New research reveals that Alexandria will be threatened by submersion by 2050 as a result of climate change.
The number of people stated to be at risk of sumbersion as a result of rising sea levels due to melting glaciers by 2050 has tripled since previous research, the new study showed.
The New York Times reported that the study conducted by the independent organization “Climate Central” and published by Nature Communications magazine on Wednesday indicates that climate change will destroy major cities in the world, including Alexandria.
About 150 million people are currently living on land that will be completely below the high tide line by the middle of the century, and migration resulting from this disaster will lead to or exacerbate regional conflicts, it added.
The city of Basra, the second largest city in Iraq, could be underwater by 2050 as well.
The study recommended that cities and governments invest large sums of money to address the crisis as soon as possible.
According to Dina Ionesco, the head of the Migration, Environment and Climate Change Division at the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM), countries must start preparing for mass internal migrations of their population from now.
Shanghai, China’s most populous city and its economic capital, is among the cities that could be potentially flooded. The study also said that Thailand is at great risk, and more than 10 percent of Thailand’s citizens currently live on flooded land.
The list of threatened cities also includes Mumbai, India’s financial capital and one of the largest cities in the world. It consists of a group of islands, which puts them at particular risk.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
