At a Glance

The findings come as part of California's Fourth Climate Change Assessment, released Monday.Wildfires are not the only threat facing the state in the years to come because of climate change.By 2050,the water supply from snowpack will decline by two-thirds.Thousands more people could die each year from heat-related deaths.

California could expect a 50 percent increase in large wildfires that burn up to 77 percent more land by the end of the century, a state climate study says.

According to California’s released Monday by the state's naturalresources agency, wildfires are not the only climate-change-related threat facing the state in the years to come.

Rising seaswill rob the state of precious beachfront property. Less rain will deplete reservoirs. And crops in the Central Valley are likely to shrivel up as severe droughts become the norm.

“It’s all of these things happening in combination. ,” Bob Weisenmiller, chair of the California Energy Commission, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “There were times when people thought we had the rest of the century to act on climate change. But climate change is upon us now, and we have to act right now.”

The grim report is the fourth climate assessment since former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggerordered the first assessment in 2006 as a precursor to the Global Warming Solutions Act, a law enacted that same yearto cut greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels.

The findings are meant to help state and local officials prepare for what may come.

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According to the :

• The state's average annual maximum daily temperature will increasebetween 5.6 degrees and 8.8 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100.• By 2050,the water supply from snowpack will decline by two-thirds.• Certain regions of the state can expect water shortages of up to 16 percent by 2050.• An estimated 31 to 67 percent of Southern California beaches could erode by 2100 without large-scale human intervention.• With a projected rise in sea level of 20 inches, approximately$17.9 billion worth of residential and commercial buildings statewide could be inundated by sea level rise by 2050.• The number of miles of highway susceptible to coastal flooding during a 100-year storm will triple by 2100 to 370 miles. Another3,750 miles will be exposed to temporary flooding.• In the areas that have the highest fire risk, wildfire insurance is estimated to see costs rise by 18 percent by 2055.• Heat waves in cities could cause two to three times more heat-related deaths by 2050, meaning 6,700 to 11,300 more people will die each year from the heat.•Hotter temperatures will increase annual electricity demand.

In a prepared statement, California Gov. Jerry Brown said the "findings are profoundly serious and will continue to guide us as we confront the apocalyptic threat of irreversible climate change."

Officials say the report highlights theurgent need to reduce globalgreenhouse gas emissions and to prepare for a world that is already changing.

“We’re seeing that in the fire situation, we’re seeing that in sea level rise, we’re seeing that in heat spells, in ,” California Energy Commission Chairman Robert Weisenmiller told the Los Angeles Times. “The climate is changing now so we need to be adapting our communities.”