Global warming may be more severe than we thought: report
Global warming is likely to be more severe than previously thought.
Predictions for the rise in temperature by the end of the century are now higher than before.
And a report suggests that the rise is due to a fall in cooling sulphur dioxide emissions.
The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts temperatures will have risen by between 1.4 and 5.8C in 2100, compared to 1990 temperatures.
Its estimate in 1995 was for a rise of between 1 and 3.5C.
Evidence is mounting that human activity is responsible for the rapid warming of the earth's atmosphere, the agency says in a new report.
The report shows that the main reason behind the rise is a fall in sulphur dioxide emissions.
Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide tend to warm the earth's atmosphere, whereas sulphur dioxide tends to cool it.
The IPCC's Sir John Houghton warns: "The six degrees depends on just how much fossil fuel we burn this next century ... if we burn less, then the increase will be less.
"But what it means for the world is that the sea level will rise, perhaps by half a metre, or up to one metre over this century - and that's a lot if you live in Bangladesh. "
"The stresses on water around the world will become greater. There will be more floods and more droughts in different places."
