Opinion | Asia’s sinking cities need ‘Great Sea Walls’ to defend against rising waters, and fast
- Many parts of coastal Asia might be submerged by 2050 if nothing is done by governments, individually or collectively, to protect these areas. Singapore provides an excellent example of how to combat rising sea levels
Asia’s coastal cities are sinking and, by 2050, at least 3,300km of the region’s coastlines will be acutely vulnerable to the aggressive rise of the sea. The time has come for Asian countries, individually or collectively, to build “Great Sea Walls” in defence, and at the same time provide critical freshwater reserves for thirsty urban populations.
But it gets worse, not just for these cities but for all of coastal Asia. A recent report by Climate Central, a US-based non-governmental organisation, offers a grim picture of how severely rising sea levels will affect various parts of Asia – and how soon.
Using improved global elevation data, Climate Central has determined that a significant number of Asian cities will be submerged by 2050, if not sooner. Cities that are vulnerable to rising sea levels include Jakarta, Manila, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Shanghai, Yangon and Dhaka. Major parts of Hong Kong, Hanoi, Kolkata and Mumbai are also more than likely to end up underwater. Effectively, over the next couple of decades, all these cities are in the path of a looming tsunami.
But the unhappy fate of these cities is only half of it. Huge swathes of coastline will also be overrun. Take Vietnam, for instance. Climate Central estimates that the lower third of the country will be submerged by 2050. This, of course, could also displace about 20 million people.
