Global Warming's Impact Is Clear

For the first time, scientists are saying there is no other explanation but global warming for record-high temperatures across the country, says a top U.S. official.

January, February, and March temperatures in the United States were the warmest ever in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 106 years of record keeping.

And 30 states - from just west of the Rockies to New England - were much warmer than normal, with many areas still in the grid of a long drought.

NOAA Director James Baker says, "The scientists are now telling us they can't explain what we have seen without including a significant part of global warming. They have never said that before. This is a very significant fact - it's a wake up call really."

Federal officials say we're already seeing the impact, a significant increase in severe weather damage over the past decade. There have been more floods and more droughts, and now scientists say get ready for hurricanes with more destructive power.

Baker says, "Water is the engine of hurricanes so a warmer ocean leads to stronger winds, stronger hurricanes."

And there is another threat for cities on or near the coast, particularly New Orleans, which is already below sea level. Global warming will raise sea levels as much as 5 feet over the next century.

The director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, James Lee Witt, says,"If you had a Category 4 hurricane that hit New Orleans, which we have all tried to prepare for, with a 4-foot storm surge, you'd have 20-feet of water in New Orleans - that's frightening."

While there may still be some debate about what is causing global warming, climate watchers have no doubt it's real. Federal officials say it's time now to prepare for the consequences: everything from extended drought, to rising sea levels, that will threaten major cities.