Extreme Weather Risk From Climate to Rise Over Next Century: Report

"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."

Sabrina Tavernise reports for the New York Times June 22, 2015.

SEE ALSO:

"Boulder Scientist Ties Severity of Colorado's 2013 Flood To Climate Change" (Boulder Daily Camera)

"New Study Links Global Warming To Hurricane Sandy And Other Extreme Weather Events" (Guardian)