Another apocalyptic warning came from the latest report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on Monday. The report warns that if global warning continues, the world could face widespread hunger due to drought and heavy rains, coastal flooding and damage to electricity and running water.
The report by the panel's Working Group II is the first to assert that climate change can threaten national security. The IPCC issues a report only once every five or six years, and this year's report drew participation from over 2,500 scientists from over 130 countries over the past six years.
According to the report, if the earth continues to heat up at the current pace, the global average temperature is expected to go up by 3.7 degrees and sea levels to rise by 63 cm by the end of the 21st century.
Korea's National Institute of Meteorological Research predicted an increase of 5.9 degrees in temperature here and a 99 cm rise of the level of the East Sea.
The report warned that climate change will intensify poverty and territorial disputes, and increase violence and conflicts.
Rising casualties from global warming are no longer an irrelevant issue in Korea. The National Disaster Management Institute predicted more serious damage from heatwaves this year than ever before, adding that the number of deaths due to heatwaves has been on the rise since 2000. In 2012, 59 people died from sunstroke or heatstroke in Korea.