Large coastal cities in perilous path of climate-change juggernaut

authordefault
on

The study, by researchers at Columbia University’s Centre for International Earth Sciences Information Network and the London-based International Institute for Environment and Development, is the first of its kind.

To be published in the peer-reviewed journal Environment and Urbanisation, the study assesses risks to populations and urban settlements along coastal areas less than 10 metres above sea level. Although this accounts for only two percent of the world’s land area, it contains 10 percent of the world’s population and 13 percent of the world’s urban population.

“Of the more than 180 countries with populations in the low-elevation coastal zone, 130 of them – about 70 percent – have their largest urban area extending into that zone,” said Bridget Andersen, a research associate at CIESIN. “Furthermore, the world’s largest cities – those with more than five million residents – have on average one-fifth of their population and one-sixth of their land area within this coastal zone.”

Related Posts

on

Newly discovered documents from the 1970s and early ’80s show that Shell knew more about the "greenhouse effect" than it let on in public.

Newly discovered documents from the 1970s and early ’80s show that Shell knew more about the "greenhouse effect" than it let on in public.
Opinion
on

The Biden administration must act to protect the public from the rail industry’s dangerous plans for the energy transition.

The Biden administration must act to protect the public from the rail industry’s dangerous plans for the energy transition.
on

DeSmog contributor Geoff Dembicki urged politicians to learn Imperial Oil’s history of spreading misinfo spanning back to the 1970s.

DeSmog contributor Geoff Dembicki urged politicians to learn Imperial Oil’s history of spreading misinfo spanning back to the 1970s.
on

The governing party has accepted millions in “dirty donations” while watering down its net zero commitments.

The governing party has accepted millions in “dirty donations” while watering down its net zero commitments.