Climate change is amplifying risks from drought, floods, storms and rising seas, threatening all countries but small island states, poor nations and arid regions in particular, UN experts warn. In its first-ever report on the question, the Nobel-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said man-made global-warming gases are already affecting some types of extreme weather. And, despite gaps in knowledge, weather events once deemed a freak are likely to become more frequent or more vicious, inflicting a potentially high toll in deaths, economic damage and misery, it said. IPCC Chairman Rajendra Pachauri urged countries to prepare more for climate-related disasters. "Reducing disaster risk should be a priority in every country," said Chris Field, a US scientist who was one of the 592-page report's lead authors. A summary of the report was approved last November. The full document was published ahead of a worldwide campaign to advise governments, policymakers and grassroots groups. 'Disaster risk almost everywhere' The report states that since the 1950s, record-breaking daily temperatures and heatwaves have become more frequent or lasted longer, according to strong evidence. Extreme rainstorms have intensified over past decades and are likely to become more frequent in this century, although with big differences between regions, it added. Southern Europe and West Africa have already experienced bigger or longer droughts. This century, central Europe, central North America, central America and Mexico, northeast Brazil and southern Africa could follow suit. Furthermore, whether hurricanes or typhoons have changed in intensity, frequency and duration over the past 40 years is hard to gauge. But warmer seas suggest these storms will pack a higher wind speed, yet may also become less frequent. "There is disaster risk almost everywhere, in the world's developed regions as well as in developing regions, in areas where the problem is too much water and in areas where the problem is too little water and in areas where the problem is high sea level," said Field. "But the report does point out areas that are particularly vulnerable, and that does include large cities, particularly in developing countries, coastal areas, it includes small island states, and it includes much of the world that is chronically short of water resources." The panel stressed that it had exhaustively collected information, checked it and consulted with experts working outside the forum. The report was drawn up by 220 scientists and economists from 62 countries. Their draft was then submitted to external review by experts and governments, drawing nearly 19,000 comments in three rounds of consultation. The report, titled "Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation," acknowledges shades of uncertainty. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter