In another indication that the earth may be warming, an analysis of ice samples drilled from deep inside a glacier shows that the last century has been the hottest period in 1,000 years high in the Himalayan mountains. The new finding supports other studies that show a rapid melting of mountain ice fields on three continents and a dramatic decline in water levels of some glacier-fed rivers. “We think this is alarming,” says Ellen Mosley Thompson of Ohio State University, the co-author of a study appearing on Friday in the US journal, Science.

Mosley Thompson is a member of a team, led by Lonnie G Thompson of Ohio State, that has analysed ice cores from some of the most remote mountains in the world. The new cores, cylindrical specimens of ice, came from deep within a glacier more than 20,000 feet high in the Himalayas.

This is the highest climate record ever retrieved, Thompson said in a statement. It clearly shows a serious warming during the late 20th century, one that was caused, at least in part, by human activity. Herman Zimmerman, Director of the National Science foundation's earth sciences division, said the new studies leave little doubt that the earth is warming and that all characteristics of our climate can change rapidly.
Bureau Report