Environmental effects: It's our doing

TOPSHOTSThis picture taken on August 21, 2013 shows residents (L) making their way down a flooded street in a rubber dingny in the Chaonan district after heavy flooding hit Shantou, in southern China's Guangdong province. China braced itself for the arrival of Typhoon Trami on August 21 with emergency officials making disaster relief preparations, as the country recovered from severe weather which left more than 150 people dead. CHINA OUT AFP PHOTO

Human activity is the dominant cause of global warming observed since the 1950s, and scientists predict temperatures will rise another 0.3°C to 4.8°C this century.

THE world’s leading climate scientists have for the first time established a limit on the amount of greenhouse gases that can be released before the Earth reaches a tipping point and predicted that it will be surpassed within decades unless swift action is taken to curb the current pace of emissions.