UN chief warns of exodus on ‘biblical’ scale around the world due to rising sea levels
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sounded another ominous warning and said that a mass exodus "on a biblical scale" was possible around the world due to rising sea levels and climate change. He said that as low-lying areas get submerged, people will have to migrate to save their lives. Guterres called for legal frameworks to be implemented in preparation for a refugee crisis."The danger is especially acute for nearly 900 million people who live in coastal zones at low elevations — that's one out of ten people on Earth," Antonio Guterres told the UN Security Council.
"Low-lying communities and entire countries could disappear forever... We would witness a mass exodus of entire populations on a biblical scale," he said.It is not only the small island states that are at risk as sea levels rise, he added.
Guterres said that countries such as Bangladesh, China, India and the Netherlands will face the danger along with others across the world. He added that "mega-cities on every continent will face serious impacts".
The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says sea levels rose by 15-25 centimetres (6-10 inches) between 1900 and 2018.
If the world warms by just two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to the pre-industrial era, then those levels will rise again by 43 centimetres by the year 2100. But, if it warms by three or four degrees Celsius, sea levels could rise by as much as 84 centimetres, the IPCC says.
Guterres said that the problem must be addressed "across legal and human rights frameworks"
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Rising sea levels meanshrinking land mass, he said, which could drive possible disputes over land and maritime space.
"The current legal regime must look to the future and address any gaps in existing frameworks," including in international refugee law, he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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