ScienceDaily (Oct. 1, 2009) — A leading climate scientist has presented new research findings on the increasing potential for a 4 degrees Celsius rise in global temperatures if the current high emissions of greenhouse gases continue.
The conference at Oxford University is the first to consider the global consequences of climate change beyond 2 degrees Celsius, and is jointly sponsored by University’s Environmental Change Institute, the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and the Met Office Hadley Centre.
Speaking at the international conference called ‘4 degrees and beyond’ at Oxford University, Dr Richard Betts, Head of Climate Impacts at the Met Office Hadley Centre, described the possibility of a 4 degree warming happening ‘before the end of the century’. He added that a scenario of very intensive fossil fuel burning could bring this forward by 20 years.
In this presentation Dr Betts warned that 4 degrees of warming could have extreme regional implications along with major changes in rainfall. He said: "If greenhouse emissions are not cut soon, then we could see major climate changes within our own lifetimes."
To read the full article here is the link
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090930174655.htm
WHAT THIS MEANS TO US:
1. Warmer Seas, Wetter Air Make Harder Rains Storms will dump heavier rain and snow around the world as Earth's climate warms over the coming century.
2. Arctic to be ice-free in summer in 20 years. The warming of the Arctic Ocean surface waters, resulting from more sea ice loss, will accelerate melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet, speeding up global sea level rise.
3. "Hundreds of millions of people will be vulnerable to flooding by the end of the century due to rising sea levels, especially in densely populated and low-lying settlements. The greatest populations at risk are in Asia and the Pacific."
4. Global warming equals stronger hurricanes. Meteorologists find that increased ocean temperatures cause increasingly intense hurricanes.
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