Climate change hard on poorest countries

Mexico City: Droughts, floods, changing rain patterns and rising sea levels are threatening development efforts in the world's poorest countries, experts and aid workers said at an international water forum.

Regions including Africa and South Asia home to most of the 1.1 billion people who live without clean water will be among the hardest hit by changing weather patterns, experts at the 4th World Water Forum said.

They blamed the threats largely on changes in the global climate.

"Droughts will worsen. We will see deforestation, forest fires, a loss of biodiversity and degradation of the environment," said Michel Jarraud, secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organisation. "The least developed countries are the most affected. Often, developing countries don't have the resources to mitigate the impact."

Gana Unnayan Sangstha, an aid worker who helps install community water systems in Bangladesh's poor coastal province of Satkhira, said global warming is causing salt to get into ground water, rendering wells useless for drinking or irrigation.

"Bangladesh is the lowest-lying country in the world.

"There are salinity intrusions into larger areas due to climate change, and a rise in sea-water levels," he said.