Researchers say Antarctic ice melting fast; fear greater temperature rises
Mon 03 April 2006
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Antarctica - which contains 90% of the world's ice - is losing mass at a rapid rate according to scientists from Colorado University.
A research team used satellite data and estimate that the ice sheet is losing up to 36 cubic miles of ice every year.
Meanwhile, the first report on the outlook for climate change beyond 2100 has been produced by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. Issued by the Environment Agency, the report shows that the decisions of the current generation will leave a legacy of increasing climate change over the next millennium unless there is a major reduction in emissions. The alarming projections are that temperatures could increase by up to 15C and sea levels rise by up to 11.4 metres by the year 3000. Under this scenario, widespread areas of the UK would be flooded.
The Guardian also published information contained in a leak of a draft report from the influential Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) due to be presented to national governments in April. The draft states that global warming could raise the Earth’s temperature far beyond previous predictions.
Three earlier reports from the Panel, published since1990, forecast that a doubling of carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere would result in an average global temperature increase of between 1.5 and 4.5C. According to unnamed sources quoted in The Guardian, the draft of the IPCC report acknowledges that temperature increases are likely to be at the upper end of this range, or even above it.
Related Links
The Guardian - Antarctic ice news story
Tyndall Centre Report link
The Guardian - ipcc story link
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