Home » Metro » Public Services
Warmer globe to bring floods?
By Ni Yinbin |
December 8, 2009, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CLIMATE researchers have warned that rising sea levels caused by global warming could threaten Shanghai with flooding by 2050.
The report by the WWF, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Fudan University said temperatures across the Yangtze River Basin could increase 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius over the next 50 years, while extreme weather events might also become more frequent.
But local flood control officials yesterday disputed that Shanghai would face sea water encroachment or even severe floods as soon as 2050.
The flood control department of Shanghai Water Bureau said the most authoritative report on global warming, issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007, predicted that Shanghai wouldn't face the threat of flood until 2100.
"We've read a lot of allegations or predictions of Shanghai sinking or flooding, most of them are untrustful," said Zhang Zhenyu, flood control official of the bureau. "But we will take them as references with a scientific view."
According to the IPCC report, the sea level will increase 18 to 59 centimeters by 2100, a threat to a lot of coastal cities around the world such as Shanghai.
Zhang said that Shanghai's current anti-flood system can handle a water level of 5.86 meters of the Huangpu River, which happens about once in a thousand years.
The heaviest flood in city history was in 1997, when the No.11 typhoon hit Shanghai and caused the water to rise to 5.72 meters.
Zhang said the city is planning to build a water gate at the Wusong mouth to prevent Yangtze River water from flowing backward into the Huangpu.
"Once the water gate is finished, no more sea water can threaten the city," Zhang said.
An expert in the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau also took a conservative view of the 2050 prediction.
"Although the conclusion is drawn by famous institutions, it still has the scientific uncertainty," said Man Liping, chief service officer of the bureau.
The joint report said that increased droughts, floods and storms will hit the city over the next few decades.
The report by the WWF, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Fudan University said temperatures across the Yangtze River Basin could increase 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius over the next 50 years, while extreme weather events might also become more frequent.
But local flood control officials yesterday disputed that Shanghai would face sea water encroachment or even severe floods as soon as 2050.
The flood control department of Shanghai Water Bureau said the most authoritative report on global warming, issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007, predicted that Shanghai wouldn't face the threat of flood until 2100.
"We've read a lot of allegations or predictions of Shanghai sinking or flooding, most of them are untrustful," said Zhang Zhenyu, flood control official of the bureau. "But we will take them as references with a scientific view."
According to the IPCC report, the sea level will increase 18 to 59 centimeters by 2100, a threat to a lot of coastal cities around the world such as Shanghai.
Zhang said that Shanghai's current anti-flood system can handle a water level of 5.86 meters of the Huangpu River, which happens about once in a thousand years.
The heaviest flood in city history was in 1997, when the No.11 typhoon hit Shanghai and caused the water to rise to 5.72 meters.
Zhang said the city is planning to build a water gate at the Wusong mouth to prevent Yangtze River water from flowing backward into the Huangpu.
"Once the water gate is finished, no more sea water can threaten the city," Zhang said.
An expert in the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau also took a conservative view of the 2050 prediction.
"Although the conclusion is drawn by famous institutions, it still has the scientific uncertainty," said Man Liping, chief service officer of the bureau.
The joint report said that increased droughts, floods and storms will hit the city over the next few decades.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
