Huge cities get flood warning

Climate crisis meeting as hottest nine months on record announced

RISING seas from global warming could submerge swathes of New York and Shanghai, and drive millions of people into poverty worldwide, researchers warned yesterday, as climatealtering carbon levels broke new records.

The slew of fresh planetary warnings came as world governments met in Paris searching for common ground ahead of a crunch climate summit.

If the planet warmed by 4°C – double the targeted UN ceiling -- oceans would swallow land inhabited by more than 600 million people, a survey by a research group said.

Scientists say the first nine months of this year have been the hottest on record worldwide.

At the same time, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said concentrations of climate-altering greenhouse gases in the atmosphere broke new records last year.

“Concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are now reaching levels not seen on Earth for more than 800 000 , maybe even one million years,” WMO chief Michel Jarraud said.

“This means we are now really in uncharted territory for the human race.”

The new warnings came as environment and energy ministers met in France seeking convergence on issues still dividing nations negotiating for a climate rescue pact to be inked at a November 30December 11 UN summit.

US-based research group Climate Central said that even if the agreement succeeded in limiting average global warming to 2°C over pre-Industrial Revolution levels, areas today home to 280 million people would slip under the waves.