at the same time longterm trends in inequality population growth urbanization economic globalization technological change and other socioeconomic processes will exert profound impacts on the changing climate which are difficult to envisage see chap in addition future climate trends will depend on national and international actions aimed at mitigation over the next few decades the uncertainty associated with forecasting longterm climate trends and their effect on weather patterns is complicated by the need to be geographically precise since the effects of climate hazards are felt at the local level