World News - "Senior doctors yesterday published a report warning that climate change is the biggest threat to global health of the 21st century. Rising global temperatures would have a catastrophic effect on human health, the doctors said, and patterns of infection would change, with insect-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever spreading more easily. Heat waves such as occurred in Europe in 2003, which caused up to 70,000 'excess' deaths, will become more common, as will hurricanes, cyclones and storms, causing flooding and injuries...." [The Guardian (UK)/Factiva]

AFP adds that "... 'Even the most conservative estimates are profoundly disturbing and demand action,' said the report, compiled over a year by The Lancet medical journal and experts from the Institute for Global Health at University College London.... The commission drew much of its data from the Fourth Assessment Report, issued in 2007 by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)...." [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

Press Association writes that "...the health effects of climate change will be felt most severely in poorer countries that have contributed least to carbon emissions, say the authors.... They argue that international institutions and governments must do more to address the problem. An accelerated drive against world poverty and new technological approaches to preserve food and water supplies and prevent disease were also needed...." [Press Association (UK)/Factiva]