Global Sea Levels
Could Rise 30 Centimeters by 2100, Study Finds
October 03, 2005 — By Sarah Marsh, Reuters
BERLIN — World sea levels could rise
30 centimetres (12 inches) by the end of the century and freak weather
will become more common due to rapid global warming, according to a new
study by a leading German research institute.
The Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg said computer models
it had created showed the average global temperature could rise by as
much as 4.1 Celsius by 2100, melting sea-ice in the Arctic.
"Our research pointed to rapid global warming and the shifting of
climate zones," said project leader Erich Roeckner. "Our climate models
predict warmer and drier summers for Europe, with warmer and wetter
winters."
The German researchers said that polar bears may no longer be able to
wander from one ice floe to the other in the Arctic, while ships may
increasingly choose to navigate through northern passages around Siberia
and Canada.
The German study's release comes just days after U.S. scientists said
the Arctic ice shelf had melted for the fourth straight year to its
smallest area in a century, driven by rising temperatures.
Most scientists believe greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide that
is released mainly from cars and utility smokestacks, cause global
warming by trapping solar heat in the atmosphere.
Guy Brasseur, director of the Max-Planck Institute for Meteorology, said
the report aimed to provide politicians with the information they needed
to make crucial decisions.
The findings are to be included in a report by the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, a group of scientists that advises the
United Nations.
Brasseur told Reuters that Europe would suffer more summer droughts and
storms. A general decrease in rainfall throughout southern Europe would
have a dramatic impact on agriculture.
Klaus Toepfer, head of the U.N. Environment Programme, said in an
interview with German broadcasters NDR that he was extremely worried
about the study's results and stressed the need for urgent action
against climate change.
Source: Reuters |