2011 Thailand floods had nothing to do with climate change says NOAA, UK Met Office study. AlertNet and Germanwatch erroneously claim Thailand floods due to CO2 and ‘developed’ countries must pay, Doha should make them pay

7/10/12, “Back-to-back La Niñas cooled globe and influenced extreme weather in 2011,“ NOAAnews.NOAA.gov

“Climate change cannot be shown to have played any role in the 2011 floods on the Chao Phraya River that flooded Bangkok, Thailand. Although the flooding was unprecedented, the amount of rain that fell in the river “catchment” area 

•  was not very unusual.

Other factors, such as  

•  changes in reservoir policies and 

•  increased construction on the flood plain,

were found most relevant in setting the scale of the disaster.

The paper, Explaining Extreme Events of 2011 from a Climate Perspective, was produced by NOAA and UK Met Offices scientists as well as numerous colleagues around the world....The study can be viewed online….

Two back-to-back La Niñas, each characterized by cooler-than-average water temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific, 

• affected regional climates and 

influenced many of the world’s significant weather events throughout the year. 

These included historic droughts in East Africa, the southern United States and northern Mexico.”…

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11/27/12, “US soars up list of climate-impacted countries – report,” AlertNet, Laurie Goering, London

“Flood-hit countries in Latin America and Asia – particularly 

•  Thailand, 

Cambodia and Pakistan – were the most severely affected by climate change in 2011, according to rankings released Tuesday….

The Global Climate Risk Index 2013 report by Germanwatch,…works on environment and development issues.

The report, he said, “adds to the message of the significant impacts we’re already facing today from climate change, and we hope will give impetus for some 

•  comprehensive action on loss and damage” - 

the question of how to deal with the negative effects of climate variability and climate change that people are unable to cope with or adapt to,

• and who should pay for it.

That issue is expected to be one of the emerging focuses at the U.N.-led global climate negotiations, which began Monday in Doha, Qatar.

“The problem of climate change damages… is being granted increasing weight in the negotiations….

It found that the countries most affected by extreme weather in 2011 were, in descending order, 

• Thailand…”…

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