Georgetown among 9 cities forecast to be under water by 2030 - Climate Central

Georgetown among 9 cities forecast to be under water by 2030 – Climate Central

Nov 07, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – Worrying details from a Climate Central map illustrates that Georgetown, Guyana, and eight other cities worldwide are forecast to be under water by 2030, due to the rising sea level stemming from climate change.

Climate Central map illustrating land projected to be below tideline by 2030.

It was reported that the area that is projected to be under water by 2030 is where 90 percent of Guyana’s population resides. It was also stated that for centuries Guyana’s capital, Georgetown, has relied on sea walls – or, more accurately, one gigantic, 280-mile long sea wall, for protection.
The sea walls is Georgetown’s main defence because most of the coastline is between 0.5 and one metre below high tide. With more than half of the country’s population in danger, it was stated that the country will need to bolster its sea wall substantially if Georgetown’s central areas are to avoid massive damage.
Other cities on the list of being submerged by 2030 are: Amsterdam, Netherlands; Basra, Iraq; New Orleans, USA; Venice, Italy; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Kolkata, India; Bangkok, Thailand and Savannah, USA.
The Climate Central map was created based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2021 report. Climate Central is an independent group of scientists and communicators who research and report the facts about climate change and how it affects people’s lives and the IPCC is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change.
While the map shows future sea levels, it does not illustrate what could happen during flooding or other extreme weather events.
Recently, this publication reported that Guyana is particularly vulnerable to rising sea level as a result of climate change, plus regional shifts in the height of the sea. This was highlighted in the 2020 World Health Organization (WHO) report on climate change.
According to the report, Guyana’s initial national communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) states that the sea level, along the Atlantic Coast, is projected to rise by about 40cm by the end of the twenty first century. This means the sea is rising at a rate of two – four millimetres each year, counting the entire century.
The report explained that “From 1951 to 1979, sea level off Guyana’s coast rose at a rate of some five times the global average (0.4 inch, or 10.2 millimetres per year)— and around six times the twentieth century average or three times the 1993 to 2009 annual average.”
Additionally, this is not the first time that Guyana’s vulnerability to sea level rise has been documented. Last year, a mini-documentary on the natural phenomenon of erosion and climate change produced by REEL Guyana and its founder, Alex Arjoon, spoke to the vulnerability of Guyana’s low-lying coastal region.
Not forgetting that severe flooding earlier this year had led to many sectors in Guyana being affected along with the livelihood of citizens. In June 2021, President Ali had declared the flooding situation in the country a National Disaster.