Climate change poses risk for Istanbul’s coastal districts: Report

ISTANBUL

Unless measures are taken against global warming, more than 400 neighborhoods in Istanbul’s coastal districts are vulnerable to floods and storms caused by climate change, a recent research report has revealed.

According to the research conducted by Sibel Sezer from the Turkish Marine Research Foundation (TÜDAV) and Yağmur Karabulut from the Climate Academy, some of the coastal districts of Istanbul, which will have a drier and hotter climate as of 2040, will be adversely affected by rising sea waters.

Üsküdar and Kadıköy coastlines, Port of Istanbul, parts of the Golden Horn and Yenikapı, Zeytinburnu, Ataköy, Maltepe, Pendik and Tuzla districts are among the locations that are expected to be most affected.

Storms, floods and landslides, which are expected to increase in number and intensity, will cause damage to the coasts, the report said, warning that there will also be an increase in the cost of destructive damage due to heavy rainfalls.

Noting that a total of 417 neighborhoods in Istanbul, 329 of which are in the middle class, are vulnerable to climate change and open to similar risks, the report said, “An estimated 77 percent of the urban population is unprepared for the possible effects of climate change. If no measures are taken in Istanbul, where 12-13 million people will be affected, the cost is expected to reach $200 million by 2030.”

“If the predicted temperature increase occurs, the sea water temperature in Istanbul will also increase, which will affect the biodiversity adversely. “For every 1 degree Celsius [33 degrees Fahrenheit] increase, 6 percent of marine biomass will be destroyed.”