Deranged on climate change?

AS ONE who is willing to go along with the current scientific consensus on the causes and likely consequences of climate change, Gerald Warner (Strictly Speaking, 12 January) would no doubt describe me as one of “global warming’s deranged disciples”.

His article implies that the Met Office and other distinguished scientific institutions are retreating from previously held positions on climate change.

As a rational layperson seeking expert opinion I thought I had better check what the Met Office’s website currently says on the subject. On a page entitled “Is climate change caused by human activity?”, last updated 1 October 2013, I found this: “Natural climate variations can lead to periods with little or no warming, both globally and regionally, and other periods with very rapid warming. However, there is an underlying trend of warming that is almost certainly caused by man’s activities.”

Call me deranged or naive if you will, but I am content to resist the pull of Gerald’s new orthodoxy until the Met Office and other equally well qualified agencies indicate that it is reasonable to do otherwise.

Andrew Ross, Gourock