U.S. cities will likely be hotter and more humid, sugar maples in the Northeast may disappear, and barrier islands off the Carolinas may be flooded under rising sea levels as climate change takes its toll on the U.S. over the coming century. These predictions are part of a federal government report on the likely effects of climate change — compiled over four years by a dozen government agencies and hundreds of scientists — that is expected to be released next week and later presented to Congress. The report predicts that unless steps are taken to curb greenhouse gas emissions, average U.S. temperatures will rise between 5 and 10 degrees by the end of this century. Other effects: scarcer ski runs, disappearing alpine meadows, increased rainfall, devastated salmon runs, and the spread of insect-borne diseases such as malaria.
