A dire warning has been issued in a recent report, which highlights the looming peril facing several Caribbean countries due to the absence of shoreline defenses.
According to the report, these nations may permanently lose at least five percent of their cities to sea-level rises by the close of this century.
Cities at risk
The report identifies Kingston (Jamaica), as one of the vulnerable cities in the crosshairs.
Without adequate shoreline defenses, the worst-case scenario of warming could lead to five per cent or more of the following cities succumbing to irreversible inundation: Guayaquil, Ecuador; Barranquilla, Colombia; Santos, Brazil; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Kingston, Jamaica; Cotonou, Benin; Kolkata, India; Perth, Australia; Newcastle, Australia; and Sydney, Australia.
New hyperlocal data sheds light
Insights from Human Climate Horizons, a joint initiative between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Climate Impact Lab (CIL), reveal a distressing trend.
Over the past two decades, coastal flooding has escalated due to rising sea levels. Consequently, an additional 14 million people worldwide now reside in coastal communities with a one-in-20 annual risk of flooding.
If global greenhouse gas emissions (SSP2-4.5) continue on their current trajectory, this one-in-20 flood risk could extend to areas inhabited by nearly 73 million individuals by the close of the century.