Global warming is likely to lead to a huge increase in the number and scale of humanitarian emergencies worldwide, senior officials from the United Nations and Red Cross warned last week.

Speaking at a special UK parliamentary meeting on the humanitarian implications of climate change, the UN’s emergency relief coordinator, John Holmes, said that international abilities to respond could well be overwhelmed unless immediate efforts towards reducing the risk of disaster are undertaken.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said that climate change could bring “an increase in extreme weather events: more droughts, …