2018.01.1707:00:00UTC+00WEF: Experts Forecast Risks To Intensify In 2018

The world is entering a critical period of intensified risk in 2018, the World Economic Forum said in the Global Risks Report 2018, published on Wednesday.

According to the annual report, structural and interconnected nature of risks in 2018 threaten the very system on which societies, economies and international relations are based.

The global risks perception survey indicated that experts are preparing for another period of heightened risk. They cited deteriorating geopolitical landscape for the pessimistic outlook in 2018.

Among the 30 global risks the experts were asked to prioritize in terms of likelihood and impact, all five environmental risks namely extreme weather; biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse; major natural disasters; man-made environmental disasters; and failure of climate-change mitigation and adaptation - were ranked highly on both dimensions, the report said.

Extreme weather events were seen as the single most prominent risk.

"A widening economic recovery presents us with an opportunity that we cannot afford to squander, to tackle the fractures that we have allowed to weaken the world's institutions, societies and environment," Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of World Economic Forum, said.