London, Jan. 21 (Reuters): Increased flows of Russian rivers into the Arctic Ocean are due to man-made greenhouse gases and might indicate changing global rainfall patterns, according to a report by leading British climate scientists.

The team at the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research ? part of the British Meteorological Office ? said computer models showed that the cause was human activity and predicted that things would get worse.

?By analysing river-monitoring data from the six largest Eurasian rivers flowing into the Arctic Ocean, scientists have found a trend of increased river output during the 20th century,? the report said.

?A similar trend is found in the climate simulation for the same period by the Hadley Centre?s coupled climate model, but only when the effects of man-made greenhouse gases are included,? it added.

Lead scientist Peili Wu said the findings were in line with predictions that global warming would lead to changes in the water cycle.

?Our model predicts that these changes will intensify in the coming decades, with implications for water supply and risks of flooding,? he added.