These are the most vulnerable places to climate change flooding – is your country safe?
Areas deemed the “engine rooms of the global economy” are threatened by the most severe physical climate risk in the years to come, a report has shown.
A ranking of the physical climate risk of every state, province, and territory in the world released today identifies which of the 2,600 jurisdictions in the world are most at risk from climate change and extreme weather.
China’s Jiangsu and Shandong provinces have topped the global ranking, according to the XDI Gross Domestic Climate Risk comparison for 2050.
Over half of the provinces in the global top 50 are from China, making it the country with the most high-risk provinces in the world.
After China, the United States has the most high-risk states with 18 states in the top 100. Florida was identified as the highest-ranking US state, followed by California and Texas.
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AFP/Getty Images)
In total, China, India and the US account for over half of the states and provinces in the top 100.
Other countries with multiple provinces and states in the top 50 include Brazil, Pakistan and Indonesia.
In Europe, high-ranking states encompass the cities of London, Milan, Venice, Antwerp, Hanover and Lille.
The XDI report also identified several other highly-developed and globally-significant economic hubs in the top 100.
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These include Buenos Aires, São Paolo, Jakarta, Beijing, Hồ Chí Minh City, Taiwan and Mumbai.
Moreover, several countries such as Australia, Belgium, Italy, Canada, and Germany also have states and provinces in the top 100.
The report also highlighted that south east Asia is expected to experience the greatest escalation in damage from 1990 to 2050 anywhere in the world.
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AFP via Getty Images)
The 20 worst areas
- Jiangsu (China)
- Shandong (China)
- Hebei (China)
- Guangdong (China)
- Henan (China)
- Zhejiang (China)
- Anhui (China)
- Hunan (China)
- Shanghai (China)
- Florida (United States)
- Liaoning (China)
- Jiangxi (China)
- Hubei (China)
- Tianjin (China)
- Heilongjiang (China)
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Sichuan (China)
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Guangxi (China)
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Punjab (Pakistan)
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California (United States)
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Texas (United States)
See the full list below or click here
Globally, most damage is caused by riverine and surface flooding or flooding combined with coastal inundation, according to XDI.
These findings serve as a call to action for leaders and policymakers worldwide to prioritise climate change mitigation and adaptation measures to protect vulnerable areas and populations from the physical risks.
XDI CEO Rohan Hamden explained: “The findings from the XDI Gross Domestic Climate Risk ranking underscore the importance of pricing physical climate risk in financial markets, including bond markets, given the amount of capital investment represented by the assets at risk in the provinces identified, the vulnerability of global supply chains, and the need for climate resilience to inform investment.
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“It is crucial for companies, governments and investors to understand the financial and economic implications of physical climate risk and weigh this risk in their decision-making before these costs escalate beyond financial tipping points.”
Many of the economies at the top of the ranking are already experiencing the damaging financial costs of extreme weather and climate change, according to XDI.
For instance, in June 2022, Guangdong, which ranks fourth in the analysis, experienced severe flooding that resulted in direct economic losses of 7.5 billion yuan (over $1billion or £833million).
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In another example, Hurricane Ian hit densely-populated parts of Florida in late September 2022, causing insured losses of around $67 billion (£55 billion).
XDI’s data suggest that such extreme weather events are expected to increase in frequency and intensity in regions like these in the coming years.
It is projected that Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, will be the most economically vulnerable city in the world to sea-level rise by 2050.