To the Editor:

Re “How Scientists Got It So Wrong,” by E ugene Linden (Sunday Review, Nov. 10):

For decades, scientists have assembled evidence to understand how greenhouse gas emissions alter climate. The first report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 1990 was startlingly accurate in its characterization of global temperature at today’s levels of greenhouse gases. This 1990 report spotlighted risks from sea level rise and negative effects on agriculture.

In contrast to Mr. Linden’s claim that the report argued that “th e methane-laden Arctic permafrost was not in danger of thawing,” the actual wording in the report is that permafrost “c ould experience signific ant degradation within the next 40-50 years.”

Over time, we in the climate science community have improved our observations, deepened our understanding and examined an ever-broader range of impacts. This process has added specificity and increased confidence about the risks.

The problem has not been that the scientists got it wrong. It has been that despite clear warnings consistent with the evidence available, scientists dedicated to informing the public have struggled to get their voices heard in an atmosphere filled with false charges of alarmism and political motivation.