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Errors in the measurement of global warming corrected

The effect of the sun's heat on weather balloons largely accounts for a data discrepancy that has long contributed to a dispute over the existence of global warming, according to a report by scientists at Yale University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The report, to be published in the journal Science, says that direct heat of the sun on temperature probes of the weather balloon (radiosonde) probably explains the discrepancy between reports showing that atmospheric temperatures have been unchanged since the 1970's, while temperatures at the Earth's surface are rising. See also: Key Argument for Global Warming Critics Evaporates

Europe getting hotter, WWF warns

A new report from the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) warns that temperatures in Europe's major cities are rising. The report analysed summer temperatures in 16 European cities over the last 30 years and found that in most of them, average summer temperatures were at least one degree Celsius higher over the last five years than they were 30 years ago.

In U.S., Climate Change May Hit Southeast Hardest

Climate experts say the continuing rise in global temperatures could affect some regions of the United States more than others. The low-slung, storm-whipped coastal areas from the Carolinas to Texas are most vulnerable. But no region is completely safe.

Amundsen sets sail to measure climate change

The Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker, the Amundsen, set sail from Quebec City for another season of Arctic research that will take 40 crew and some 42 scientists across almost the entire coastal Canadian Arctic. Scientists aboard the ship this year will set up a series of ocean observatories as they sail through the Northwest Passage and back again. Climate change is what's driving the interest in the Arctic.

Climate warning as Siberia melts

THE world's largest frozen peat bog is melting. An area stretching for a million square kilometres across the permafrost of western Siberia is turning into a mass of shallow lakes as the ground melts, according to Russian researchers just back from the region. The sudden melting of a bog the size of France and Germany combined could unleash billions of tonnes of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.

Computer Model Showcases Possible Consequences of Ignoring Fossil Fuel Emissions

With the aid of a new supercomputer model, Inez Fung says she can see the future, and according to her study released last week, it isn’t pretty. After decades of collaboration with researchers throughout the country, the director of the Berkeley Atmospheric Sciences Center finally saw the fruits of her labor: a glimpse of what the Earth might be like in the 21st century if current levels of fossil fuel production continue unabated—hotter, drier and teeming with carbon.

Automakers' Strategies Aggravate Global Warming

Despite growing concern over global warming, major automakers still pursue product strategies that make the problem worse, a New York environmental organization says. Through 2003, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions -- a primary cause of global warming -- from U.S. cars and light trucks have increased 25 percent above the 1990 level. Both the total CO2 emissions and the average emissions per vehicle continue to rise, according to a new report from Environmental Defense.