World Disasters Seen As Global Warming Outcome

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.