COPENHAGEN, Denmark, December 14, 2009 (ENS) - Snow and ice across the planet are melting much faster than anticipated, and the cryosphere - the Earth's ice and snow cover - is very vulnerable to climate change, finds a new report presented today at the United Nations Climate Summit by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
Snow cover is diminishing, and glaciers from the Himalayas to the Alps are melting rapidly, with the greatest reductions in the Andes and the Rockies, the report shows.
The study was commissioned by Gore and Støre as they co-chaired the conference Melting Ice: Regional Dramas, Global Wake-Up Call on April 28 in the town of Tromsø in northern Norway. A group of the world's most knowledgable climate researchers produced the report, coordinated by the Norwegian Polar Institute.
"The Arctic ecosystem, the world's glaciers, indeed the entire cryosphere is at risk if we don't cut the pollution that causes global warming," warned Gore.
"This report, the result of over two years of work with Foreign Minister Støre and many of the world's top scientists, demonstrates that we must take action now to solve the climate crisis," Gore said .... Read more at http://www.ens-newswire.com
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2009-2010 winter saw record cold spells
Through December 2009 and January 2010, a dramatic cold spell swept across Eurasia, England and parts of North America. The most spectacular image capturing this phenomenon is a satellite photo revealing the whole of Britain covered in snow. Does this mean global warming has stopped? To determine this, one needs to step back and look at the broader picture. For starters, here is a temperature map of the entire Arctic circle and beyond .... Read more at http://www.skepticalscience.com
