Leading Article: Reaping a whirlwind

THIRTY THOUSAND people may have died in the floods in Venezuela, while earlier this week the Automobile Association had its busiest day this century. From the awful to the ridiculous, you might think; but climate scientists say there is a simple connection. We are changing the climate, by chopping down rainforests and burning fossil fuels.

And we're changing it for the worse.

The Met Office and the US's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration agree the world is getting hotter: 1999 will be the warmest year on record - and the records go back to 1659. Hotter includes "more variable" - so we have had more hurricanes in the Atlantic than ever before.

Truly, we're reaping a whirlwind. We will go into the next millennium knowing that what happens next is our fault. The real advance of the past 1,000 years is in science's ability to predict how our actions today will affect our lives decades later. Be sceptical if you like, but the scientists who were cautious are now certain: it is time to act. Have a Happy Christmas, but in the New Year the hard thinking - and acting - must begin.