If global warming is not halted over the next several years, massive flooding, disease and drought could hit countries around the world according to a U.N. scientific team.
On Monday, the scientists said they foresaw glaciers and polar icecaps melting, countless species of animals, birds and plant life dying out, farmland turning to desert, fish-supporting coral reefs destroyed, and small island states sunk beneath the sea.
The scientists prepared a 1,000-page report for the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which links nearly 3,000 experts in dozens of countries and has been studying the warming problem since 1990.
A final report, due in September, will put the conclusions into one major document which the scientists and environmentalists – as well as insurance companies and new, clean energy industries – hope will prod political leaders to action.