Thursday October 21, 2004
James McCarthy, a professor of biological oceanography at HarvardUniversity and former co-chair of the impacts group of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change agreed said it is impossible to say any one storm or drought is caused by climate change.
But, he added, "We know that the Earth's temperature pattern is changing ... On every continent it is now evident that there are impacts from these changes in temperature and precipitation."
Not even the most anxious scientists had predicted that some of the changes that have occurred would come so soon, he said. For example, several high-profile reports have described the unexpected rapid loss of ice in the Antarctic and Greenland.
"They are really important components of the interactive climate system," McCarthy said. "They really should serve as a wake-up call."
Kevin Trenberth, head of the Climate Analysis Section at the NationalCenter for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, said carbon dioxide levels are more than 30 percent higher than they were in the pre-industrial era.
"Global sea level has risen about an inch and a quarter (3 cm) in the past 10 years," he added. "Most of this rise in sea level is due to the expansion of the ocean as it warms," he added, saying that 25 percent to 30 percent was from melting ice.
Insurance companies are taking the trend seriously, said Matthias Weber, senior vice president and chief property underwriter of the U.S. Direct Americas division of insurer Swiss Re.
"It was the first time since 1886 that we had four hurricanes affecting a single state in the same season," Weber said. "More than 22 percent of all homes (in Florida) were affected by at least one of the hurricanes." var year = new Date() document.write('© Reuters ' + year.getFullYear() + ". All Rights Reserved." ); © Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.
