Turn down the heat: confronting the new climate normal

This report focuses on the risks of climate change to development in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, and parts of Europe and Central Asia. For each region, the report addresses the regional patterns of climate change, such as heat extremes, extreme precipitation, droughts, tropical cyclones/hurricanes, and sea-level rise.

Building on earlier Turn Down the Heat reports, this new scientific analysis examines the likely impacts of present day (0.8°C), 2°C and 4°C warming above pre-industrial temperatures on agricultural production, water resources, ecosystem services, and coastal vulnerability for affected populations.

The report argues that the benefits of strong, early action on climate change - action that follows clean, low carbon pathways and avoids locking in unsustainable growth strategies - far outweigh the costs, and that many of the worst projected climate impacts could still be avoided by holding warming to below 2°C. But the time to act is now.