Scientists Estimate Which Regions are Most at Risk for Sea Level Rise

The number of people exposed to future sea level rise may be growing. Scientists have taken a closer look at the population along coasts and have found that the amount of people in these areas is increasing.

Many coastal areas are densely populated and are exposed to a range of coastal hazards, including sea level rise. As coastal population density and urbanization continue to increase, researchers are not investigating how coastal populations might be affected by potential environmental impacts at global and regional scales in the future.

So what did they find? The researchers took both present populations and scenario-based projects into account. The researchers discovered that the number of people living in the low-elevation coastal zone as well as the number of people exposed from 100-year storm surge events was highest in Asia. China, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam had the largest numbers of coastal population per country and accounted for more than half of the total number of people living in low-elevation coastal zones, both now and in future scenarios.

That's not all the researchers found, though. It turns out that Africa will experience the highest future rates of population growth and urbanization in the coastal zone, particularly in Egypt and sub-Saharan countries in West and East Africa.

The findings highlight the countries and regions with a high degree of potential exposure to coastal flood. They also identify areas where policies and adaptive planning for building resilient coastal communities will be essential.

The findings are published in the journal PLOS One.

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