Publication Type

Book Chapter

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

8-2022

Abstract

This chapter brings a climatic perspective to the study of Singaporean history by exploring the impacts of the strong El Niño inspired droughts of 1877, 1902 and 1911. The narrative focuses on unpacking the nexus of nature-inspired versus human-induced vulnerability to drought within the contexts of colonial urbanisation and looks at the short-to medium-term impacts of the events on society. It also explores how such events inspired new questions about the climate and regional teleconnections, as a wealth of evidence became available due to the increasingly connected nature of scientific institutions, scientific literature, and communications systems across the Indian Ocean World (IOW). By exploring the region climatically, this chapter connects with the others collated here to show how, despite the regional and national differences, the experience of climate-induced environmental disaster can provide a shared narrative across the IOW.

Keywords

Climate, weather, Singapore, Straits Settlements, Indian Ocean

Discipline

Asian Studies | Environmental Sciences | Physical and Environmental Geography

Research Areas

Humanities

Publication

Droughts, Floods, and Global Climatic Anomalies in the Indian Ocean World

Editor

Philip Gooding

First Page

231

Last Page

258

ISBN

9783030981976

Identifier

10.1007/978-3-030-98198-3_8

Publisher

Palgrave

City or Country

Cham

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98198-3_8

Download

Share

COinS