Landmark climate study to be released

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will release its fourth assessment report on climate change on Feb. 2 with a round of global news conferences. According to one of the reviewers, Jerry D. Mahlman of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the report says the degree of certainty about the conclusions on most major climate changes has increased. For instance, it says global warming is happening and the probability the warming is caused by human activities is at least 90%. It predicts that if little is done to curb CO₂ emissions, the frequency of devastating storms will increase dramatically. It projects an average global temperature rise of 2 to 4.5 °C by the end of the century, with a rise of 3 °C most likely. About 3,000 scientists were involved in preparing the report.