Pasumai Thaayagam

An ever-growing demand for resources by a growing population is putting tremendous pressures on our planet’s biodiversity and is threatening our future security, health and well-being, reveals the 2012 edition of WWF’s Living Planet Report – the leading biennial survey of the Earth’s health.

The awareness of the risks our cities are facing is high and the urgent need for urban resilience and cities’ adaptation to climate change is widely recognized. 79% of cities are noticing changes in natural hazards, temperatures, precipitation and sea level rise affecting their communities.

Disaster losses in many low-and middle-income countries are likely to rise faster than economic growth unless governments change their economic policy to take account of increasing disaster risk, warns a new guide from climate experts.

A new report predicts that up to three-quarters of the world’s coffee is at a growing risk from climate change impacts that are already disrupting supplies and pushing up prices.

In Europe, temperature is increasing, precipitation is changing and sea level is rising. However, the effects will not be uniform across the continent, according to the EEA report, ‘Urban adaptation to climate change in Europe’.