Risk of Extreme Weather From Climate Change to Rise Over Next Century, Report Says

By SABRINA TAVERNISEJUNE 22, 2015

WASHINGTON — More people will be exposed to floods, droughts, heat waves and other extreme weather associated with climate change over the next century than previously thought, according to a new report in the British medical journal The Lancet.

The report, published online Monday, analyzes the health effects of recent episodes of severe weather that scientists have linked to climate change. It provides estimates of the number of people who are likely to experience the effects of climate change in coming decades, based on projections of population and demographic changes.

The report estimates that the exposure of people to extreme rainfall will more than quadruple and the exposure of people to drought will triple compared to the 1990s. In the same time span, the exposure of the older people to heat waves is expected to go up by a factor of 12, according to Peter Cox, one of the authors, who is a professor of climate-system dynamics at the University of Exeter in Britain.

…(read more).

Global Climate Change
Environmental Justice
Environment Ethics

E.P.A. Warns of High Cost of Climate Change

Low water levels caused by drought at the New Melones Lake reservoir in central California. Credit Mark Ralston/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

By CORAL DAVENPORTJUNE 22, 2015

WASHINGTON — In the absence of global action to curb greenhouse gas emissions, the United States by the end of the century may face up to $180 billion in economic losses because of drought and water shortages, according to a report released Monday by the White House and Environmental Protection Agency.

White House officials said the report, which analyzes the economic costs of a changing climate across 20 sectors of the American economy, is the most comprehensive effort to date to quantify the impacts of global warming.

…(read more).

Global Climate Change
Environmental Justice
Environment Ethics