STEPPING outside it feels more Baltic than Bahamas at present – but University of Southampton experts are predicting a much warmer future.

However the outlook is not forecast to be bright. Melting ice sheets, rising seas and hellishly hot weather could see hundreds of millions fleeing their homes as ecorefugees.

Now the scientists say that the world must brace itself for the worst case scenario.

Temperatures could rise by 4C this century, wreaking havoc with the climate’s delicate balance.

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The apocalyptic warning comes in a paper, called Four Degrees And Beyond, published yesterday in a special issue of the Royal Society’s Philosophical Transactions.

Lead author Professor Robert Nicholls, the University of Southampton’s professor of coastal engineering, said: “Globally if coastal defences are not strengthened and upgraded to cope with these conditions it may result in the forced displacement of up to 187 million people over the century – equivalent to 2.4 per cent of the global population.”

The scientists fear sea levels rising by up to 6.5ft by 2100. Prof Nicholls said that protecting against this would require tens of billions of pounds and would require world leaders working together before it is too late.

The paper has joined calls for renewed efforts to reduce emissions and boost research to curb the potential for climate change catastrophe.

Huhne at climate summit

WHILE University of Southampton experts were sounding warnings about climate calamity, a Hampshire politician was yesterday at the centre of talks at a global climate summit.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne, pictured, is in Cancun in Mexico, along with 15,000 officials, politicians and experts from 194 countries around the world, to thrash out a new environmental agreement.

Negotiations will cover issues such as financial assistance to help developing countries, tackling deforestation and emissions.

But Mr Huhne, Eastleigh’s Liberal Democrat MP, is pessimistic about an agreement being struck.

He said: “We won’t get a full binding deal in Cancun, but people and businesses around the world will be watching and expecting to see us prepare the ground.”