'Nearly certain' global warming human-caused, UN says

Scientists say Earth has warmed, snow and ice diminished, the sea level is up, and humans are largely to blame.

It's the strongest words yet on the issue, highlighted in a new report released Friday by the U.N. International Panel on Climate Change

Climate scientists say they are 95% sure human activity is responsible for at least "half of the observed increase in global average surface temperatures since the 1950's."

The report says the warming Earth is already impacting weather patterns, and believe it's only going to get worse.

"Climate change will probably increase storm intensity and size simultaneously, resulting in a significant intensification of storm surges," according to the report.

Scientists are 90% sure that 1981-2010 was the warmest such span in the last eight centuries, and there's a 66% chance that it was the warmest 30-year period in the last 1,400 years.

Scientists are also 99% certain we will see more hot days and nights, and fewer chilly ones as the 21st century progresses.

Even if we end carbon dioxide emissions today, experts say the effects could linger for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. They say certain changes may already be irreversible.

The full 2,000 page report will be released Monday.