In a grim warning on climate change, the British government’s chief scientist said the world must immediately put into place measures to address global warming, even if they take decades to produce results. Sir David King said that, even by the most optimistic forecasts, carbon dioxide levels are set to rise to double what they were at the time of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. That will lead to a three-degree centigrade rise in temperature, King said, adding that if nothing is done to manage such change, few eco-systems on Earth will be able to adapt. Even worse, said King in an interview on BBC radio, up to 400 million people around the world would find themselves at risk of hunger, because 20 million to 400 million tonnes of cereal production will be lost. In Britain, the main threat will be flooding and ‘coastal attack’ as a result of rising sea levels. ‘If you ask me where do we feel the temperature is likely to end up if move to a level of carbon dioxide of 500 parts per million — which is roughly twice the pre-industrial (revolution) level and the level at […]