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Turn down the heat: why a 4°C warmer world must be avoided

Turn down the heat: why a 4°C warmer world must be avoided

This World Bank report is a stark reminder that climate change affects everything and spells out what the world would be like if it warmed by 4°C, which is what scientists are nearly unanimously predicting by the end of the century, without serious policy changes.

This report spells out what the world would be like if it warmed by 4 degrees Celsius, which is what scientists are nearly unanimously predicting by the end of the century, without serious policy changes. It provides a snapshot of recent scientific literature and new analyses of likely impacts and risks that would be associated with a 4° Celsius warming within this century, ranging from sea-level rise to increases in tropical cyclone intensity, unprecedented heat waves, severe drought, and major floods in many regions, with serious impacts on ecosystems and associated services. The report is intended to be a stark reminder that climate change affects everything and that the solutions don’t lie only in climate finance or climate projects but rather in effective risk management and ensuring all our work, all our thinking, is designed with the threat of a 4°C world in mind.

See Also

Opinion: Superstorm 'Sandy' tells us why the climate change denial must stop.

Report: State of the climate in 2011.

Report: Cities and climate change.

Report: Global assessment report on disaster risk reduction 2011.

Report: WMO statement on the status of the global climate in 2011.

Report: Global climate risk index 2012.

Report: World development report 2010

Report: Protecting health from climate.

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