Sargent warning on global warming

Will we soon see Gerald Fleming, Evelyn Cusack and other restored weather forecasters report on the weather patterns in Venezuela and eastern Europe?

Green Party TD Mr Trevor Sargent has called for more comprehensive weather reports to take account of global warming. "How high do the flood tides have to rise before the Government takes global warming seriously?" he asked, calling for immediate action in response to "the unprecedented rise of environmental disasters worldwide".

The Dublin North TD said the violent storms across Europe at Christmas and flooding in the Shannon basin were linked to global warming. The Government should set up facilities for the "immediate inclusion of global warming information with weather reports".

Speaking as farmers gathered in Athlone yesterday to protest at flooding, Mr Sargent said that in spite of evidence which linked global warming with these weather phenomena, the solution offered in this State was "overdue drainage engineering".

"The latest report from the International Panel on Climate Change, set for publication in 2001, states that the current warming-up rate of 2 per cent per century is unprecedented in the last millennium. A mere 3 per cent rise in Greenland will trigger the irreversible melting of its ice sheet, causing sea levels to rise seven metres."