Northwest China among regions expected to see temperatures soar

BANGKOK — Climate change will bring soaring temperatures, more intense storms, erratic rainfall and plummeting crop yields to Asia-Pacific unless countries fully implement their commitments under the Paris climate pact, scientists said on Friday, calling the challenges “unprecedented”.

The region’s future growth and security — as well as the welfare of hundreds of millions of people — are at stake, said a new report by the Asian Development Bank and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

“Countries in Asia and the Pacific are at the highest risk of plummeting into deeper pov- erty — and disaster — if (climate change) mitigation and adaptation efforts are not quickly and strongly implemented,” said Bambang Susantono, the ADB’s vice-president for sustainable development.

The landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, which came into force in November, pledges to limit the rise in average global temperatures to 1.5 C to 2 C above preindustrial times.

Early and aggressive measures are needed to achieve that goal, the report said. If the world continues to emit planet-warming greenhouse gases as now, global mean temperature would increase by over 4 C by the end of the century, with parts of Asia-Pacific see-