ABSTRACT
In August 2005, at least 1800 people lost their lives as Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi, submerging most of New Orleans with scenes that resembled a catastrophe of biblical dimensions. The 2003 European heatwave was much deadlier, causing the loss of at least 35,000 lives with unprecedented temperatures of around 40 degrees or more for several weeks. In March 2004, Cyclone Catarina (a rare tropical cyclone in the South Atlantic) hit Brazil, causing severe property damages and human injuries. In recent years, Australia, Argentina, northern China and parts of the US have experienced some of their worst droughts ever, damaging harvests and contributing to the dramatic rise in many food prices. As we discussed in Chapter 2, even if these anomalies are not necessarily or exclusively attributed to climate change, it is now well accepted that rising global average temperature will increase the frequency of extreme weather conditions. The geographic distribution of such events makes it apparent that climate change does not concern just a few countries or people; it is an environmental problem of global dimensions and, hence, requires coordinated global action.
