IT MADE for disturbing reading when we asked scientists to speculate on what the world would be like if the global average temperature rose by 4 °C. They were happy to oblige, and the results formed the basis of the cover story for our 28 February issue. Now climate scientists have firmed up their speculations with modelling studies, and their conclusions are, if anything, more worrying (see “No rainforest, no monsoon: get ready for a warmer world”). A 4 °C rise would be a disaster.
It is not hard to imagine that if we fail to get a…
