Weather, Science, and the Environment in Colonial Malaya

Fiona Clare Williamson

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Hardback

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English

University of Pittsburgh Press
01 May 2025

Asian history; Australasian & Pacific history; Colonialism & imperialism; History of science; Meteorology & climatology

A Fresh Perspective on the Story of Colonial-era Science and Environment in Malaysia and Singapore.

Imperial Meteorology explores the interplay of environment, weather science and colonialism in British Malaya. It looks at the colonial government's myriad, often imperfect, attempts to understand and control the uncontrollable climate and to manage the impacts of its extremes. Drawing from the history of science, especially the history of meteorology, and environmental history, Fiona Williamson uses weather as a lens into government sponsored meteorology and the strategies employed to mitigate extreme weather, be it flood, drought, or heat, through a tapestry of engineered and technological solutions. Central to this narrative is the recognition of the weather as an active agent, catalyzing scientific inquiry for colonial needs in the sphere of environmental governance. Moreover, it underscores how local circumstances influenced the application of global knowledge. This historical exploration into the realm of weather sciences and colonial responses to weather opens new conceptual vistas in the fields of environmental and scientific history.

AUTHOR: Fiona Williamson is Associate Professor of Environmental History at the College of Integrative Studies, Singapore Management University. Her research interests fall at the intersection of environmental history and the history of (weather) science, extreme weather and disaster in colonial Malaya and Hong Kong. She has also worked for many years on researching and retrieving historic climate data for long-term climate modelling. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and Co-President of the International Commission for the History of Meteorology (ICHM).

4 b/w illustrations

By: Fiona Clare Williamson
Imprint: University of Pittsburgh Press
Country of Publication: United States
Volume: 23
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9780822948421
ISBN 10: 0822948427
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 01 May 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Fiona Williamson is professor of environmental history in the College of Integrative Studies at Singapore Management University. She is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and copresident of the International Commission for the History of Meteorology.

Reviews for Weather, Science, and the Environment in Colonial Malaya

Imperial Weather is an absorbing exploration of weather sciences, environmental history, and atmospheric research. Fiona Clare Williamson has produced a finely tuned, suspenseful account of the role science, technology, and health played in British-controlled Malaya, highlighting the socionatural forces that shaped and challenged the monoliths of progress, science, and technological development in a colonial space.--Vladimir Jankovic, The University of Manchester This book offers a fresh perspective on colonialism in the tropics by uncovering the history of weather science in British Malaya. The story of Malayan meteorology is analyzed in connection with global developments. Yet Williamson remains focused on what made Malaya unique. Far from a narrative of scientific advancement facilitating colonial control, Imperial Weather highlights the uneven and inconsistent nature of scientific knowledge about climate.--Claire Lowrie, University of Wollongong