Last month an ice shelf disintegrated, breaking off an iceberg on which the state of Rhode Island would fit comfortably. The loss coincides with a four-decade rise in water temperature. Coral reefs from the Caribbean to the South Pacific are sick, apparently from' warmer water.
Glaciers are in full retreat.
Snow cover and arctic sea ice are declining. None of these proves that global warming is under way. Each of them could be due to natural fluctuations. But the accumulation of suggestive evidence leaves fewer doubts. Scientists will say on the record only what they can prove, but like everyone else they have gut feelings.