Describe how computer climate models help scientists understand possible future climate changes. How reliable are these computer models in making predictions about global warming? Discuss any limitations in these models.

To predict future climate, scientists use computer programs called climate models to understand how our planet is changing. Climate models work like a laboratory in a computer. They allow scientists to study how different factors interact to influence a region's climate.

Now a new evaluation of global climate models used to project Earth's future global average surface temperatures over the past half-century answers that question: most of the models have been quite accurate.