Global Warming In The News

Looking at data from federal climate agencies and weather stations, the group Environment Texas said in a report Tuesday that last year's hot weather was unusual and ascribed it to global climate change.

Mean temperature in Austin from 1971 to 2000 was 83.5 degrees during June; last year, it was 84.4. Historically, the city has 109 days in which the thermometer reaches 90 degrees or more. Last year, there were 147.

In the report, called "Feeling the Heat," the group said last year's hot weather and this year's rains are signals of global climate change.

In the U.K., Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said that ongoing flooding there is also the consequence of climate change. Earlier this year, a panel of scientists assembled by the United Nations said North America could experience heavy precipitation and "an increased number, intensity, and duration of heat waves" as temperatures continue to rise.