India in high risk with rising sea levels

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: India will be at a very high risk and will be the most affected country after China as a result of rising sea levels caused by global warming.

The report from Climate Central assesses the impact of sea level rises caused by 2( light blue colour in the chart below) and 4 degrees Celsius (Dark blue colour in the chart below) global temperature increases. The chart shows the 2010 population (in millions) who will be affected by the median locked-in sea level rise from the two different temperature increases.

With a 2 degree rise in temperature, 64m people in China, based on the 2010 population, would be living in areas submerged by rising seas. However, with a 4 degree rise this jumps to 145m people. China is followed in second place by India, with 20m and 55m respectively. India’s neighbour, Bangladesh, completes the top three most at risk.

The list is dominated by Asian nations with Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines all appearing. The only other nations to feature are the US in 7th, Egypt in 9th and Brazil in 10th.