Cities at Risk of Rising Sea Levels - AP

Cities at Risk of Rising Sea Levels
By THOMAS WAGNER
Associated Press Writer

March 27, 2007, 9:27 PM EDT

LONDON -- More than two-thirds of the world's large cities are in areas
vulnerable to global warming and rising sea levels, and millions of people
are at risk of being swamped by flooding and intense storms, according
to a new study released Wednesday.

In all, 634 million people live in the threatened coastal areas worldwide
-- defined as those lying at less than 33 feet above sea level -- and
the number is growing, said the study published in the journal
Environment and Urbanization.

More than 180 countries have populations in low-elevation coastal zones,
and about 70 percent of those have urban areas of more than 5 million
people that are under threat. Among them: Tokyo; New York; Mumbai,
India; Shanghai, China; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The peer-reviewed scientific study said it is the first to identify the
world's low-lying coastal areas that are vulnerable to global warming and
rising sea levels. It said 75 percent of all people living in vulnerable areas
are in Asia, with poorer nations most at risk.

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