This has been an unusual summer for many parts of the world. High temperatures and droughts have affected most of the American west. There were widespread fires that burnt significant acreage in California, Oregon and Washington states. Fires also burnt the forests on Canada's border with the United States. The smoke produced by the fires was visible in cities as far south as Washington, the American capital. There were also fires in Siberia. Heavy rains in India's western states resulted in floods. Heavy rains also affected Pakistan.

This has now become a regular feature of the weather pattern in Pakistan. This time around there were property damage and deaths in Chakwal, a city southeast of Pakistan. Heavy rains in the hills that overlook the city brought landslides that destroyed many houses and killed scores of people. There were also heavy rains in central China which caused destructive floods. The ice shield in Antarctica began to melt at a faster rate than had been expected.

The reason why these and other weather events were occurring was provided by the latest report issued by a high-powered panel of scientists that has been keeping a watch on the way global weather is changing. The body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), issued its latest report on August 9, 2021, describing how human action had altered global environment at an "unprecedented pace". But first a few words about the panel, its creation, and the work it does.

The IPCC is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations that was set up in 1988 "to provide governments at all levels with scientific information........

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