Read this text about climate change and match these headings with the paragraphs of the text.

Climate change

1  Climate change, global warming, the greenhouse effect ... these days nobody denies that there is something strange and worrying happening to the atmosphere. But for the second year running scientists are puzzled by the rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. They are afraid that the world may be a short way from what they refer to as runaway global warming.

2  At Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, meteorologists have been carefully monitoring the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere for the past fifty years. Until recently here has been a gradual increase of around 1.5 parts per million (ppm). Scientists began to feel anxious in 2002 when the figure rose to 2.08 ppm. Their fears heightened the following year when they registered an increase of 2.54 ppm.

3  This is not the first time that the carbon dioxide count has gone off course. Natural events - such as when the Pacific warms up during hurricanes – have explained away other changes in CO2 levels.

4  Climate analysts feel that it is too soon to draw conclusions about the phenomenon although some are concerned that the carbon dioxide emissions are getting out of control. They are starting to think that instead of having decades to find a solution to the problem, we might have only a few years. Some believe that the Earth’s natural systems for absorbing the gas are breaking down resulting in the runaway greenhouse effect. This is something that could happen if the Earth’s temperatures rose to such a degree that the planet was unable to contain the heat.

5  One interesting aspect of this climate change is that it is not happening in a uniform way around the World. Carbon dioxide levels in the South Pole are noticeably lower. This suggests that something has happened in the northern hemisphere which set off the rise. Forest fires might hold the answer to the puzzle, along with a couple of very hot summers in Europe. Vegetation would have died off and more carbon would have been released from the soil into the atmosphere.

6  The 2003 heatwave was certainly out of the ordinary. Statistics claim that more than 30,000 people lost their lives as a direct result of the high temperatures. Scientists are being cautious in their interpretations. Most feel that it is too soon to say that a new trend has been set. All agree that the phenomenon needs to be closely observed.

Now check some vocabulary from the text.