The weather worldwide is becoming more unpredictable. Catastrophic droughts, floods and storms are endangering lives and could threaten some countries' food security. Hurricanes and heatwaves are making headline news. And what's more, warmer weather is shrinking glaciers on every continent, adding to rising sea levels.


In the Arctic tundra, the current melting of ice and permafrost could have a dramatic impact on marine life, as well as altering the diets of polar bears and walruses. In our seas, coral reefs have begun to show signs of damage from warming waters, and in Africa, long droughts have had devastating effects on wildlife and humans. The changes in climate are also affecting the feeding, mating and migration cycles of wildlife from around the globe. Nature is being thrown off balance and life will have to struggle to survive and adapt.


Global warming is creating new opportunities for the spread of infectious disease, and since 30 new infectious diseases have emerged in the past 20 years, this is cause for alarm. Some diseases, such as malaria, are showing up in whole new areas around the world. In fact, approximately 270 million people are infected with malaria worldwide, and global warming may cause 1 million extra deaths from the disease annually by the year 2050.