A new study that takes into account the effects of both climate change and normal oceanic variations predicts that by 2100, some of Asia’s major cities may be submerged.
Sea levels have already been rising as a result of rising ocean temperatures and record-breaking glacier melting brought on by climate change.
Yet, a study that was released in the journal Nature Climate Change provides new information as well as dire warnings about the potential consequences for millions of people.
The study contends that earlier analyses overestimated the rate of sea level rise and subsequent flooding brought on by natural ocean variations, despite the fact that many Asian megacities along the coast were already at risk of flooding.
It is challenging to determine the impact of natural oscillations because of their great degree of variability. Yet, the analysis demonstrated that certain Southeast Asian megacities would become new hotspots of significant sea-level rise with the largest impact from natural variations mixed with the anticipated effects of climate change.
The study estimates that coastal flooding events will occur 18 times more frequently than they did in the past century in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, due only to climate change.
Yet, the study indicated that when taking into account naturally occurring variations in sea level, the incidence of coastal flooding can increase by up to 96 times.
To “be ready for the worst,” millions should
The results of the study highlight the need of combating climate change, according to Lourdes Tibig, a climate science adviser for the Center for Climate and Sustainable Cities in the Philippines.
To protect the millions who live in our coastal megacities, the world must address climate change with much greater urgency and ambition, according to Tibig.
yastmastmastmastmastmastmas, and.. Researchers from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the University of La Rochelle in France, the National Center for Atmospheric Research in the United States (CNRS), and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) found that some western tropical Pacific islands as well as the western Indian Ocean are particularly at risk, as are the cities of Chennai and Kolkata in India, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, and Yangon in Myanmar.
The study predicted that sea levels would rise far more along the west coasts of Australia and the United States.
The higher-than-expected rise in sea levels could have an impact on more than 50 million people in Asian megacities alone, over 30 million of them in India.
Ho Chi Minh City has a population of over 9 million, Bangkok at least 11 million, and Yangon about 5.6 million.
It is unlikely that the sea level changes described in the research will materialize until the end of the twenty-first century. The scientists cautioned that the hazard would become more pressing if greenhouse gas emissions continued at their current rate.
Policy makers and the general public should both be concerned about these possible hazards, according to NCAR scientist Aixue Hu, one of the study’s authors.
We must be ready for the worst from a policy viewpoint, according to Hu. warmer water
According to a press release from NCAR, the study discovered that naturally occurring events like El Nio, a weather phenomenon that is known to make much of the West Pacific, Australia, and Asia warmer than usual, could accelerate the projected sea level rise due to climate change by 20–30%, which also raises the risk of extreme flooding events. Throughout the past year, the Asia-Pacific area has already experienced exceptional catastrophic flooding brought on by climate change.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service of the European Union identified 2022 as “a year of climate extremes,” including devastating floods in Pakistan and extensive flooding in Australia.
At the same time, ocean temperatures are at their highest point ever and are predicted to rise further.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in January that ocean temperatures reached a record high in 2018, breaking the previous mark set in 2021.
For the planet’s oceans, the last four years have been the warmest four on record.
In fact, according to our forecast, 2023 will be warmer than 2022, said Gavin Schmidt, a climate scientist with NASA, in January.
