Climate Change: Let's be Alert

Over the past century, human agricultural and industrial activities have led to the build up of carbon dioxide and other greenhouses gases. These gases are trapping yet more of the earth's outgoing radiation, leading to an enhanced greenhouse effect and a warmer earth.

Because carbon dioxide and other greenhouses gases are so long-lived in the atmosphere, enhanced greenhouse warming can be expected to persist for centuries. The impacts - many of which are effectively irreversible - will affect everyone on earth. Human health, patterns and intensity of precipitation, water and food supplies, coastal development, energy supplies, the viability of natural systems: all will be affected if Earth's climate continues to change. 

Also due to the unpredictable nature and the limited knowledge we have about atmospheric processes and climate change, scientists are having difficulty coming up with precise predictions about future climate change.