Fleeing into adjoining lands they are largely invisible to the rich West. Africa, the continent that has the greatest food problems already, is predicted to suffer the most from drought and creeping deserts. We have to pull our heads out of the sand now, before the changes start spiralling out of control. Here is a hypothetical but entirely probable doomsday scenario. As greenhouse gases build up in the atmosphere, temperatures rise.
Forests begin to dry and die back or burn.
Felling continues apace, diminishing their ability to draw down carbon dioxide. Areas under ice melt to expose the earth below, which begins to soak up the sun's heat instead of reflecting it. Long-frozen tundra vegetation begins to decompose releasing more carbon dioxide and methane. The seas, swollen by rising temperatures and melting polar ice, swallow densely populated coastal regions. You get the picture.