How rising sea levels could affect PHL cities, towns by 2050

The Philippines is one of the eight Asian countries at great risk due to the coastal flooding made worse by climate change in 2050, according to new research.

CostalDEM, the study's coastal risk screening tool, showed how several coastal areas from north to south of the Philippines are projected to be in a flood zone within three decades.

The study, produced by Climate Central, a science organization based in New Jersey and published in the journal Nature Communications last October 29 showed that storm surges, cyclones and rising seas due to climate change could affect three times more people than previously thought.

Dr. Scott Kulp and Dr. Benjamin Strauss, the authors of the paper, developed a more accurate way of calculating land elevation based on satellite readings. They found out that previous numbers were far too optimistic.

The new research showed that 150 million people currently living on land will be submerged by mid-century. Among the countries that will be most affected are the Philippines, China, Bangladesh, India, Vietnam. Indonesia, Thailand and Japan.

"Analysis reveals a developed global coastline three times more exposed to extreme coastal water levels than previously thought," the study said.

"Global impacts of sea-level rise and coastal flooding this century will likely be far greater than indicated by the most pessimistic past analyses relying on Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM)," it added.

According to the interactive map, "Coastal floods denote saltwater floods caused by sea level, tide and storm surge combining to raise the ocean high enough to spread over adjacent land."

"The map incorporates neither precipitation nor river runoff, leading to lower flood risk determinations than would otherwise be the case in many areas," it added.

Greater numbers of people are expected to be affected since the global population is set to increase by two billion by 2050. —JST, GMA News