Tropical evidence of global warming.

Researchers from Ohio State University, Columbus. are warning that some of the most compelling evidence of global warming may be found in the tropics and subtropics, rather than the polar regions, where early signs are anticipated. Ice caps in alpine regions throughout the tropics and subtropics are melting at a phenomenal rate. Meanwhile, other scientists discovered in 1996 that the freezing point in the upper atmosphere has been gaining altitude. These findings may be among the best evidence to date that the planet is experiencing a recent and rapid warming.

Ellen Mosley-Thompson, professor of geography. predicts the climatic and environmental changes will have massive impacts on human populations around the globe. Consider the evidence: * The edge of the Qori Kalis glacier that flows off the Quelccaya ice cap high in the Peruvian Andes Mountains was retreating at a rate of 13 feet annually between 1963 and 1978. By 1995, that rate had grown to 99 feet a year. * The freezing level in the Earth's atmosphere -- the height where the air temperature reaches 32[degrees] F -- has been gaining altitude since 1970 at an annual rate of nearly 15 feet. * Ice cores taken from the Dunde ice...