Editing IPCC:AR6/SR15/Chapter-3 (section)

== 3.4.5.2 Cities ==

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Observations of the impacts of SLR in cities are difficult to record because multiple drivers of change are involved. There are observations of ongoing and planned adaptation to SLR and extreme water levels in some cities (Araos et al., 2016; Nicholls et al., 2018) <sup>[[#fn:r757|757]]</sup> , whilst other cities have yet to prepare for these impacts ( ''high confidence'' ) (see Section 3.4.8 and Cross-Chapter Box 9 in Chapter 4). There are limited observations and analyses of how cities will cope with higher and/or multi-centennial SLR, with the exception of Amsterdam, New York and London (Nicholls et al., 2018) <sup>[[#fn:r758|758]]</sup> .

Coastal urban areas are projected to see more extreme water levels due to rising sea levels, which may lead to increased flooding and damage of infrastructure from extreme events (unless adaptation is undertaken), plus salinization of groundwater. These impacts may be enhanced through localized subsidence (Wong et al., 2014) <sup>[[#fn:r759|759]]</sup> , which causes greater relative SLR. At least 136 megacities (port cities with a population greater than 1 million in 2005) are at risk from flooding due to SLR (with magnitudes of rise possible under 1.5°C or 2°C in the 21st century, as indicated in Section 3.3.9) unless further adaptation is undertaken (Hanson et al., 2011; Hallegatte et al., 2013) <sup>[[#fn:r760|760]]</sup> . Many of these cities are located in South and Southeast Asia (Hallegatte et al., 2013; Cazenave and Cozannet, 2014; Clark et al., 2016; Jevrejeva et al., 2016) <sup>[[#fn:r761|761]]</sup> . Jevrejeva et al. (2016) <sup>[[#fn:r762|762]]</sup> projected that more than 90% of global coastlines could experience SLR greater than 0.2 m with 2°C of warming by 2040 (RCP8.5). However, for scenarios where 2°C is stabilized or occurs later in time, this figure is ''likely'' to differ because of the commitment to SLR. Raising existing dikes helps protect against SLR, substantially reducing risks, although other forms of adaptation exist. By 2300, dike heights under a non-mitigation scenario (RCP8.5) could be more than 2 m higher (on average for 136 megacities) than under climate change mitigation scenarios at 1.5°C or 2°C (Nicholls et al., 2018) <sup>[[#fn:r763|763]]</sup> . Thus, rising sea levels commit coastal cities to long-term adaptation ( ''high confidence'' ).

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