The sunny side of global warming for UK Some areas of public health may improve, with the number of people dying because of cold winters projected to fall by as much as 24,000 A dire vision of violent storms, fatal floods and shriveled crops is often predicted in reports on global warming. But a gentler world of blueberry farms, shoals of plaice and fewer wintry deaths may also emerge as a result of the changing climate, according to a UK government study published on Thursday. For British businesses, other benefits could also be unleashed by climate change, the report says, from cheaper shipping costs to new fishing and crop opportunities. Melting Arctic sea ice could open up new container shipping routes to Asia and the Pacific, which would cut journey times and fuel costs, the report says, while rising sea temperatures may see fish such as sole and plaice becoming more abundant in UK waters, though cod and haddock might move away. Warmer temperatures could also make it easier to grow food such as blueberries and some commercial tree species, according to the Climate Change Risk Assessment, a large research project required under the 2008 Climate Change Act, three years in the making. In addition, some areas of public health may improve, with the number of people dying because of cold winters projected to fall by as much as 24,000, far more than the 5,900 additional deaths predicted to be caused by hotter weather. Although the report is notable for the possible benefits of climate change it highlights, it makes clear that overall, the threats outnumber the potential advantages by nearly four to one, mainly because of added flood risks. UK properties already suffer about £1.3bn in annual damage from river and sea flooding, and that could rise to as much as £12bn a year by the 2080s, says the assessment, which warns the amount of farmland at risk of flooding is also expected to jump. Overheated buildings, overflowing sewers and a greater risk of harmful viruses growing in warmer sea water are some of the other dangers cited in the assessment, which will now be used to help the government develop a national adaptation programme to prepare the country for climate change. Caroline Spelman, environment secretary, said both positive and negative aspects of climate change were included in the report because this reflected reality. "What we're doing is sharing with you the truth that there are both risks and opportunities," she told reporters at a media briefing ahead of the study's release.