DR Jason Jordan says some people believe climate change is simply a natural phenomenon. "Some believe that the sun is getting warmer and that is why we are getting warmer but it hasn’t warmed that much," he says. "There is also an argument that we are simply going through a natural warming phase following the mini ice age of the 1500s and 1600s. "Of course 10,000 years ago there was more ice on the planet and 15,000 years ago there were glaciers in Scotland. But that amount of time is just a speck in geographical terms. "The world has been getting warmer since that time and scientists have proved that humans have had an effect. "Even 5,000 years ago when people first started farming and clearing trees we had an effect. "And 150 years ago when we were burning coal and coke the process began to speed up. "Today with the huge populations that we have and the amount of emissions we produce the speed of climate change is happening faster than ever before." Dr Jordan said many preconceptions about the effects of climate change were not true. "The ice in the North Atlantic is a good example," he added. "People say that if the ice melts then the sea levels will rise but that’s not true. Think about it, if you put an ice cube in a glass of water the level rises but when the ice melts it will still remain at that level. "It is the ice on the land, the glaciers and on the mountains, that we should be worried about. "Greenhouse gases are something that we need. They protect us from the more harmful radiation from the sun. "But it could be that too much greenhouse gas has an effect on the world and we don’t know how quickly it will cope." In terms of how climate change will affect Coventry, Dr Jordan said temperature rises could be the biggest problem. "Today there are lots of climate models used by scientists to predict what will happen in the future," he explained. "But strangely the Midlands has not really been focused on mainly because we don’t have a coast. "But the UK Climate Impacts Programme has done models which predict temperature rises. "Last year more than 10,000 people died in France because of heat-related illness and this is something that could happen here. The most vulnerable, the elderly and the young, would be at risk. "In the UK we are simply not well equipped to cope with high temperatures, which could exceed the mid-30s in the future. "There are also models that predict the severity of weather systems may increase." Studies had shown no link between the frequency of storms and global warming. However, severity of storms had risen. Dr Jordan said he did not know if changes would have an immediate effect, but everyone could do their bit. "They are starting to think that there is a lag, perhaps of up to 50 years, between the effect of emissions we pump out now and the change in the climate. We are not sure how quickly the Earth responds. "But everyone can make a difference – by recycling more, driving fewer 4x4s and reducing our emissions." | 
