The NYT report on threat to coastal cities has reduced the timeline for destruction in our lifetime
India’s financial capital Mumbai has been listed as one of the major cities of the world that will sink as a result of global warming by 2050. The New York Times report, that quoted researches, is obviously a cause for grave concern. Climate changes are manifesting with such rapidity in our lifetime that scientists are now able to pinpoint the timeline when mankind will directly begin to face the consequences of its collective inaction on the environment. Other cities which are likely to sink by 2050 are Ho Chi Minh, Shanghai and Basra. Mumbai is already below sea level. It is prone to floods and goes under every monsoon partially due to the lack of a decent drainage system and partially because of encroached creeks which were otherwise natural channels for diverting water flow. However, the excess rainfall, which it has been receiving of late, can be attributed to changing climate conditions and the result of the El Nino and La Nina winds, which influence much of the rainfall and droughts around the world. With rising sea levels, the situation in Mumbai will worsen sooner than later. Following the activism around saving the Aarey forests, Mumbaikars across sections of society should launch a larger civil movement on adopting sustainabale and environment-friendly policies. Also, if Mumbai wants to keep its title of the financial capital and a world city, it’s going to have to prepare a contingency plan. Offices can be moved to higher areas like the Eastern hills such as Thane or Kalyan. This will ensure that the business remains in Mumbai itself. Failure to do so may see the title go to cities such as Pune or Hyderabad. The city can also use the Hindi film industry it hosts to its advantage by using star-power to raise awareness.
The threat of “sinking” is bound to take a toll on real estate prices in the Maximum City, which are some of the highest in India at the moment. Even as disastrous effects of climatic change result in cost escalation of projects due to delays in completion, news of future disasters at the same time starts to depress property prices. This is especially true of flood-prone areas as homebuyers start moving away from areas close to the sea. In the face of this impending doom, countries where cities are threatened by rising sea waters need to start preparing for more citizens to relocate internally. However, there is no modern precedent for this scale of population movement and local Governments will need strong State leadership in this fight against climate change. If carbon emissions continue unabated, the rate at which the waterline will rise will quadruple by 2100, according to an earlier IPCC report. It had warned that a mere 50 cm rise in the sea level is enough to flood major port cities around the world and expose more than 150 million people to disasters.
