lightblueline

The Seattle Times (March 28, 2007) previews a report coming out soon about the threat to coastal cities. Deborah Balk, one of the report's authors, is a liner in New York City! The report outlines vulnerabilities for coastal cities around the world:

"More than two-thirds of the world's large cities are in areas vulnerable to global warming and rising sea levels, and millions of people are at risk of being swamped by flooding and intense storms, according to a new study released today.

In all, 634 million people live in the threatened coastal areas worldwide — defined as those lying at less than 33 feet above sea level — and the number is growing, said the study published in the journal Environment and Urbanization.

More than 180 countries have populations in low-elevation coastal zones, and about 70 percent of those have urban areas of more than 5 million people that are under threat. Among them: Tokyo; New York; Mumbai, India; Shanghai, China; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The peer-reviewed scientific study said it is the first to identify the world's low-lying coastal areas that are vulnerable to global warming and rising sea levels. It said 75 percent of all people living in vulnerable areas are in Asia, with poorer nations most at risk."

The REPORT and several useful MAPS are available from CIESIN in New York:

LOW ELEVATION COASTAL ZONE (LECZ) URBAN-RURAL ESTIMATES

You can read the whole press release here:

Global warming study: Rising sea levels a threat to major cities