Mumbai to be affected by climate change: WMO warns of rising sea levels

Global oceans are warming at an unprecedented rate, and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has issued a warning to countries with vast coastal populations, including India, which stands most vulnerable.

The WMO report indicates that Mumbai, one of the largest coastal cities, could be among the cities most affected by the disastrous impacts of climate change.

The report shows that even if global warming is limited to the goal of the Paris Climate Agreement, which is to restrict the increase to 1.5 degrees, there will still be a significant rise in sea level. Bangladesh, China, India, and the Netherlands are among the countries at risk, the report warns.

Rising sea levels could lead to loss of coastal ecosystems and services, groundwater salinization, flooding, and damage to coastal infrastructure. It also poses a risk to economies, livelihoods, and water security in areas that are already vulnerable to storm surges and tidal variations.

The data reveals that sea levels have been rising at an increasing rate. The average rate of sea-level rise was 1.3 mm yr–1 between 1901 and 1971, increasing to 1.9 mm yr–1 between 1971 and 2006, and further increasing to 3.7 mm/yr between 2006 and 2018. In the period between 2013-22, sea level rise has been recorded as 4.5 mm/yr, the highest so far. Another challenge is that this sea-level rise is not globally uniform and varies regionally.

India has over a 7,500-km-long coastline spread across nine coastal states, 12 major, and 200 minor ports, and could face serious long-term effects. The report has highlighted India’s vulnerability, including water insecurity due to salinity and a decline in fish production.

The research director from the Bharti Institute of Public Policy and lead author for IPCC reports, Anjal Prakash, emphasized the need for more adaptation measures to secure the livelihood of fishermen and ensure water security in terms of providing safe and clean water to inhabitants of coastal areas.

The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, presented the findings to the UN Security Council on Tuesday and called on developed countries to provide resources to developing countries to adapt and build resilience against climate disaster. This means delivering on the loss and damage fund, making good on the $100-billion climate finance commitment to developing countries, doubling adaptation finance, and leveraging massive private financing at a reasonable cost. The UN chief also drew attention to the melting of glaciers and ice-sheets, the rate of which has increased by a factor of four between 1992-1999 and 2010-2019.

The WMO report warns that thermal expansion is responsible for 50 percent of sea-level rise during 1971-2018, ice loss from glaciers contributed 22 percent, ice sheets 20 percent, and changes in land-water storage 8 percent.

There is a risk of a much higher sea-level rise due to potential intrusion of sea water under the Antarctic glaciers. The report emphasizes the need for more discussion at the policy level to map climate impacts at the local level and take more adaptation measures to secure the livelihood of coastal populations.