The World Bank has stated that Bulgaria and other former Soviet bloc countries face huge challenges to avoid the worst ravages of climate change over the next 10 years.

In a report released Wednesday on climate change in Eastern Europe the World Bank also stated that it expects the Black Sea to be affected by sea-level rise.

"From Poland to Kazakhstan, from the Arctic circle to the Caucasus, nations face the likelihood of more frequent floods, droughts, heatwaves, storms and forest fires... But decrepit infrastructure and the legacies of Soviet mismanagement have left them fearfully under-equipped for coping with the threat", the Report reads

Average temperatures have already increased by 0,5 degrees Celsius (0,9 degrees Fahrenheit) in the south of Eastern Europe and by 1,6 C (2.9 F) in the north, in Siberia.

The warming has led to more frequent summer droughts and rapid melting of winter snows and glaciers, which in turn have badly affected water supplies, the report continued.

The World Bank added that the former Eastern Bloc countries are poor, have low awareness of climate change and suffer from shoddy housing and other infrastructure that will be badly exposed to weather extremes.

"Chronic environmental management" adds to the problems, they concluded.

The report, "Adapting to Climate Change in Europe and Central Asia," was issued on the sidelines of talks in Bonn under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

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