Nov 28 2008

Climate Changes

Posted by: Jonathan Marshall

A roundup of items this week related to the impact of global warming:

• The shrinkage of Himalayan glaciers is leading to reduced runoff in major South Asian rivers and may cause severe water shortages in the region by 2030, according to findings reported in the November issue of Geophysical Research Letters. In addition to global warming, one major culprit appears to be vast brown clouds, caused by the burning of fossil fuels and vegetation, that deposit dark particulates that absorb solar radiation.
• The World Meteorological Organization reports that greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere have reached record highs, with "no sign of leveling off." The WMO tracks carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane gases. It said there is today 37 percent more CO2 in the atmosphere than in the mid-18th century, mainly due to burning of fossil fuels.
• The Maldive Islands in the Indian Ocean, famed for their pristine beaches, have announced plans to consider buying land on higher ground to resettle their population if sea levels continue to rise. More than four-fifths of the islands' land area of 300 square kilometers is less than one meter above sea level.
  

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