Abstract
THE MAURITIUS OBSERVATORY.—The report of the Director of the Royal Alfred Observatory, Mauritius, for 1886, shows that the activity of the institution continues to be exhibited in two directions, viz. meteorological and magnetic observations, and the photographic record of the state of the solar surface. The meteorological observations have been extended during the year by the addition to the daily routine, of observations of the duration of bright sunshine, commenced October 1, of maximum and minimum dry and wet bulb thermometers in screens, begun November 1, and of an earth thermometer at 10 feet below the surface of the ground, begun the same day, the necessary instruments having been received from England. The year 1886 was a particularly dry one, the rainfall being below the average in every month, and the annual fall the smallest on record. No hurricane visited the colony; indeed, the last took place so long ago as March 21, 1879; but several cyclones occurred in the Indian Ocean, some of which passed near the island, and storm warnings were issued. Dr. Meldrum gives considerable importance in his report to the connection between the meteorology of the island and its health. It appears that wet years give specially high fever and death rates, the greatest mortality usually following the maximum rainfall by about two months. At the same time there has been a persistent increase in the death rate of late years, which appears to be independent of meteorlogical causes.
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Our Astronomical Column . Nature 37, 284–285 (1888). https://doi.org/10.1038/037284a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/037284a0