"Plan Now For Climate-Related Disasters: U.N. Report"

"A future on Earth of more extreme weather and rising seas will require better planning for natural disasters to save lives and limit deepening economic losses, the United Nations said on Wednesday in a major report on the effects of climate change.

The U.N. climate panel said all nations will be vulnerable to the expected increase in heat waves, more intense rains and floods and a probable rise in the intensity of droughts. Aimed largely at policymakers, the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change makes clear nations need to act now, because increasingly extreme weather is already a trend."

"The need for action has become more acute as a growing human population puts more people and more assets in the path of disaster, raising economic risk, the report said. The report's title made the point: 'Managing the risks of extreme events and disasters to advance climate change adaptation.'

Asia was most vulnerable to potential disasters, with East Asia and the Pacific facing the highest adaptation costs."

David Fogarty and Deborah Zabarenko report for Reuters March 29, 2012.

SEE ALSO:

"Climate Change Panel Warns of Severe Storms, Heatwaves And Floods" (AP)

"'Strong' Links of Manmade Heat, Rainfall Extremes: Study" (Climate Central)