The best place to live is...

With the climate change working globally, taking this world underwater or almost dead, where can we live – or where can’t we? I did some research to find out what place won’t be underwater – and where that would be the best place or the worst place to live in the next decade.

On 20 April 2018 Conde Nast Traveler listed those places already affected by climate change, including:

• The Great Barrier reef, Australia, which scientists have said has seen “coral mortality rates in the range of 50 percent, meaning half the living corals have died from bleaching.” 
• Venice, Italy, where “Lorenzo Quinn created a massive sculpture of hands reaching out of the Grand Canal in an effort to draw attention to the sinking city." 
• Glacier National Park, Montana, USA, where “since 1966, a warming climate has significantly reduced the size of 39 different glaciers in the park—the worst of which have seen reductions up to 85 percent.” 
• Middle East’s the Dead Sea which is “shrinking at a rate of around four feet a year.” 
• The Amazon has been reported on by NASA as “trees will start to die if the area's dry season lasts longer than 5-7 months—right now, the dry season clocks in at just a few weeks shy of that threshold.” 
• Yamal Peninsula, Russia, is heading towards loss of reindeer herds “as earth continues to warm—a dangerous premonition for Russia's reindeer herds.” 
• The Maldives in the Indian Ocean “risks vanishing entirely as climbing tides are already displacing locals.” 
• Key West Florida which “The Army Corps of Engineers estimates that the sea level in the Florida Keys will rise 15 inches over the next 30-odd years.” 
• The Rhône Valley, France, where “production will shrivel (... an 85 percent decrease). 
• Mumbai, India, where the home of 18 million people will not exist as it does as “as a mere two-inch rise in water by 2050 would leave the city prone to frequent flooding.” 
• Rio de Janieiro, Brazil, will see “the sea level around Rio will rise up to 32 inches by the year 2100—enough to cover the city's famous beaches, airport, and even some inland neighborhoods.” 
• Alaska wilderness is facing “the state’s many ice caps... receding at extraordinary rates, triggering landslides so intense they register on the Richter scale.”

https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/10-places-to-visit-before-theyre-lost-to-climate-change 

On 5 June that same year the World Bank had some photograph awards for pictures which showed more about “The Challenging Face of Climate Change in Central Asia”. They received 300 entries, and posted some to three categories: 

• Category: "The role of woman in the sustainable use of natural resources in changing climate conditions"
• Category: "The effects of climate change on the state of glaciers and water resources in Central Asia"
• Category: "The impact of climate change on the welfare of the rural population of Central Asia"

Have a look at https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2018/06/05/the-challenging-face-of-climate-change-in-central-asia

 

The NaturaI International Journal of Science wrote its article on 20 April 2018 titled “Clear signs of global warming will hit poorer countries first”. It said that Bangalesh and Egypt already knew their countries were facing future hits. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-04854-2 

Foreign Affairs wrote their article on 29 November 2018 and called it “Climate Shocks and Humanitarian Crises: Which Countries Are Most at Risk?” and said that “throughout 2018, weather events also had devastating humanitarian consequences in developing countries, from immense floods in the Indian state of Kerala to an intense drought in Afghanistan that affected millions.” https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/world/2018-11-29/climate-shocks-and-humanitarian-crises

 

The US News’ article, dated 24 January 2018 and titled “That Sinking Feeling”, said “Most nations think other issues are more pressing, but climate change takes center stage in these five.” Those 5 were Vietnam, Chile, China, Colombia and Mexico.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2018-01-24/why-climate-change-worries-these-countries-most

Have a look at https://www.facingthefuture.org/blogs/news/the-issue-of-global-climate-change, or https://www.bcg.com/en-au/publications/2018/economic-case-combating-climate-change.aspx or https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/27/extreme-global-weather-climate-change-michael-mann ...

Or https://www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/climate-science-data/climate-science/impacts... yes, that one is Australia. The Australian government department, for a government which does not even believe in climate change! Read that one – it talks about coasts affected by sea fluctuations, it talks about how climate change and natural disasters “impact[s] the location and design of our cities and the built environment”, it talks about how extreme heatwaves can result in greatest health threats. Do we, the public, know about that? If so, why don’t we believe that?

Where would you live in a decade? Two decades? Five decades... if you’re not already old? I don’t know where I would be, but I’ve been looking at other places (maybe)... but not islands already sinking into the ocean. Maybe not even Australia.