A story in the New York Times on Monday said it was publishing a climate report that was leaked by a scientist who feared that it would be "suppressed" by the Trump administration.

But on Wednesday, the Times posted a correction to the story saying it the report was already online months ago, in January.

The report, headlined, "Climate Report Full of Warnings Awaits President," initially said that the study had "not yet been made public," but readers on social media noted that it had been published on the Internet Archive nonprofit website at the start of the year.

The Times on Wednesday added a correction to its report. "An article on Tuesday about a sweeping federal climate change report referred incorrectly to the availability of the report," it said. "While it was not widely publicized, the report was uploaded by the nonprofit Internet Archive in January; it was not first made public by The New York Times."

The study said climate change effects are being felt around the world and that human activity is a leading factor in the earth's warming.