Washington, D.C. ? Climate change will pose “substantial” threats to human health in the coming decades, the Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday – issuing its warnings about heat waves, hurricanes and pathogens just days after the agency declined to regulate the pollutants blamed for warming.

In a new report, the EPA found “it is very likely” that more people will die during extremely hot periods in future years – and that the elderly, the poor, and those in inner cities will be most at risk.

Other possible dangers include more powerful hurricanes, shrinking supplies of fresh water in the West, and the increased spread of diseases contracted through food and water, the EPA said.

The strong warnings highlighted the contorted position that the EPA has staked out on climate change. Last week, the agency effectively decided not to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, at least not until after the Bush administration leaves office.

A former EPA official told a House panel this week that senior White House officials and several Cabinet members supported regulating the emissions before the White House changed course and barred the EPA from concluding that they endanger public welfare.