Climate change is more extensive and worse than once thought

WASHINGTON (AP) — Climate scientists missed a lot about a quarter century ago when they predicted how bad global warming would be.

They missed how bad wildfires, droughts, downpours and hurricanes would get. They missed how much ice sheets in West Antarctica and Greenland would melt and contribute to sea level rise. They missed much of the myriad public health problems and global security issues.

Scientists now say global warming is faster, more extensive and just plain worse than they once thought it would be.

International negotiators meet next week in Poland to discuss how to ratchet up the fight against climate change in what's called the Conference of Parties. The world's understanding of global warming has changed dramatically since the first conference in March 1995