Hannah Smith, refugee project manager for the Climate Outreach and Information Network, said the images were not realistic depictions of climate change's impact on the displacement of people.
"We have had this conspiracy of silence in taking the next step and doing something about global warming," said Jeremy Symons, manager of the National Wildlife Federation's climate change program.
Dr Andrew Watkins, manager of the bureau's climate prediction services, told the assembled media: "Computer model forecasts show a significant likelihood of a La Niña in 2010".
"It is a very, very significant project in Africa," said Mafalda Duarte, the manager of Climate Investment Funds, an organization that helped fund the initiative.
Karl Braganza, manager of climate monitoring at the bureau's National Climate Centre, told me: When you look at large area averages, what looks like a small shift of 0.9C is actually quite large.
"Business is the force that can demonstrate leadership on climate," said Matt Banks, manager of Climate and Business at WWF, recently told me.
"From this national perspective, one might say this is the largest heat event in the country's recorded history," said David Jones, manager of climate monitoring prediction at the Bureau of Meteorology.
Now, some investors are afraid that fund managers like him will take advantage of the climate of fear stirred up by the troubles of Lehman to target other weak financial firms whose declining share price would bring them rich rewards.
'"The current heatwave - in terms of its duration, its intensity and its extent - is unprecedented in our records," said the Bureau of Meteorology's manager of climate monitoring and prediction, David Jones.
