A recent study carried out by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in the United States, revealed that by 2100, Chennai, Kolkata, Yangon, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, and Manila would be at a higher risk due to sea level rise. This would be the result if the society continues to emit high levels of greenhouse gases. The study is published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
The study used a computer model of global climate and a specialized statistical model to map the sea level hotspots around the world. According to the university of california, sea level rise is “Sea level rise refers to the average increase in the water level of the Earth’s oceans.’’
The study also said that the internal climate variability would be responsible for sea level rise by 20-30 per cent in some locations than climate change alone. “Internal climate variability arises from complex and unpredictable interactions within and between climate-system components, rendering its impact irreducible,” it said.
Based on climate change in the Philippines’ Manila, the report predicted that coastal flooding would occur 18 times more by 2100 than in 2006. On a combination of climate change and internal climate variability this would occur 96 times more often, the report further anticipated.
“The internal climate variability can greatly reinforce or suppress the sea level rise caused by climate change. “In a worst-case scenario, the combined effect of climate change and internal climate variability could result in local sea levels rising by more than 50 percent of what is due to climate change alone, thus posing significant risks of more severe flooding to coastal megacities and threatening millions of people,” said Aixue Hu, NCAR scientist and co-author of the research.