- April 9, 2003: The Great Lakes region, which contains the
world’s largest source of freshwater, could face baking heat,
droughts, floods, and other catastrophes as global warming raises
its temperature over the next century, according to a 2-year scien-
tific analysis coordinated by the Union of Concerned Scientists
(Environmental News Network). - May 28, 2003: Papua New Guinea is trying to convince two small
communities of Polynesians, about two thousand people, that
they should leave their homes on sinking tropical atolls northeast
of Bougainville Island. Crops are reportedly being affected by sea-
water inundation. The Takuu people, one of the groups affected,
have a 3,000-year history and more than one thousand unique
songs. Eric Ani of Papua New Guinea’s Disaster and Emergency
Management Office says, “It probably is because of the effects of
the greenhouse. There is talk of islands sinking everywhere in
the world” (Agence France-Presse). - July 3, 2003: The World Meteorological Organization (WMO),
which usually produces technical reports and statistics, changed
course to announce that the world’s weather is going haywire.
The WMO, which works with the weather services of 185 coun-
tries, documented record high and low temperatures, record rain-
fall and storms—and linked it to global warming. There were
record temperatures in England and southern France, an
unprecedented number of tornadoes in the United States, and
severe monsoon heat waves in India. According to the WMO,
2003 could be the hottest year ever recorded (The Independent). - September 9, 2003: The record heat wave that baked Europe in
the summer of 2003 triggered forest fires, affected agricultural
production, and proved deadly to thousands in France. “[Europe
hasn’t] seen such an extended period of dry weather and sunny
days since records began [in about 1870],” said Michael
Knobelsdorf, a German weather service meteorologist. In France,
the heat wave claimed as many as 15,000 lives, many of elderly
people. (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Planet Ark). - September 23, 2003: The Canadian Ward Hunt Ice Shelf (which
is up to 100 feet thick and had been in place for at least 3,
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