A recent international study to be published in the April edition of the journal Environment and Urbanization has shown that 1 in 10 people in the world (mostly in Asia) living in coastal areas are at risk from rising seas and more powerful storms that may be a result of global warming.
The researchers urged governments to make billion-dollar policy shifts to encourage more settlements inland rather than in coastal regions from China to Florida that may suffer even more storm surges and erosion.
The study states that a zone less than 10 meters (33 ft) above sea level has about 2 percent of the world's land and 10 percent of its population.
Based on new computer population models and NASA satellite data, it is estimated that 634 million people lived in the coastal zone in 2000- including 360 million in towns and cities, with more than 75% in Asia.
Globalization fosters world trade largely reliant on shipping in countries like China and India and this promotes a shift towards the coasts. Climate experts projected last month that sea levels could rise by 18 to 59 cms (7.1 to 23.2 inches) by 2100, and keep rising for centuries. They also forecasts more powerful storms, droughts and heatwaves resulting from enhanced greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from burning fossil fuels.
Ranked by population, China is most at risk with 143 million people living by the coast, followed by India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, Egypt and the United States.
By another measure, small island states will be hardest hit. More than 90 percent of the Maldives, the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, the Cayman Islands and the Turk and Caicos Islands are less than 10 meters above sea level.
Many countries cannot afford Dutch-style dykes to keep out rising seas but the researchers said governments could do a lot with better long-term planning and incentives for settling on higher ground.
Read more @: http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSL2714227620070328?pageNumber=2
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