Panel issues most serious warning yet on climate change

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The International Panel on Climate Change has reached consensus on a report that gives a very dire warning on climate change. Over 2,500 scientists have converged for the conference to approve a report that will provide guidance to governments on how to deal with climate and greenhouse gas emissions. The report projects that poor people will be hit hardest by warming with rising sea levels absorbing coastal areas, and more of the rest being being short of rain and expanding deserts.

Chinese, Russian and Saudi representatives had the greatest objections to the report. They were opposed to mentions of the level of confidence that the climate was changing. The report projects that African countries could wind up spending five to ten percent of their GDP on dealing with the changes, because of problems like water shortages. Temperatures are predicted to rise by 1.8 to 4 degrees Celsius over the next century, and the melting of Himalayan glaciers could lead to water shortages in the rivers that it feeds. The bottom line of the report is that climate change is real and happening now and needs to be addressed.

[Source: Reuters]

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