President Barack Obama announced plans this week to create a new agency that studies and reports on global warming.

The new climate service, which would be set up by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, would operate hand in hand with the NOAA's National Weather Service.

"Whether we like it or not, climate change represents a real threat," Locke said Monday at a news conference.

The new agency will be located in Washington, D.C. and led by six regional directors around the U.S.

Should Congress approve the president's proposal, the Obama administration expects the agency to be in place by the end of the year.