article_snippet: The world needs to prepare The world for a rapid increase in the speed of climate change, scientists have warned.
article_snippet: US researchers claim that the fast onset of global warming is set to alter the way people live, even over short time scales.
article_snippet: This is according to new evidence which suggests the rate at which temperatures are rising in the northern hemisphere could be 0.25°C per decade by 2020 - a level not seen for at least 1,000 years.
article_snippet: Scientists recently announced that sea surface water temperatures have been warmer than average in the western and central Pacific Ocean and have started to alter wind patterns.
highlights_snippet: Scientists recently announced that sea surface temperatures have been warmer than average in the Pacific .