…1.3m in China, 1.2m in India, 310,000 in US threatened
Over 150,000 people living in Nigeria will be impacted by rising sea levels by 2050, according to a new research by Utility Bidder.
Experts at Utility Bidder, in the research titled ‘Rising Tides’, ranked Nigeria, a country with a population of over 200 million people, at number 8 according to the estimated population threatened by rising sea levels.
The researchers said with climate change taking its toll on the planet in many ways, global warming has caused sea levels to rise over four inches more than they were 30 years ago. If the tides continue to rise at this rate, they said, it is estimated that millions of people across the globe will be under threat by 2050.
Southern cities of Nigeria, such as Lagos and the coastal areas with low-lying topography, have been known to be under threat of rising sea levels, increasing vulnerability to flooding and waterborne disease.
According to a research, ‘Sea Level Rise and Sustainability of the Nigerian Coastal Zone’, published by the University of Plymouth, “Much of the Nigerian coast is low lying with the consequence that a 1 to 3 metres rise in sea level, which may result from eustatic or climate change, will have a catastrophic effect on the human activities in these regions.”
Another research says specifically that rising sea levels pose a significant risk to Lagos, with projections indicating that by 2100, sea levels could rise by over a metre, displacing millions of residents and businesses along the coast.
Utility Bidder, a firm offering a fully comprehensive business energy comparison service, ranked China, India and the United States at top three by the estimated population threatened by rising sea levels, with 1.3 million, 1.2 million, and 310,000 residents, respectively, to be affected by rising tides by 2050.
“Sea levels have been rising at an alarming rate in China in recent years due to global warming, and these tides are estimated to affect around 1.3 million of this country’s residents in the future,” the researchers said.
“China has introduced sea walls along its coast to reduce the rate of erosion and to help protect the country’s residents from flooding. Still, barriers can only do so much to protect against the rising tides,” they said.
Commenting on the findings from ‘Rising Tides’ and how climate change is impacting sea levels across the globe, Managing Director at Utility Bidder, James Longley, said the launch of the ‘Rising Tides’ study followed damning news that 2023 has been recorded as the hottest year on record across the globe and would be synonymous with wildfire destruction across Europe. He said, however, that the long-term effects of rising temperatures are not only being felt on land but at sea as well.
“Current sea levels are four inches higher than they were 30 years ago, and elevated predictions envisage that millions of people across the globe will be at threat from rising sea levels by 2050 – none more so than residents in China where over 1.3 million residents are likely to be impacted by higher sea levels,” Longley said.
“The United States is another destination where hundreds of thousands of citizens could be at risk, and the country’s coastline is expected to grow more than 10 inches taller by 2050, leaving residents vulnerable to flooding, particularly in states with long coastlines, such as Hawaii and California,” he said.
Longley said stemming the flow of rising sea levels may be a huge task with world temperatures constantly rising and humans find themselves facing a fate of some of the world’s most picturesque countries and cities being underwater, and up to 0.17 per cent of the total estimated 2050 population in Bosnia and Herzegovina could be affected – more than anywhere else in the world.
“With this in mind, we’ve used AI software from Midjourney to create artist impressions revealing the devastating reality of rising sea levels for the countries and populations most at risk of being submerged by water – generating a selection of images to profile cities from across Eastern Europe and beyond,” Longley said.
“Hopefully, these images strike a chord with many on the damning impact of climate change and impact people to continue looking after and preserving these landmarks, as well as considering their own lifestyle choices to help the cause.
“Statistics are one thing, but a picture can paint a thousand words, and the effects of climate change are no exception. We hope these images impact people’s own lifestyle choices, and prove insightful for all readers,” he said.
