The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report that generated shock waves on Monday is the most detailed assessment of climate science ever undertaken, advancing our understanding of how - and how fast - greenhouse gas emissions are changing the planet. But experts caution that the comprehensive global review contains blind spots - overlooking regions that are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change but where data on those impacts is severely lacking. In its 40-page Summary for Policymakers, the IPCC presents three maps of the world, with regions divided up in to hexagons. Each of the maps shows observed changes in extreme heat, rainfall and drought. While there is a strong observed increase in extreme hot weather nearly everywhere, when it comes to rainfall and drought, South America, Africa and the Pacific Island states in particular are nearly blank slates. Of the seven sub-regions of South America, only one - the southeast - has reliable rainfall data, and just one other - the northeast - has sufficient data on drought. "It's important to mention that we can only use and assess the available literature," Paola Arias, associate professor at...