Following is a summary of expert opinion of potential impacts from climate change by the end of the century.

The source is the Fourth Assessment Report, published in 2007 by the UN's Nobel- winning scientists, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The magnitude of impacts will mainly depend on the level of warming, which the panel predicted would be in a range of 1.8?C-4?C by 2100, a figure that two recent studies have said could be under-estimated by up to 2.4?C.

Asia: Between 120 million to 1.2 billion Asians will experience increased water stress by 2020, and 185 to 981 million by 2050. Cereal yields in South Asia could drop in some areas by up to 30 percent by 2050.

Even modest sea-level rises will cause flooding and economic disruption in densely- populated mega-deltas, such as the Yangtze, Red River and Ganges- Brahmaputra.

Cholera and malaria could increase, thanks to flooding and a wider habitat range for mosquitoes.

In the Himalayas, glaciers less than four kilometres long will disappear entirely if average global temperatures rise by 3?C. This will initially cause increased flooding and mudslides followed by an eventual decrease in flow in rivers that are glacier-fed.

Per-capita water availability in India will drop from around 1900 cubic metres currently to 1000 cu. metres by 2025.

Africa: Likely to be the worst-hit continent. Hundreds of millions are "very likely" ? a 90 percent certainty ? to face severe shortfalls in food and drinkable water by 2080, probably sooner.

Climate change will shorten growing seasons and render swathes of land unusable for agriculture, with yields declining by as much as 50 percent in some countries. A rise of 60 to 90 million hectares of arid and semi-arid land is projected by 2080.

Food security will be "severely compromised", with an additional 80 to 200 million people at risk of hunger by 2080. By that date, sub-Sahara Africa may account for 40 to 50 percent of the world's undernourished, compared with about 25 percent today.

Half a billion Africans will face acute scarcities of drinkable water if average global temperatures rise only 2?C compared to 1990 levels. Cholera, meningitis and dengue fever will increase in extent and impact.

Big deltas such as the Nile and the Niger face flooding and economic disruption caused by rising sea levels.

Europe: Mediterranean countries can brace for a higher risk of severe droughts, reduced harvests and deadly heat waves.

High-latitude European nations will face flooding and severe weather, but this could be balanced by longer growing seasons and expanded areas for agriculture and forestry.

In Alpine regions, rising temperatures could badly damage the ski industry and wipe out up to 60 percent of plant and animal species.

The percentage of river basin areas that are "severely water stressed" is predicted to jump from 19 percent today between 34 and 36 percent in the 2070s.

Wintertime floods are likely to increase in Europe's maritime regions, while snowmelt- related floods and flash floods will hit central Europe.

Hydropower potential is expected to decline by 20-50 percent in the Mediterranean region but increase by 15-30 percent in Northern and Eastern Europe.

Biodiversity will be badly affected: "A large percentage of the European flora is likely to become vulnerable, endangered, or committed to extinction by the end of this century," the report says.

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