South America

The people of South America are heavily dependent on the continents natural resources - from the rangelands at the foothills of the Andes, to the plants and animals of the Amazon rainforest, to the fisheries off the coast of Peru. The regions ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to the changes in water availability expected with a changing climate. Higher global temperatures along with more frequent El Niños may bring increased drought, and melting glaciers in the Andes threaten the future water supply of mountain communities. Signs of a warming climate have already appeared both at high elevation - in glacial retreat and shifting ranges of disease-carrying mosquitoes, and along the coast - in rising sea level and coral bleaching.

- Andes Mountains, Peru: Glacial retreat accelerates seven-fold.
- Tropical Andes (Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile): Increase in average temperature.
- Argentina: Receding glaciers in Patagonia by an average of almost a mile (1.5 km) over the last 13 years.
- Andes Mountains, Columbia: Disease-carrying mosquitoes spreading.
- Galápagos, Ecuador: Coral reef bleaching.
- Buenos Aires, Argentina: Heaviest rains in 100 years, May 2000.
- Recife, Brazil: Sea-level rise.

Switzerland

- Receding glaciers: When a glacier melts completely, an important reserve of water can be lost. We should not forget that unique glacier landscapes also vanish, with effects on tourism.
- Thawing of the permafrost base: The risk of rock and sludge avalanches increases as a result. Buildings constructed on permafrost such as cable railway stations and mountain huts, etc. are at risk.
- Reduced snow cover and safety of snow in the Alps: The snow safety limit may climb several hundred meters above the present level of 1200 meters above sea level, with fatal consequences for many winter sports destinations in Switzerland.
- More precipitation falls as rain instead of snow during the winter, meaning that the water drains away immediately with a greater risk of flooding.
- Sensitive high Alpine flora are seriously endangered because they will be displaced by more competitive plants from lower vegetation zones if the temperature rises.