LOW-LYING areas of Wales will be swamped by a combination of storm surges and rising sea levels caused by global warming, scientists and government agencies have warned. Large areas of seaside cities, towns and villages, from Cardiff to Caernarfon will be affected by seasonal or even permanent flooding. The warnings come as Defra hosts a conference on global warming and sea level rises in the next 100 years. And today the Green Party broadcasts alarming predictions of a three-metre rise in sea levels in the next 100 years. "That's a worst-case scenario, but the fact that insurance companies are already reacting by increasing premiums in low-lying coastal areas and flood plains says something," said global environment expert David Powell of the Welsh Institute of Rural Studies. "But we won't get away with nothing and even the best case is that there will be some sea-level rise." Scientists blame global warming for a collapse of two-thirds of Antarctica's huge Larsen B ice-shelf over a 35-day period between January 31 and March 7 this year. Satellite pictures show huge reductions in glaciers across the world. But even as the ice melts, the oceans expand as they get warmer and global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels - the environmental consequences of the internal combustion engine and conventional electricity generation - shows no signs of slowing. | 
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