As widespread awareness about climate change grows, one of the most alarming impacts is the rising sea levels. These increasing sea levels are posing a significant threat to coastal cities across the globe. From Miami to Mumbai and Venice to Vancouver, these sites are increasingly becoming vulnerable to the horrors of surging waters, tidal waves, and disastrous floods.
Climate change, primarily characterized by global warming, has been the root cause behind this disastrous phenomenon. The accelerated melting of glaciers and polar ice caps because of incremental temperature increase results in higher sea levels. As infrastructures at coastal cities come under siege, it raises profound questions about how these urban areas can shield themselves from such impending doom.
A concoction of multiple factors contributes to sea level rises. These include thermal expansion, glacier melt-off, and the melting of the polar ice caps. As the earth’s temperature becomes warmer, the sea water expands. This phenomenon, known as thermal expansion, is responsible for approximately half of the observed changes in sea levels from 1901 to 2010.
As the world industrialized post the 18th century, greenhouse gas emissions soared. The release of these heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide and methane has caused global temperatures to increase significantly, thereby causing glaciers and ice caps to melt. This process adds considerable amounts of water to our oceans, consequently leading to sea-level rise.
A recent study by Climate Central, a research organization based in the United States, has sounded alarm bells by reporting that 300 million people living in coastal cities could face annual flooding by 2050. Earlier estimations had predicted that around 28 million people would be affected. The primary targets of this alarmingly increased threat are densely populated coastal metropolis in Asia, with cities like Bangkok, Shanghai, Dhaka, and Mumbai being the most susceptible.
In the USA, coastal cities and regions are not immune to this phenomenon. Places like Miami, New York City, and New Orleans face challenges due to rising sea levels. Miami, a city more at risk than any other due at least in part to rising sea levels, often faces ‘sunny day flooding’. The sea-level rise has caused flooding to be commonplace especially when high tide aligns with the full moon. Similarly, places like New York and New Orleans have witnessed floods during hurricanes made significantly worse due to the rising sea levels.
These emerging realities make it crucial for addressing climate change more urgently and adapting cities and communities to the new normal. Resilience-based policymaking is a key need of the hour. This involves an array of strategies from restoring natural buffers like mangroves and wetlands to constructing seawalls and moving to higher ground. For instance, New York City post-Hurricane Sandy has invested over $20 billion in a climate adaptation program that includes building breakwaters, flood walls, and levies.
Technological solutions are being increasingly recognized as one of the major components of climate resilience. They range from ‘smart’ infrastructural designs, early warning systems, cloud seeding to initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions like renewable energy and carbon capture technologies.
Countries like the Netherlands, long accustomed to living below sea level, have been leaders and innovators in developing ways to protect their communities. They have deployed ingenious infrastructural adaptations like the Maeslant Barrier, a movable storm surge barrier, and amphibious homes which float when waters rise.
Despite the effectiveness of these individual efforts, addressing the threats posed by rising sea levels requires a collective, globally coordinated response. The Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change, is a positive step in achieving this global endeavor. It aims to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.
However, keeping the global temperature rise below the levels stated in the Paris Agreement requires rigorous compliance towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Evidence suggests that we are currently not on track. According to the Emission Gap Report by the United Nations, by 2030, greenhouse gas emissions need to be 55% lower than what they were projected to be in 2017 to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
In conclusion, rising sea levels due to climate change demand immediate attention to shield coastal cities. The global community needs to expedite actions to mitigate climate change and commit to resilience-based urban planning and infrastructural development to safeguard these metropolitan hubs. The essence of resilience lies not only in the abilities to protect and preserve but also in the capabilities to adapt and transform. In an era of changing climate and rising seas, this resilience will indeed be a monumental test for these coastal cities.
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