MOSCOW (AP) — Russia will likely see more forest fires, droughts and floods in the coming century due to global warming, and policy makers need to prepare for large-scale change, scientists warned in a report released Wednesday.
It also said Russia, famous for its brutal winters, will benefit from climate change in some ways, with warmer temperatures and less snow and ice.
Growing evidence that global warming is shrinking polar ice, opening up new shipping lanes, already is generating competition between Russia and other nations over the Arctic's natural resources.
But the study published Wednesday by the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring is Russia's first comprehensive effort at documenting climate change in the world's largest country — and one of the coldest.
"Naturally, (Russia) has a lot of climatic distinctions and we wanted to know how climate change and global warming affects different parts of Russia, to know what exactly is going on," said Alexander Bedritsky, who heads the meteorology service.
Over the past 100 years, air temperatures in Russia warmed by around 2.33 degrees F (1.29 degrees C), compared with1.3 F (0.74 degrees C) globally, the report said.
The Associated Press: Russia: global warming to cause droughts, floods
It also said Russia, famous for its brutal winters, will benefit from climate change in some ways, with warmer temperatures and less snow and ice.
Growing evidence that global warming is shrinking polar ice, opening up new shipping lanes, already is generating competition between Russia and other nations over the Arctic's natural resources.
But the study published Wednesday by the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring is Russia's first comprehensive effort at documenting climate change in the world's largest country — and one of the coldest.
"Naturally, (Russia) has a lot of climatic distinctions and we wanted to know how climate change and global warming affects different parts of Russia, to know what exactly is going on," said Alexander Bedritsky, who heads the meteorology service.
Over the past 100 years, air temperatures in Russia warmed by around 2.33 degrees F (1.29 degrees C), compared with1.3 F (0.74 degrees C) globally, the report said.
The Associated Press: Russia: global warming to cause droughts, floods
