C40 Cities has revealed new research quantifying the dire impacts of climate-driven drought and flooding on the world’s largest cities and their residents. Supported by the Grundfos Foundation, C40’s Water Safe Cities analysis leverages data from the network’s nearly 100 member cities to forecast the potential impacts of global temperature rise on urban economies and infrastructure. The findings show that if global warming continues unabated, 7.4 million people in the world’s largest cities will be exposed to severe river flooding within the next three decades, with damages to urban areas expected to cost USD 64 billion per year by 2050, even with current levels of global flood protections in place.
C40’s research suggests that devastating river and coastal flooding will unleash enormous economic, health, and social consequences that will affect millions across the globe. While cities across the Global North and Global South will be affected by rising sea levels, populations in the Global South are ten times more likely to be affected by flooding and drought than residents in the Global North. At the same time, residents of Global North cities will face higher urban damage costs than residents of cities in the Global South. As many as 2,400 hospitals and healthcare facilities in C40 cities could be underwater by 2050, with nearly half of them in India. The research underscores that the world’s most vulnerable populations will increasingly find themselves on the front line of the climate crisis and are forced to endure its worst impacts.
C40’s analysis also shows how urgent action, such as using green solutions for water permeability and flood protection, improving water system efficiency and incorporating climate risk into urban planning, can help cities adapt to the climate emergency and work towards a climate-safe future for their residents.
Some of the key findings that were concluded from the analysis:
- River flooding is expected to cost C40 cities $136 billion in GDP each year over the next three decades.
- More frequent and severe droughts will increase water losses in C40 cities by 26%, costing $111 billion in damages per year over the next three decades.
- Over 300 power stations across C40 cities are at risk of being flooded by 2050. More than half of the power stations affected are located in US cities. The potential loss of energy from these stations would be sufficient to power 8.4 million US homes for one year.
“Sea level rise, flooding and drought are three of the most significant climate-related risks that cities face today,” said Mark Watts, Executive Director of C40 Cities.