New York, Aug 22 (DPA) Climate change directly impacts food prices and wages in some developing countries, driving the urban poor deeper into poverty, a new study supported by the World Bank has said.

The Development Research Group at the World Bank and climate researchers from Purdue University in Indiana have concluded that the urban poor will be 'hardest hit and they enter more rapidly into poverty as the climate changes throughout the century'.

The researchers focused on the urban poor in 16 developing countries, including Bangladesh, Mexico, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia. The Purdue University researchers studied the potential economic factors affected by the adverse climate changes such as heat waves, drought and heavy rains.

Purdue professor Noah Diffenbaugh said extreme weather affects agricultural products, resulting in higher prices for food staples such as grains, which are essential daily supplies for poor households.

'Studies have shown global warming will likely increase the frequency and intensity of heat waves, droughts and floods in many areas,' Diffenbaugh said. 'It is important to understand which socio-economic groups and countries could see changes in poverty rates in order to make informed policy decisions.