An international conference on coastal management against climate change opened Wednesday in Cuba.

The three-day conference in Santiago de Cuba, a port city worst hit by Hurricane Sandy last October, drew experts from nine countries

At the opening ceremony, Fernando Gonzalez, Cuba's first deputy science minister, stressed the importance of studies on risks of climate change.

In the last 40 years, the average annual temperature in Cuba increased 0.6 degrees Celsius and the sea level rose on average 5.72 centimeters, said Gonzalez, quoting official figures. Endi