A bone-chilling warning has emerged, highlighting the alarming pace at which China’s sea levels are rising compared to other countries. Experts attribute China’s vulnerability to rising sea levels to concentrated coastal development following Deng Xiaoping’s reforms and accelerated openness in 1989. Startlingly, projections indicate that if the current trend continues, approximately 100 million Chinese citizens residing along the coast could face life-threatening risks by the year 2100.
According to a report released in April by China’s Ministry of Natural Resources, China’s coastal sea level has been rising at an average rate of 4mm per year since 1993. This rate is significantly faster when compared to the global average of 3.4mm. The latest data reveals that in the previous year alone, China’s sea levels rose by a staggering 10mm. It’s evident that China finds itself in an unfortunate situation, experiencing a more rapid rise in sea levels than other regions around the world.
Climate Central, a renowned U.S. climate data research organization, has issued a warning that by 2100, up to 57 million Chinese residents living in areas lower than sea level could be severely affected. Additionally, an estimated 60 million people would face life-threatening risks due to large-scale flooding. The magnitude of this potential disaster is truly concerning.
A joint report by the UK Climate Change Committee and Chinese climate experts has shed further light on the dire consequences. If carbon emissions continue at their current levels, China’s coastal production worth a staggering 32 trillion yuan (approximately $5.8 trillion) could be lost to coastal flooding by 2050. This amounts to a devastating 10% of the predicted Chinese Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the same year.
China’s southern and eastern coastal regions, directly connected to the vast Pacific Ocean, are prone to approximately 12 typhoons every year. With global warming leading to warmer seas, these regions will become even more vulnerable. Rising sea levels will exacerbate the destructive impact of storm surges when these typhoons make landfall along the coast.
Experts suggest that China’s susceptibility to rising sea levels is primarily due to policies enacted during Deng Xiaoping’s era of openness. Extensive coastal development resulted in the destruction of nearly half of China’s coastal wetlands and mangrove forests, which served as natural barriers against flooding. Mangrove forests, found in estuaries and tidal zones, play a vital role in mitigating the effects of extreme weather events, including floods and typhoons.
Regrettably, China’s coastal cities have aggressively tapped into groundwater reserves and constructed high-rise buildings near the coast since the era of reforms and openness. Consequently, some areas have experienced land subsidence at a rate faster than sea level rise. Shockingly, certain regions, like Shenzhen, are sinking by a staggering 74mm annually.
The sinister reality of China’s escalating sea levels demands immediate attention. It serves as a haunting reminder that the consequences of climate change are not distant scenarios but are unfolding before our eyes. The urgent need for comprehensive measures to mitigate rising sea levels and protect vulnerable coastal communities has never been more pressing. It is a race against time to safeguard the lives and future of millions threatened by the relentless march of the rising tides.