Chikungunya - the tropical disease that could hit the UK 'because of climate change'

In the last few weeks, more than 200 people in northern Italy have been infected with chikungunya - a disease that causes crippling muscle pain and fever. One died.

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Health officials say it is the first time an outbreak of the disease has been confirmed outside the tropics.

There are fears that a succession of warm summers and mild winters could allow it to spread to Switzerland, France and the UK.

The warning came as United Nations scientists predicted rising world temperatures would bring more exotic diseases to Europe.

A 980-page report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, launched yesterday in London, forecast more deaths from heatwaves, an increase in skin cancer and higher pollen counts.

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More freak weather, including floods and droughts, is also on the way, the report said.

Its authors said the impacts of global warming are already being felt, and that it was too late to prevent a rise in droughts, floods and the extinction of species.

Professor Martin Parry, a British co-author, said a rise in world temperaturesof 2C, the maximum target-set by the European Union, was almost inevitable.

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The report says this temperature rise would cause water shortages for two billion, put a fifth of the world's species at risk of extinction, damage almost all the world's coral reefs and put an extra three million men and women at risk of flooding.

"A 2C increase will be difficult to avoid," he said. "It's now the choice between a damaged world - or a more damaged world."

The report says the effects of climate change are already being seen in the shrinking of Arctic ice and in the earlier arrival of spring. Britain will be more at risk from heatwaves and will face the threat of new diseases.

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This month Italy's ministry of health confirmed at least 200 cases of chikungunya in the Ravenna region. British travellers to the area have been told to protect themselves against mosquito bites.

The European Centre for Disease Control advises pregnant women and those with serious illnesses to avoid the region.

The disease is spread by the tiger mosquito, which first appeared in Italy 15 years ago.

Scientists say the insects were imported on secondhand tyres from India and has moved to France, Spain, Croatia and Switzerland.

The disease was brought in by an Indian tourist. Scientists believe he was bitten by a tiger mosquito which passed the disease on.

Dr Bettina Menne, of the World Health Organisation, said: "We cannot say that the disease was caused by climate change, but the conditions in Italy are now suitable for the Tiger mosquito."

Global warming is improving the quality of wine and making it more alcoholic, the UN scientists say.

The rise in temperatures over the last few decades has led to bumper crops of grapes and increased their sugar content. As the climate continues to warm, wine production in cooler parts of Europe - including England - will continue to improve, they say.