Friday 24 March 2023

Scientist who helped link humans to climate change dies

A French leading scientist who helped in proving the link between humanity and climate change has died aged 91.

Claude Lorius led 22 expeditions between the Arctic and Antarctica, first realising the link between mankind and global warming in 1965.

Drinking whiskey during one of the expeditions and looking at the air in the ice cubes of his glass, Mr Lorius decided to start studying ice cores.

These are drilled from within ice and can provide scientists with vital information about the past.

For the following 20 years, his research into the ice cores found evidence that carbon dioxide levels had peaked significantly after the Industrial Revolution.

Scientists have since used his work as a reference in glacial record studies – finding out invaluable facts about the past and its environment from surveying up to 160,000 years’ worth of ice.

The French National Centre for Scientific Research said Mr Lorius’ research allowed “no room for doubt” that humans have influenced global warming – and awarded him a gold medal in 2002.