Another United States icon is threatened by a very different facet of climate change: drought. Mesa Verde National Park , an impeccably-preserved ancient Ancestral Pueblo home carved into the side of a Colorado cliff, faces rising temperatures and declining rainfall. That combination could cause increased wildfires that might irreversibly damage the park, according to the report. So far, several major fires near the park have not destroyed the precious landmark within, but a big enough fire fueled by hot conditions could.
So could flash flooding or erosion in the canyon below. That development is essential to protecting the sites, which include areas of natural beauty as well as monuments. There is a clear need for more monitoring of important sites, according to the scientists, and coral reefs in particular are at a tipping point.
Without strong action, many areas are likely to face huge bills to protect their treasures. Other studies have also found world heritage areas at risk. Elsewhere sites which bring in important tourism revenue could be particularly badly hit, such as Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park where rising temperatures could affect the habitat of endangered mountain gorillas. Mr Markham said: "The report is representative of the kind of threats these iconic places are experiencing, some are in direct and immediate danger.
Not in every place is it threatening it yet but it will threaten it in the future. Mechtild Rossler, director of Unesco's World Heritage Centre, said: "Globally, we need to better understand, monitor and address climate change threats to World Heritage sites.
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. The report comes in the wake of last year's COP21 summit in Paris, where global leaders agreed to make sure global warming stayed "well below" 2 degrees Celsius and to "pursue efforts" to limit the temperature rise to 1. Skip Navigation. Energy jobs falling, but renewables see workforce grow to 8M: Study.
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