Rising Seas Will Erase More Cities by 2050, New Research Shows
Rising seas could affect three times more people by 2050 than previously thought, according to new research, threatening to all but erase some of the world's great coastal cities.
The authors of a paper published on Tuesday developed a more accurate way of calculating land elevation based on satellite readings, and found that the previous numbers were far too optimistic. The new research shows that some 150 million people are now living on the land that will be below the high-tide line by mid-century. In Thailand, more than 10 percent of citizens now live on the land that is likely to be covered with water by 2050, compared with just 1 percent according to the earlier technique. The political and commercial capital, Bangkok, is particularly dangerous.
In other places, the migration caused by rising seas could cause or worsen regional conflicts. Basra, the second largest city in Iraq, could be mostly underwater by 2050. If that happens, the effects could be felt well beyond Iraq's borders, according to John Castellaw, a retired Marine Corps general.
“Further loss of land owing to rising waters there threatens to drive further social and political instability in the region, which could lead to armed conflicts again and increase the likelihood of terrorism,” said Castellaw, who is now on the advisory board of the Center for Climate and Security, a research and advocacy group in Washington. “So, this is far more than an environmental problem,” he said. “It's a humanitarian, security and possibly military problem too.”
【小题1】How many people will be threatened by 2050 according to the research?| A．About 15 million. | B．About 50 million. |
| C．About 150 million. | D．About 450 million. |
| A．The migration caused rising seas. |
| B．Basra could be entirely underwater by 2050. |
| C．Rising seas could erase all the world's great coastal cities. |
| D．Further loss of land owing to rising waters could cause armed conflicts. |
| A．To advise people to move house. | B．To tell new research. |
| C．To warn the danger of conflicts. | D．To appeal for environmental protection. |
| A．A science magazine. | B．A geography textbook. |
| C．Science fiction. | D．A medical journal. |
