As a Shanghai native, my grandma always keeps up with this city’s growth, as well as the climate change impacts here. “Without a healthy natural environment, humanity’s effort in economic development is meaningless,” she said.
The bustling crowd on the Bund, a waterfront located along the Huangpu River, the quaint City God Temple, the golden Chinese parasol tree in the fall, and the smell of steamed buns and scallion cakes on the street are my childhood memories of Shanghai. Every little part of this region makes me love the city more.
When I was little, my grandma told me that the city’s name “Shanghai” was derived from its location. In Chinese, “Shanghai” means “above the sea.” As a city located in central East China, Shanghai seized its geographical advantages and transformed itself into this country’s financial and cultural hub. However, with the exacerbation of climate change globally, rising sea levels create a problem in terms of the location of Shanghai. Sea level rise is a significant and knotty climate change problem that matters to people around the world. According to projections published in 2012 in the journal Climate Change, in Shanghai “The sea level will rise 86.6 mm, 185.6 mm, and 433.1 mm by 2030, 2050, and 2100, respectively,” and “by 2100, half of Shanghai is projected to be flooded, and 46% of the seawalls and levees are projected to be overtopped.” A 2019 special report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that sea level rise brings concerns like “permanent submergence of land by mean sea levels or mean high tide” and “more frequent or intense flooding.” Thus, rising sea levels become a non-negligible threat to Shanghai.
(Image courtesy of Yuting Wu / George Washington University)
Sitting near the estuary of the Yangtze, Asia’s longest river, Shanghai is natively vulnerable to sea level rise. Its topography makes the city’s delta soil keep being washed away by higher tides. Meanwhile, the intrusive seawater in the Yangtze River is constantly tainting the water supplies in Shanghai. Therefore, rising sea levels increase the flood risk and have already engendered adverse impacts on human lives. In addition, based on the information from Georgetown Climate Center, since the bodies of water are connected in Shanghai, the sea level rise impacts tides of rivers downtown as well. Therefore, considering the large population and rapid development in Shanghai, rising sea levels could bring severe consequences to this city.
(Screen capture of Google Maps)
According to Wilson Center, Guoguang Zheng, the director of China Meteorological Administration, stressed that “a sea level rise of 60 cm by 2050 could destroy Shanghai’s economic growth, as well as structures constructed on reclaimed land.” According to Statista, the resident population of the administrative area of Shanghai municipality reached 24.87 million in 2020. Thus, rising sea levels add extra pressure to a populous city like Shanghai.
The Shanghai municipal government has used various methods to tackle sea level rise issues and prevent further impacts. According to a case study from the Georgetown Climate Center, the government has actively taken various protections like building drainage systems, the Huangpu River Levee, and seawalls to fight against floods. The study mentioned that, “In 2012, in response to multiple flooding events in the area, the Shanghai Water Authority decided to spend 25 billion yuan ($3.96 billion) to upgrade the municipal drainage system with wider pipes.” Managing the rising sea levels is a huge cost. Besides, “Shanghai has established a comprehensive Advanced Information System under the Shanghai Flood Control Information Center” to monitor, supervise, and manage the latest change in sea level changes. The study authors found that “In the long run, it is a very effective way to decrease the impact of extreme weather events.”
(Image courtesy of Yuting Wu / George Washington University)
In conclusion, the rising sea level has brought Shanghai much pressure in its future development, and the Shanghai government has actively tried various methods to tackle these situations and decrease the possible negative impact to the greatest extent.
“20 years ago, there were only about 14 million people in Shanghai,” my grandma said thoughtfully looking at the Huangpu River from the Bund. “Now the population almost doubled. What will be Shanghai’s population 20 years later when I am over 90 years old? Will I still be able to go for a stroll after dinner around the Bund?”
Thinking about the current situation of climate change and the methods that the Shanghai government has already taken, I sunk in deep thought after hearing grandma’s question.
(Image courtesy of Yuting Wu / George Washington University)