The battle of the ages: How climate change is leaving its mark on cities
By Heleen Van Hecke
To the backdrop of news accounts reporting cyclone after cyclone, hurricane after hurricane, questioning the reality of climate change is becoming pointless. While any single event is difficult to attribute to climate change, global warming does multiply and intensify hazards. Heat waves and droughts are predicted to become more frequent, intense and long lasting; heavier precipitation over shorter periods of time will heighten the frequency and intensity of flooding; sea level rise will generate higher surges; and storms are expected to increase in duration and strength.
The news accounts show that climate change will not only burden future generations, but that impacts are already leaving their mark on the earth’s surface. Particularly cities start showing scars from a range of extreme events. With about 54 percent of the world’s population currently living in urban areas and urban population growth projected at 2.5 to 3 billion by 2050, cities already are and certainly will be the primary battle ground where the fight against climate change will be won or lost.
Risks of climate change differ around the globe according to a city’s geographical location. Some regions may experience heavier rainfall as others turn drier. One phenomenon experienced worldwide – though the pace fluctuates regionally – is a rising air temperature. Storm, flood or heat wave, each type of natural hazard leaves a distinct signature as it revolves through a city’s sectors, causing direct and indirect, visible and invisible damages to assets, interrupting flows and services, and affecting people’s lives.
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