What are the risks of climate change internationally?
The Earth’s temperature is rising, as are sea levels. In some places rainfall will increase, and in others drought will be more commonplace. These changes in climate will have a range of impacts globally. Some of the biggest risks identified include: • sea levels are rising at a rapid rate (having risen by 20cm over the 20th century); In Asia, the homes of 94 million people could be flooded by the end of the century. • The area of the world stricken by drought has doubled between 1970 and the early 2000s. In Africa fertile land is already turning to desert. By 2020, climate change is predicted to reduce some African farming harvests by 50 per cent • Storm surges in coastal areas are a threat to the economies of low-lying countries like Egypt and Thailand, where many factories and offices are less than a metre above sea-level. • Long term risk of natural resource conflict and large-scale migration • By 2020 between 75 and 250 million people in Africa will be facing increased water short
