Map reveals worldwide impacts of climate change

A new map shows the impact that climate change could have on the whole planet by the end of the century, if carbon emissions continue to increase.

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office launched the map on Wednesday, its High Commission in Dhaka says.

The Human Dynamics of Climate Change map, developed by the Met Office Hadley Centre, shows a range of potential impacts.

It shows temperatures on the warmest days of the year, as rising by 6°C or more across Europe, parts of Asia and part of North America.

It also pointed to an increase in risk of flooding across 70 percent of Asia.

The number of days of drought going up by more than 20 percent in parts of South America, Australia and Southern Africa has also been shown.

Besides it also shows maize yields falling by up to 12 percent in Central America, sea temperatures rising by up to 4°C in some parts of the world, and millions of people flooded due to sea level rise, particularly in East, Southeast and South Asia.

The map illustrates how climate change could affect the global economy as regions connected by trade are affected by changes in crop yield, droughts, flooding and high temperatures.

It also shows how many already water-stressed regions of the world could face an increase in the frequency and duration of droughts, at the same time as an increase in demand for water for agriculture and for the consumption of a growing population.

“This map shows how the impacts of climate change on one part of the world will affect countries in other parts of the world, particularly through the global trade in food,” Foreign Office Minister Mark Simmonds marking the launching said.

“This reinforces the point that climate change is a global problem: no country is immune, and we all need to work together to reduce the risks to our shared prosperity and security”.

Dame Julia Slingo, the Met Office Chief Scientist, said they had used the latest in science to assess how potential changes in our climate will impact people around the world.

“This map presents that information together for the first time. While we see both positive and negative impacts, the risks vastly outweigh any potential opportunities”.

The launch event included a discussion on climate change led by Sir David King, the Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative on Climate Change and Sir Mark Walport, the government’s Chief Scientific Adviser.

The map can be viewed at

www.metoffice.gov.uk/human-dynamics,

the British High Commission in Dhaka says.