This book is written by the world's leading climatologists and environmental scientists. It addresses many of the issues raised in the debate on global change, providing a new point of view on climate which is being integrated into the space and time organization of societies. The volume contains three main parts: 1. Climatic Changes and Fluctuations; 2. Climates on a Regional Scale, including problems from tropical through temperate zones to polar regions; and 3. Man-Climate Relationships on a Local Scale. Global change is caused mainly by climatic variation and change and activities of human societies. This book aims to describe these facts from the various space scales - global, regional and local - and also different time scales - post-glacial, historical and recent periods. Since climate affects all kinds of human activities such as agriculture, forestry, architecture, civil engineering, transportation, tourism, health, etc., this book may contribute to the work of researchers, planners and policy makers in a wide variety of fields.For example, as indicated by the IPCC 1995 Report, adjustment of human societies is considered to be one of the most important features in the 21st Century. For consideration of these past, present and future problems, this book will provide, in a systematic way, numerous sources of up-to-date knowledge.
