Many Cities Could Sink Beneath Rising Sea Level

Rio de Janiero is only one of thousands of coastal cities that could become at least partially submerged if predicted sea-level rises from global warming occur.

A new U.N. report warns that few of the world’s coastal cities will be spared by the rising sea level caused by global warming over the next several decades.

State of the World’s Cities 2008/9: Harmonious Cities, published by the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT), points out that many metropolitan areas are located along the coast or adjacent to rivers that will be affected by the rising oceans.

As cities become swamped by higher tides, UN-HABITAT warns that millions of jobs will be lost as large portions of the population abandon their homes in forced migrations on an unprecedented scale.

The report cautions that port cities, such as Mumbai and Shanghai, which have high concentrations of people and economic assets, will be most severely affected physically and economically if mitigation plans are not put in place.

A total of 3,351 cities are located in the low elevation coastal zones less than 30 feet (10 metres) above sea level around the world, according to UN-HABITAT.

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