China could overtake the US this year as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, a leading international energy group has said. The International Energy Agency had predicted China's carbon dioxide emissions would pass the US by 2010. But IEA chief economist Fatih Birol said the rate of China's economic growth this year defied expectations.
A fresh assessment suggests the famous ice fields on Africa's tallest mountain will be around for decades yet. Recent concerns that climate warming would rob Mount Kilimanjaro of all its glaciers within 20 years are overly pessimistic, say Austrian scientists. Their weather station data and modelling work indicate the tropical ice should last well beyond 2040.
Ethanol vehicles may have worse effects on human health than conventional petrol, US scientists have warned. A computer model set up to simulate air quality in 2020 found that in some areas ozone levels would increase if all cars were run on bioethanol.
Agreement has been reached among delegates at a major conference on climate change in Brussels. A final accord was struck after delays caused by disagreement over the likely impact of global warming. "What we have is a very good document," said Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Winter in the northern hemisphere this year has been the warmest since records began more than 125 years ago, a US government agency says. The combined land and ocean surface temperature from December to February was 0.72C (1.3F) above average. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said El Nino, a seasonal warming of parts of the Pacific Ocean, had also contributed to the warmth.
Industrial pollution coming from Asia is having a wider effect on global weather and climate than previously realised, research suggests. The "Asian haze" of soot is boosting storms in the Pacific, scientists find. It is also enhancing the growth of large clouds, which play a key role in regulating climate globally.
