Life Sciences Commons^™

Coastal Systems And Low-Lying Areas, R. J. Nicholls, P. P. Wong, V. Burkett, J. Codignotto, J. Hay, R. Mclean, S. Ragoonaden, C. D. Woodroffe, P. A. O. Abuodha, J. Arblaster, B. Brown, D. Forbes, J. Hall, S. Kovats, J. Lowe, K. Mcinnes, S. Moser, S. Rupp-Armstrong, Y. Saito

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Since the IPCC Third Assessment Report (TAR), our understanding of the implications of climate change for coastal systems and low-lying areas (henceforth referred to as ‘coasts’) has increased substantially and six important policy-relevant messages have emerged. Coasts are experiencing the adverse consequences of hazards related to climate and sea level (very high confidence). Coasts are highly vulnerable to extreme events, such as storms, which impose substantial costs on coastal societies [6.2.1, 6.2.2, 6.5.2]. Annually, about 120 million people are exposed to tropical cyclone hazards, which killed 250,000 people from 1980 to 2000 [6.5.2]. Through the 20th century, global rise of …