Scientists develop new method to help global coasts adapt to sea-level rise. This work was done by Prof. Robert Nicholls with whom I co-direct the engineering in the coastal environment MSc.
Tag: Robert Nicholls
Future flood losses in the world’s largest coastal cities
Over the next few decades climate change induced sea level rise and subsidence due to ground water pumping is expected to affect a greater proportion of people living in low lying regions. Coupled with economic growth and increasing populations in coastal cities this trend will result in higher annual losses from flooding.
A recent Nature Climate Change article estimates that the average annual losses from flooding in the world’s largest coastal cities could rise from about $6 billion per year in 2005 to over $1 trillion per year by 2050. Even if investments are made to maintain flood probabilities at current levels, subsidence and sea level rise alone will increase annual losses to around $63 billion by 2050.
The above figure, from the article, shows the 20 cities where Average Annual Losses (AAL) increase the most (in relative terms in 2050 compared with 2005) if adaptive measures are taken…
View original post 345 more words
Professor Ivan Haigh 