New Report Blames Human Activity for Increased Rate of Glacial Melting

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will publish its Fourth Assessment Report this Friday and it is expected that the report will definitively point fingers at human involvement in the increasing decline of glaciers worldwide. Findings from the World Glacial Monitoring Service show that glaciers are melting at the fastest rate yet seen, and that climate change caused by human influence, namely the increased greenhouse gases that trap heat in the atmosphere, are to blame.

The IPCC's latest report, the first since 2001, will contain stronger language that its predecessor in regards to the notion that humans are indeed to blame in contributing to global warming, and more specifically the melting of glaciers around the world, which in turn will cause sea-levels to rise. Just a few meters rise in sea-levels will mean the inundation of major metropolitan areas around the world, many of which are in developing countries which will lead to widespread displacement and homelessness, not to mention the loss of billions of dollars. Furthermore, the loss of glaciers on certain parts of the world can lead to drought, as many glaciers feed river systems and other water sources for many populations around the planet.

The IPCC's report is expected to reduce any question of whether or not human activity is a primary cause of climate change. Though the report does concede that warmer periods have been experienced in the last 10,000 years, it is current conditions that are concerning scientists as once a certain threshold is crossed, it is less favorable that glaciers will make a come back. The WGMS reports that glaciers are melting 1.6 times faster now than on the 1990's, in which some of the warmest years on record have occurred. However, the current decade has now contained the warmest year on record, 2005. In the 2001 IPCC Assessment, it was feared that a 1 to 5 degree centigrade increase could be expected by the end of the century, but the latest assessment leans more heavily toward the latter number than the former.

There is some disagreement between scientists regarding the IPCC report, but only in the area of how much the seas will rise. With recent observations of decreases in the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, some scientists feel that the forthcoming IPCC Assessment does not take a more pronounced melt into account. IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri told reporters at a news briefing in Paris that the new report "embodies substantial new research, it addresses gaps that existed in our knowledge earlier, it has reduced existing uncertainties." The chairman also expressed hope that "policies and actions will be formed to address the problem."