Over Billion People Could be at Risk of Coastal Flooding by 2060

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Over a billion people may be at risk of coastal flooding by 2060 due population growth and the consequences of climate change, a study published by the UK based Christian Aid charity revealed.

"The rapid growth of urban populations along the world’s coastlines – a result of natural population growth and economic migration – combined with the increasing threats from climate change, are set to expose more than a billion people to coastal flooding by 2060," the report, published Sunday, warned.

According to the study, China, India and the United States are among the countries expected to be most affected by such trends. Such major Asian cities as Kolkata, Mumbai, Dhaka, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Bangkok, as well as the United States' Miami feature on the list of urban centers most exposed to coastal flooding, the charity said.

The charity is calling on governments to take actions in respect to this issue by investing in different disaster risk reduction programs in order to save human lives and avoid multi-billion dollar financial losses in the future.

In December 2015, a breakthrough deal on climate change was agreed at a summit in Paris. The pact between some 200 countries aims to cut greenhouse emissions and curb climbing global temperatures, the main cause of the melting Arctic ice cap and rising sea levels.