Draft copy of IPCC report warns of heat stress, flooding

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change chair warns that floods and storms are increasing in intensity and frequency.
• Two types of extreme events are going to occur more frequently — extreme precipitation and heat waves. It is important for societies to deal with climate change if we want to avoid the impacts.
• It also warns of extreme heat stress in cities, increased precipitation and widespread flooding.
• Due to sea level rise throughout the century and beyond, coastal and low-lying areas will increasingly experience adverse impacts such as coastal erosion and flooding. Without adaptation, hundreds of millions of people will be affected by coastal flooding and will be displaced due to land loss.
• There will be serious impacts on food production in every region of the world with climate change. The Mediterranean will have severe problems with water scarcity which will impact on food. Some parts of Africa could have declines of 50 per cent [in crop yields] as soon as 2020.
• Even a 1 degree C rise in temperatures could lead to an extra three million malaria cases in children under 15 years of age per year. The disease, which infects more than 200 million people every year is spread by mosquitoes and will start to affect higher elevations as temperatures rise.