WASHINGTON — A new study says the number of people threatened by climate change-triggered flooding is about three times higher than previously thought. But it’s not because of more water.
The study says it is because the land, especially in Asia and the developing world, is several feet lower than what space-based radar has calculated. That radar mistakes rooftops and tree canopies for ground with an average error of about 6.5 feet, according to the study.
So instead of 80 million people living in low-lying areas that would flood annually by 2050 as the world warms, this new study finds the population at risk is closer to 300 million people.
The study by the non-profit Climate Central is in Tuesday’s journal Nature Communications.
