On 2 February the UN will release a report on climate change which is expected to provide the most damning evidence yet on the human link to global warming. It is hoped that such stark evidence will ‘shock’ the world into taking further action.

The report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), is the result of six years research and uses the expertise of 2,500 scientists worldwide.

"There are a lot of signs and evidence in this report which clearly establish not only the fact that climate change is taking place, but also that it really is human activity that is influencing that change," said R.K. Pachauri, the IPCC chairman. 

"I hope this report will shock people, governments into taking more serious action as you really can't get a more authentic and a more credible piece of scientific work. So I hope this will be taken for what it's worth." 

The report is thought to conclude that it is more than 90 percent sure that various human actions headed up by the burning of fossil fuels, are to blame for the sharp rise in global warming over the past 50 years.

Recent predictions from a variety of independent scientists suggest that this century will see a rise in temperatures of between 2-4.5c  - and it is expected that this latest report will corroborate these theories.

Within the report scientists also suggest that dust from recent volcanic eruptions and air pollution has slowed warming in recent years by reflecting sunlight  back in to space.

 This is the fourth report of its kind, but Pachauri has indicated that this version relates far more serious predictions than any of its predecessors. Catastrophic events associated with global warming include freak weather, melting glaciers, sea level rises and increased flooding.