Climate change poses a threat to national security, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Oct. 13. “Rising global temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, climbing sea levels, and more extreme weather events will intensify the challenges of global instability, hunger, poverty, and conflict,” Hagel said. He called for the Defense Department to take necessary steps to minimize the harmful effects climate change could pose to mission performance and national security. His comments came as the Pentagon published a road map for adapting to climate change.