Temperatures in the Arctic are now the highest they've been for 2,000 years, according to scientists. Researchers in the United States say that it is one of the clearest signs yet that human activity is warming the planet.

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Scientists have produced evidence showing dramatically that the current temperature rise there is highly unusual. For most of the last two thousand years, the Arctic slowly cooled, a consequence of variations in the Earth's orbit.

But over the last century, the cooling abruptlyreversed, and the region is now warmer than at any time in the 2,000 year record. Writing in the journal Science, the researchers say this shows how quickly the Arctic responds to climatic changes.

Richard Black, BBC News

Escute as palavras

produced evidence
found and shown proof

dramatically
here, in a very convincing way (literally, dramatically means very noticeably)

a consequence
one of the results

variations
slight changes; here, deviations from the average moving path of astronomical objects, e.g. a planet or satellite

orbit
the curved path through which astronomical objects move around a planet or star

abruptly
suddenly, unexpectedly

reversed
changed to its opposite

responds to
here, is affected by

climatic changes
long-term changes in weather patterns