'Extreme weather events' such as the hot summer of 2003, which

caused an extra 35,000 deaths across southern Europe from heat stress

and poor air quality, will happen more frequently.

Britain and

the North Sea area will be hit more often by violent cyclones and the

predicted rise in sea level will double to more than a metre, putting

vast coastal areas at risk from flooding.

The bleak report from

WWF - formerly the World Wildlife Fund - also predicts crops failures

and the collapse of eco systems on both land and sea.

And it

calls on the EU to set an example to the rest of the world by agreeing

a package of challenging targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions

to tackle the consequences of climate change and to keep any increase

in global temperatures below 2C.

The agency says that the 2007

report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - a

study of global warming by 4,000 scientists from more than 150

countries which alerted the world to the possible consequences of

global warming - is now out of date.

WWF's report, Climate Change: Faster, stronger, sooner, has updated all the scientific data and concluded that global warming is accelerating far beyond the IPCC's forecasts.

As

an example it says the first 'tipping point' may have already been

reached in the Arctic, where sea ice is disappearing up to 30 years

ahead of IPCC predictions and may be gone completely within five years

- something that hasn't occurred for a million years.

It could result in rapid and abrupt climate change rather than the gradual changes forecast by the IPCC.

The findings include:

* Global sea level rise could more than double from the IPCC's estimate of 0.59m by the end of the century.

*

Natural carbon sinks, such as forests and oceans, are losing their

ability to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere faster than expected.

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* Rising temperatures have already led to a major reduction in food crops resulting in losses of 40m tonnes of grain per year.

* Marine ecosystems in the North and Baltic Sea are being exposed to the warmest temperatures measured since records began.

*

The number and intensity of extreme cyclones over the UK and North Sea

are projected to increase, leading to increased wind speeds and

storm-related losses over Western and Central Europe.

The

report was issued to coincide with a meeting of EU Environment

Ministers today to discuss new laws aimed at tackling climate change.

Some countries, including Italy and Poland, have already rejected

proposals for higher cuts in emissions claiming they are unaffordable

and unrealistic when many countries are facing recession.

The UK

is the only country so far to commit to a legally binding 80 per cent

cut in emissions by 2050 which the Government claims can be achieved by

a switch to renewable energy sources - such as wind and wave - combined

with a new generation of nuclear power stations.

In the report

WWF urges the EU to commit to a reduction target of at least 30 per

cent below 1990 levels by 2020 without relying on offsetting overseas

and to provide financial support so developing countries can cut their

own emissions and prepare for unavoidable impacts of climate change.

WWF-UK's

Head of Climate Change, Dr. Keith Allott, said: "Climate change is a

major challenge to the future of mankind and the environment, and this

sobering overview highlights just how critical it is that EU

environment ministers, who are meeting today to discuss EU legislation

to tackle climate change, commit to a strong climate and energy

package, in order to ensure a low carbon future.

"If the European

Union wants to be seen as leader at UN talks in Copenhagen next year,

and to help secure a strong global deal to tackle climate change after

2012, then it must stop shirking its responsibilities and commit to

real emissions cuts within Europe."

The report has been

endorsed by Professor Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, the newly elected Vice

Chair of the IPCC, who said: "It is clear that climate change is

already having a greater impact than most scientists had anticipated,

so it's vital that international mitigation and adaptation responses

become swifter and more ambitious."