<p>Two years ago, the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) headed by India's Rajendra Pachauri, issued a benchmark report that claimed to have incorporated the latest and most detailed research into the impact of global warming.<br /><br />A central claim was that world's glaciers were melting so fast that those in the Himalayas could vanish by 2035.<br /><br />In the last few days the scientists behind the warning have admitted that it was based on a news story in the New Scientist, a popular science journal, published eight years before the IPCC's 2007 report, the Sunday Times reported on Sunday.<br /><br />It has also emerged that the New Scientist report was itself based on a short telephonic interview with Syed Hasnain, an Indian scientist then based at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, the report said.<br /><br />Hasnain has since admitted that the claim was a "speculation" and was not supported by any formal research, the report added.<br /><br />If confirmed it would be one of the most serious failures yet seen in climate research.<br />The IPCC was set up to ensure that world leaders had the best possible scientific advice on climate change.<br /><br />Rajendra Pachauri has previously dismissed criticism of the Himalayas claim as "voodoo science" and last week the IPCC refused to comment on the report.</p>
<p>Two years ago, the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) headed by India's Rajendra Pachauri, issued a benchmark report that claimed to have incorporated the latest and most detailed research into the impact of global warming.<br /><br />A central claim was that world's glaciers were melting so fast that those in the Himalayas could vanish by 2035.<br /><br />In the last few days the scientists behind the warning have admitted that it was based on a news story in the New Scientist, a popular science journal, published eight years before the IPCC's 2007 report, the Sunday Times reported on Sunday.<br /><br />It has also emerged that the New Scientist report was itself based on a short telephonic interview with Syed Hasnain, an Indian scientist then based at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, the report said.<br /><br />Hasnain has since admitted that the claim was a "speculation" and was not supported by any formal research, the report added.<br /><br />If confirmed it would be one of the most serious failures yet seen in climate research.<br />The IPCC was set up to ensure that world leaders had the best possible scientific advice on climate change.<br /><br />Rajendra Pachauri has previously dismissed criticism of the Himalayas claim as "voodoo science" and last week the IPCC refused to comment on the report.</p>
