TRENTON, N.J. — Wilting heat, deadly storms, flash floods, coastal erosion, more days with unhealthy air — those are just some of the effects of rising temperatures on the Northeast, a group of scientists reported Wednesday.

They urged governments and citizens to take steps now to avoid the most devastating consequences of global warming.

The Union of Concerned Scientists presented a report detailing the disastrous consequences of climate change on the economy, tourism industry, coastline and agricultural production in nine states. The scientists said the goal of the assessment is to provide policymakers and business leaders with the best available science on which to base climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.

The burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and gasoline, are a leading cause of the heating of the planet, known as global warming.

In New Jersey and other states, the multi-billion-dollar coastal tourism industry will suffer from even a slight rise in sea level that will result from a global rise in temperatures, the scientists said. Less snowfall and more ice storms will adversely impact New Hampshire, Vermont and other states that draw winter tourists for skiing and snowmobiling.

In New Jersey, two of the state's premier crops, blueberries and cranberries, would be threatened if temperatures rise by as much as 14 degrees Fahrenheit by late century, as scientists predict if fossil fuel consumption continues to rise at current levels.

Some impacts of global warming have already begun.

For example, Boston and Atlantic City, N.J., are projected to experience once-a-century flooding every year or two. Coastal flooding and erosion along the eastern seaboard is projected to occur regularly, costing billions. And in coastal regions, the lobster and cod industry will be decimated by warmer sea waters.

The economic impacts of global warming extend to human health. With more days over 100 degrees, and more unhealthy air days, more people will suffer from asthma and other respiratory ailments, the report says.

The allergy season will last longer, and more people will suffer more serious effects.