Enjoying the current warm weather in Shanghai? Wait until you hear the bad news: Shanghai is seeing higher temperatures due to continuing global warming, which leads an increase in the severity of the El Niño phenomenon that will be reaching its peak this winter and leading to unseasonable warmth.
And here comes some even worse news.
A report by US-based research group Climate Central came out last week, outlining the consequences of global warming for the planet's coastal areas and mega-cities. It states that a 4 degree Celsius increase in the earth’s weather will cause sea levels to rise enough to submerge coastal areas, leaving 470 to 760 million people's homes underwater. Major cities such as Shanghai, Hong Kong, London, New York, Sydney and Mumbai could end up submerged by 2100.
If we could manage to cut carbon emissions so there was only a 2-degree increase, only 130 million people would be affected.
China, the world’s leading carbon emitter, will have 145 million people affected by the rising sea levels if the temperature rises by 4 degrees. If making efforts to cut down emissions, the country can bring the total affected down to 64 million.
An interactive map shows the places which could be fully or partially submerged by rising sea levels. Check out submerged Shanghai if the temperature rises 4 degrees, and see if your home might end up underwater.
A United Nations-sponsored conference in Paris in December will seek to set emission targets that would keep the temperatures from rising the additional 2 degrees, a benchmark to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of a warming world. Meeting this goal would cut potential effects by more than half in the US, China, and India - the world’s top three carbon emitters - as well as in many other nations.
Watch the video for highlights of the report on our website.