Mediterranean faces fiercer heatwaves, drought, fires: UN draft report

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The draft predicts that temperatures across the Mediterranean are likely to rise faster than the global average in the decades to come, threatening the region's vital agriculture, fisheries and tourism sectors.

Tens of millions more inhabitants will face heightened risk of water shortages, coastal flooding and exposure to potentially deadly extreme heat, it warns.

Depending on how quickly humanity reins in its greenhouse gas emissions, some Mediterranean regions could see rain-fed crop yields decrease by 64 percent, the draft predicts.

Currently, 71 percent of the Middle East and North Africa region's GDP is exposed to high or very high water stress, and 61 percent of its population, it says.

The burnt area of forests in Mediterranean Europe is projected to increase by up to 87 percent if Earth's average surface temperature warms two degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, and as much as 187 percent in a 3C-hotter world.

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