Long-term economic effects of global warming could be far greater than thought, making many countries poorer and hurting even those of us spared direct impacts

No cheap fix zumapress.com / MEGA

IT IS hard to keep up. First, Hurricane Harvey deluged Houston, then Irma left a trail of destruction through the Caribbean and Florida, followed by Maria. All the while, wildfires have been raging in California and elsewhere.

Things got even more extraordinary when Ophelia turned into a major hurricane further east in the Atlantic than any other storm on record has. As it hit Ireland, it blew smoke from wildfires in Portugal over the UK, turning the skies apocalyptic red.

And while these events dominated Western media, there is plenty going on elsewhere. In …