Tag: global warming

Experts debate global warming issues

It is extremely likely (95-100% probability) that most of the warming since 1950 has been due to human influence.

it is extremely likely (95-100% probability) that most of the warming since 1950 has been due to human influence.

IPCC Report Launched United Nations officials have called for a global response to combat climate change, following new findings by a scientific panel stating it is "extremely likely" that humans have been the dominant cause of unprecedented global warming since 1950. "The heat is on. Now we must act,"Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a videomessageto the launch of the report of the UN-backed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC report, released on September 27, 2013 in Stockholm, Sweden, calls global warming "unequivocal," and confirms that there is a 95 per cent probability that most of the warming since 1950 has been caused by human influence. The reportstresses that evidence for this has grown "thanks to more and better observations, an improved understanding of the climate system response and improved climate models." "The IPCC report demonstrates that we must greatly reduce global emissions in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change," said the Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Michel Jarraud. "It also contains important new scientific knowledge that can be used to produce actionable climate information and services for assisting society to adapt to the impacts of climate change." In itsreport, the IPCC notes that ...

Study of oceans past raises worries about their future

Global warming is opening a door for ships

There's a month left before the onset of winter halts the Arctic maritime traffic between Europe and Asia, and already the number of cargo vessels traversing the Northern Sea Route this year is higher than last year's record haul - another sign of global warming that could soon make this shipping lane a much busier route.

New survey reveals Reporting in the journal Nature, an international team of scientists led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has established that warm ocean currents are the dominant cause of recent ice loss from Antarctica.New techniques have been used to differentiate, for the first time, between the two known causes of melting ice shelves - warm ocean currents attacking the underside, and warm air melting from above. This finding brings scientists a step closer to providing reliable projections of future sea-level rise.Researchers used 4.5 million measurements made by a laser instrument mounted on NASA's ICESat satellite to map the changing thickness of almost all the floating ice shelves around Antarctica, revealing the pattern of ice-shelf melt across the continent. Of the 54 ice shelves mapped, 20 are being melted by warm ocean currents, most of which are in West Antarctica.In every case, the inland glaciers that flow down to the coast and feed into these thinning ice shelves have accelerated, draining more ice into the sea and contributing to sea level rise.Lead author Dr Hamish Pritchard from British Antarctic Survey, which is part of the UK's Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), said:"In most places in Antarctica, we can't explain the ...

Entire Nation May Move To Fiji Fearing that climate change could wipe out their entire Pacific archipelago, the leaders of Kiribati are considering an unusual backup plan: moving the populace to Fiji.Kiribati President Anote Tong told The Associated Press on Friday that his Cabinet this week endorsed a plan to buy nearly 6,000 acres on Fiji's main island, Viti Levu. He said the fertile land, being sold by a church group for about $9.6 million, could be insurance for Kiribati's entire population of 103,000, though he hopes it will never be necessary for everyone to leave."We would hope not to put everyone on one piece of land, but if it became absolutely necessary, yes, we could do it," Tong said. "It wouldn't be for me, personally, but would apply more to a younger generation. For them, moving won't be a matter of choice. It's basically going to be a matter of survival."Kiribati, which straddles the equator near the international date line, has found itself at the leading edge of the debate on climate change because many of its atolls rise just a few feet above sea level.Tong said some villages have already moved and there have been increasing instances of ...

Due to global warming and its impact on Arctic