Belgian geographer Jasmin Lauwaert said on a Monday academic seminar that Mexico would face an average temperature increase of 2 degrees Celsius by 2050, leading to an increase in droughts in the north of the country.

"If climate change takes place, some 48.2 percent of Mexico would be vulnerable to desertification and drought, which would be more intense for the north and for densely populated areas," she told an event at the Atmosphere Science Center, at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Droughts harm agriculture, livestock farming, electricity production, and drinking water supplies for both cities and small towns, according to data from the National Water Commission.

Lauwaert said that the changes need to be so drastic if Mexico can reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, which include carbon dioxide, which is produced by burning, and methane which is produced by livestock and rice farming.

(Xinhua News Agency June 16, 2009)