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The latest report on climate change by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was
made public on the 2nd February in Paris, after being scrutinised in a 4 day meeting by delegates
from 113 countries around the world.
It presents stronger evidence than ever that climate change is
happening and that it will worsen this century.
Scientists from the Walker Institute at the University of Reading helped
to write the report - contributing particularly on how much greenhouse gases warm the climate,
how ice sheets contribute to sea level rise, how El Nino and monsoons might change, and on important
feedbacks within the earth system which can act to amplify warming.
Two of our scientists - Prof Jonathan
Gregory and Prof Brian Hoskins - were in Paris for the IPCC meeting to help get the wording in the report
exactly right.
The scientists involved are from the National Center for Atmospheric Science, the Department
of Meteorology and the Environmental Systems Science Centre - all components of the new Walker Institute
for Climate System Research. |
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"This latest IPCC report shifts the debate firmly from doubt to certainty about climate change, and
hence the need for action.
What businesses and governments require is more confident forecasts of local and
regional changes in climate and extremes, not just for 2050, but for 2010 or 2015.
The report adds yet more
weight to the urgent need for well-informed responses to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change.
The Walker Institute draws together expertise across the University of Reading to provide much better understanding
of regional and local changes in climate and to develop the tools for delivering sound advice on the potential impacts,
especially for crops and water resources."
Julia Slingo, the Walker Institute's Acting Director |
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