historical narrative in identifying and analysing extreme events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which editor discusses various articles within the issue on topics including how environmental historians of India have explored another expression of mutuality, how earthquakes have reshaped the Brahmaputra valley and description of Filipino communities.