Climate Central, a nonprofit climate research group, recently released a study that provides a stark look at how rising sea levels could inundate, or even completely submerge, world-famous landmarks.
The world is facing the consequences of climate change as it warms the planet, including severe droughts, deadly floods and the rapid melting of glaciers and ice sheets around the world. Scientists say the steady rise in global sea levels will continue for decades as temperatures rise further.
As global leaders and delegates gather in Dubai for COP28 – the annual United Nations climate summit, Climate Central has illustrated the risks if nations fail to halt the planet’s rapid warming. A recent UN report found the world is now on track to warm by 2.9 degrees Celsius.
Using peer-reviewed sea-level rise projections and local elevations from its own models, Climate Central shows stark contrasts between the world as it is now and a future of rising tides, if the planet warms by 3 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times.
Among the 196 locations across the world that Climate Central modeled are famous landmarks such as the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, UAE; the Real Felipe Fortress in Lima, Peru; the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya Museum in Mumbai, India; Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark; Huacheng Square in Guangzhou, China; and the Temple of Literature in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Temple of Literature in Hanoi, Vietnam
“The decisions made at COP28 will shape the long-term future of coastal cities around the world, including Dubai,” said Benjamin Strauss, chief scientist and CEO of Climate Central.
Climate scientists have reported that the world is about 1.2 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial times and that it is on track to surpass 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming in the coming years – a key threshold to which scientists say humans and ecosystems will struggle to adapt.
State Hermitage Museum - the second largest art museum in the world by exhibition space, in St. Petersburg, Russia
In 2015, at COP21 in Paris, more than 190 countries adopted the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, but preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The world's trajectory towards 2.9 degrees Celsius of warming could threaten the survival of coastal communities, low-lying nations and small island states around the world.
Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark
Real Felipe Fortress in Lima, Peru
Huacheng Square in Guangzhou, China
“The survival of these places and their heritage will depend on whether governments and industry leaders can agree to cut carbon pollution deep enough and fast enough to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius,” Mr Strauss said.
According to a report released by the World Meteorological Organization on November 30 – the day COP28 officially opened – 2023 is considered a record-breaking year. Every month from June to October set a new record for global monthly temperatures by a wide margin, while ocean temperatures also reached record highs.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya Museum in Mumbai, India
These rising global temperatures are causing glaciers and ice sheets to melt at alarming rates, adding significant amounts of water to the Earth’s oceans. Even Antarctica, the planet’s most isolated continent, is experiencing unprecedented melting. The melting of some of the world’s largest glaciers is now inevitable and could have devastating effects on global sea level rise.
Some 385 million people currently live in areas that will eventually be inundated by seawater at high tide, even if pollution from global warming is significantly reduced, according to Climate Central.
Adelaide Airport, Australia
If we limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, rising sea levels will still affect land areas currently inhabited by 510 million people. But if the planet warms by 3 degrees Celsius, rising tides could swallow up land areas home to more than 800 million people, a recent study found.
Although these scenarios may be centuries away, scientists say with each degree of warming, the consequences of climate change will get worse.
The world's tallest tower Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE
At COP28, global leaders will discuss how to phase out the use of planet-warming fossil fuels to prevent cities around the world from sinking. These negotiations are always difficult, contentious and expose deep rifts between parts of the world .
Minh Duc (According to CNN, 9News, Climate Central)
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