Chairman Lim Geok Khoon
EDITOR ’ S NOTE
PUBLISHER John Thet | thet @ uw360 . asia
EDITORIAL Senior Editor Alice Grainger | alice @ uw360 . asia Associate Editor Ian Bongso-Seldrup | ian @ uw360 . asia Contributing Editor Oliver Jarvis | oliver @ uw360 . asia Editorial Consultant Gao Qiang ( China ) Field Editors Dr Rachel Einav ( Israel ) Wu Li Xin ( China ) Dharshana Jayawardena ( Indian Subcontinent ) Tim Ho ( Philippines ) Shafraz Naeem ( Maldives ) William Tan ( Singapore )
Simon Lorenz
“ The 10 warmest years in the 136-year record all have occurred since 2000 , with the exception of 1998 . The year 2016 ranks as the warmest on record .” – National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA )
As this goes to print , NASA ’ s website , which has a live update of our planet ’ s average temperature , is telling us that it is now 0.99 degrees Celsius higher than it was compared to the 1951 to 1980 average . This is a figure the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that we shouldn ’ t be hitting until about 2035 . Let that sink in .
As divers , most of us have seen the effects of our changing world , underwater – fields of dead coral , fewer fish , changes in visibility , plant and animal life . The seriousness of the pressure we are putting on the natural world cannot be underestimated .
But , thanks to scientists , conservationists , engineers and others , all over the world , we understand a lot more than we did just a few decades ago about how climate change is affecting our world , what we need to do to limit it , and how to help the planet to rebalance : We have solutions , but we have to act now .
This edition is intended as a collection of stories that will guide you through some of the very real phenomena happening right now in our spectacular seas . It will also lead you to discover some of the exciting research that brings hope of redemption . Here you ’ ll hopefully find enough information and inspiration to help you go out and make the simple changes that will contribute to avoiding a dark future for the planet – and its oceans – that we love and depend on .
Your editor , mpas
MEDIA PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE AWARDS
Publisher of the Year 2014 , 2015 John THET
Editor of the Year 2015 Alice GRAINGER
Designer of the Year 2015 Zoey LIM Special Interest Media of the Year 2014 ASIAN DIVER
ASIA DIVE ACADEMY AWARDS Silent Hero of Marine Conservation 2014 Dive Industry Publisher of the Year 2015 John THET
On the cover
A young harp seal takes shelter behind a slab of ice in the Gulf of St . Lawrence , Canada Image © Jennifer Hayes
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PPS 1112 / 08 / 2012 ( 022817 ) ISSN 0218-3064 MCI ( P ) 090 / 03 / 2016
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