Climate change 'greatest threat' to humanity today says Red Cross

[tex-wyo-dem]

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:46:03 GMT


In this photo supplied by UNICEF
a woman and child wade in flood
waters in Mutarara, Mozambique
in the Tete district, 9 Jan. 2008

Geneva - The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, IFRC, warned Monday that climate change was the "greatest threat" to humanity today. An increasing number of natural disasters was fundamentally altering the entire humanitarian agenda, it added.

The comments came at a press conference in Geneva as it launched an appeal totalling 752 million Swiss francs (584 million US dollars) to fund its regional and global programmes in 2008 and 2009.

Secretary General of the International Federation, Markku Niskala, said: "In recent years we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of weather-related disasters. But beyond this, climate change is also having a very real and very worrisome impact on water supplies, on food production and even on health crises."

According to IFRC, changing weather patterns and melting glaciers were already threatening precious water resources, whilst changes in temperature and rainfall were expected to seriously damage agriculture in future years.

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http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/176426,climate-change-greatest-threat-to-humanity-today-says-red-cross.html

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-01-21-voa48.cfm