There’s no arguing—the world is getting warmer, weather events will become more catastrophic, and we’re causing it. That’s the gist of a report recently released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Despite the seriousness of the situation, the IPCC says there are ways to lower our risk.

The special report, Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (known as SREX), finds that the earth’s current warming trajectory will likely manifest in hotter days and more heat waves, storms, and floods, and possibly lead to droughts and to more frequent and intense cyclones and tropical storms.

“It also underlines the complexity and the diversity of factors that are shaping human vulnerability to extremes—why for some communities and countries these can become disasters whereas for others they can be less severe,” IPCC Chair Rajendra Pachauri said in a press release.

Although the full report won’t be available until February, a summary for policy makers was released in mid-November in advance of the UN Climate Change Conference being held this week in Durban, South Africa. The assessments are based on a range of scenarios and models to be used for adaptation planning.

While the outlook is dire, there are a number of responses that could steer us from the worst-case scenarios to more moderate outcomes, the IPCC stated. There are also measures that can be taken to reduce the impacts of climate-related weather, but in both cases, changes need to start now rather than later.

“This is a window into the future if our political response doesn't change quickly,” Jake Schmidt of Natural Resources Defense Council told the Guardian. “This report should be a wake-up call to those that believe that climate change is some distant issue that might impact someone else.” be a wake-up call to those that believe that climate change is some distant issue that might impact someone else.”