What is the worst case scenario for climate change over 5 to 10 years?

[Unbalance]

Obviously it is all gathering speed fast. But densely, I just can't really picture what will happen, in terms of well everything? There are so many factors at play.

Fresh water scarcity concerns me most. Is this the biggest threat to the most people over the next few years, as in will kill the most people in a short space of time?

Or if not water - what is the biggest threat if shtf completely?

What can governments do to prepare for worst case scenarios?

Resource competition generally. Crop failure leading to rising food prices and increased migration.

What we've seen in African nations will now play out in Europe

Fresh water scarcity concerns me most. Is this the biggest threat to the most people over the next few years, as in will kill the most people in a short space of time?

It is and it isn’t. We have the technology to easily and cheaply desalinate seawater. The issue is places that have no infrastructure where their water is from wells or natural sources. There will continue to be massive efforts to expand basic utilities across the globe.

I think worst case scenario is a 5m rise in sea levels. But even then, the species and civilisation will continue.

Right, but what will this look like in the day to day?

@MillicentBystandr I though desalination had some complex problems meaning it isn't a silver bullet, even leaving out infrastructure?

The old methods did, but the current RO ones have none of the issues.

Thinking reasonably locally, crops will fail/struggle. Food will continue to get more expensive. Increased migration as people try to move somewhere they can make a living. We will all have to get used to a lower standard of living.

Desalination is very energy intensive and definitely not a silver bullet. Food and energy prices will continue to rise, the UK (of the Western and/or Euro nations) will feel this most acutely due to the criminally short sighted policies of the last few decades. Extinctions will continue to gather pace, desertification across the equator, China and India will continue to poison their own land to produce as much shite as cheaply as possible, thereby increasing the pressure on global food and water supplies, more greenhouse gases will be pumped into the atmosphere, the human population will continue to rise unsustainable.

We reached the tipping point about a decade ago, we're currently in the lag while Earth's systems become unstable, we're starting to see the effects with heatwaves, monsoons, cold snaps all becoming extreme and/or out of season. Within the next 25 years the shit will really hit the fan.

Locally, not much at all. And it will happen so gradually that people won't be very aware. So gradually rising food prices, maybe more hosepipe bans, slightly hotter summers. More bad news reported from other places.

Suggest you read 'The Uninhabitable Earth' by David Wallace-Wells. Think you can find him on YouTube too. It's not an easy read OP.
I personally am feeling some relief that larger numbers of people now seem to be taking it seriously.

Increased droughts and flooding
Increased famines in hottest countries

Worst case might be the sun unexpectedly becoming a red giant overnight, or maybe worse still, going supernova.

Incidentally India just banned (temporarily hopefully but who knows) exports of white rice, due to ctop failures, due to flooding. They are the suppliers of 40% of the world's white rice. So prices of that are about to shoot up, which will affect the Asian diaspora badly.

I don’t know about number of years but

Resource competition, mass displacement

Some countries using geography to their advantage

In 5 - 10 years, we will see more extreme/volatile weather

Things like the (barely reported) hailstorms in Spain and Italy, that have mean rivers of ice as flood waters move through towns. Counterpointed by nearly all Italian cities being on an extreme heat warning.

Which will really hit food production across Europe, and the countries which have greatest food insecurity (gap between what they produce and what they need) will be badly hit (shortages and increased prices). I think Britain's food insecurity is high (and that's sod all to do with Brexit), and domestic food production may be hit too (could be either the dramatically high temperatures and wildfires of last year, or the lengthy drab/wet weather of this, depending on how the jet stream behaves)

”The Uninhabitable Earth” both the article and book is a work of alarmist doom mongering per actual climate scientists like Michael Mann . I hope you realise that.
https://debunkingdoomsday.quora.com/No-we-are-not-headed-for-an-Uninhabitable-Earth-debunked-David-Wallace-Wells-s-book-and-articles-such-as-The-end-o?share=1

Things like the (barely reported) hailstorms in Spain and Italy, that have mean rivers of ice as flood waters move through towns. Counterpointed by nearly all Italian cities being on an extreme heat warning.

Yes I found this bizarre, hard to wrap my head around it.

on the side of those who do not believe in climate change which is man engineered. Climate always changes

I think Britain's food insecurity is high

Yes. UK imports apx 50% of its food. However what that doesn't count is ingredients for processed food. For example tomatoes for your pizza coming from Spain even though the pizza produced here. So this figure in import dependencies in reality is larger. Eating habits will go back to what British can produce. Chicken and potatoes. However, when crops fail, chickens die and no potatoes either. Hope theres some time until then but may happen. In fact, looking more likely everyday...

See what I mean. Responses like this that minimise human responsibility probably means no one will do anything to circumvent, and it's probably too late anyway. Hence we're headed towards famine.

I know it’s just fiction but reminded me of that movie

The 3 Fs mainly - fire, flood and food-shortage.

I think the very scary truth is OP we can’t know what it’s going to look like locally as there are too many variables. But more investment in renewals, natural flood defences and British farming should be top of the political agenda and they’re just not at the moment which terrifies me. UK could geographically be in a good position to deal with the coming changes but were squandering that advantage at the moment by apparently not even thinking about it.

Most will die

I’ve been thinking lately this idea if Net Zero by a particular year sounds so pleasant, distant and abstract

I get politicians aren’t really up for it’s going to be bad but I’d switch focus on what to get across

We need to prepare, be secure