Kochi vulnerable to extreme climate events, say experts

Rising sea levels carving away 17 metres of land every decade

The chances of multiple extreme climate events overlapping were high for cities such as Kochi as the sixth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that the coastline will face significant threats from rising seas, according to experts. “This is particularly important for Kochi because the Arabian Sea temperatures are warming at the fastest rate. We are already seeing its impacts in terms of cyclones, heavy rains and sea level rise,” said Roxy Mathew Koll, climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, and contributor to the recent IPCC reports. Dr. Koll said that the sea level along the coast of Kochi was increasing on par with the global sea level rates, at above 3 cm per decade. “A 3 cm per decade of sea level rise is equivalent to a disproportionate 17 metres of land carved away from the coast every decade, considering the slope along the coastal zone,” he said.