<
https://www.npr.org/2024/04/18/1244795971/chinas-cities-are-sinking-putting-tens-of-millions-at-risk>
'Major cities across China are sinking, putting a substantial portion of the
country's rapidly urbanizing population in harm's way in the coming decades,
according to a sweeping new analysis by Chinese scientists.
Subsidence is the technical term for when land sinks relative to its
surroundings, and it's a major threat for cities around the world. It
accelerates local sea level rise from climate change, because the land is
getting lower as the ocean gets higher. Urban subsidence can also affect inland
cities by damaging buildings and roads, and causing drainage issues when water
is trapped in sinking areas.
Out of 82 major Chinese cities, nearly half are measurably subsiding, according
to the new study, which was published in the journal
Science and conducted by
more than 50 scientists at Chinese research institutes. The areas that are
sinking are home to nearly one third of China's urban population. And the
authors estimate that about a quarter of China's coastal land will be below sea
level in the next hundred years, largely due to subsidence.
That means tens of millions of people are already at risk, and that could grow
to hundreds of millions if China's cities continue to both grow in population
and subside at their current rate, and seas continue to rise. Oceans are rising
steadily due to greenhouse gas emissions from burning oil, gas and coal.
"This is a big problem," says Robert Nicholls, a subsidence expert at the
University of East Anglia in England who was not involved in the study. "The
scale is large. Without doubt, it brings home that this is not a local problem.
This is a national, or even international, problem."'
Via Tess.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
