International team of researchers to search for ancient ice in Antarctica

An international team of researchers will be involved in a large-scale project in Antarctica to study ancient ice to try to forecast future global climate change.

Glaciers in northern Antarctic Peninsula melting faster than ever despite increased snowfall

An international team of researchers, led by Dr Bethan Davies, from Royal Holloway, University of London, has discovered that small glaciers that end on land around the Antarctic Peninsula are highly vulnerable to slight changes in air temperature and may be at risk of disappearing within 200 years.

Temperatures are currently rising rapidly in the Antarctic Peninsula. Because warmer air holds more moisture, the amount of snowfall has also increased. Some researchers have suggested that this may offset the melting of the glaciers, however this study found that just a small rise in air temperature increased melting so much that even large amounts of extra snowfall could not prevent glacier recession.

WMO annual climate report confirms 2012 as among top 10 warmest

GENEVA, May 2 (Xinhua) 
-- The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Thursday that the year 2012 was the ninth warmest on record despite the cooling influence of a La Nina episode early in the year.
The WMO's Statement on the Status of the Global Climate said that the global land and ocean surface temperature in 2012 was estimated to be 0.45 degrees Celsius above the 1961-1990 average of 14.0 degrees.
This was the ninth warmest year since records began in 1850 and the 27th consecutive year that the global land and ocean temperatures were above the 1961-1990 average, according to the statement.
It said that during 2012, above-average temperatures were observed across most of the globe's land surface areas, most notably North America, southern Europe, western Russia, parts of northern Africa and southern South America.

New satellite data reveals sea-level rise

The city of Venice is investing billions in a new flood defence system to protect against sea level rises

(CNN) -- Sea-levels are rising unevenly around the world, with Pacific countries in particular suffering significant increases over the past two decades, according to accurate new satellite data.

On average, global sea-levels have been rising at about three millimeters (mm) a year, however, this masks large differences between regions of the world.