Singapore raises sea defenses against tide of climate change – ‘A rise of two meters would turn Singapore into an island fortress’
By David Fogarty; Editing by Ron Popeski and Sanjeev Miglani
26 January 2012
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – A 15-km (10 mile) stretch of crisp white beach is one of the key battlegrounds in Singapore’s campaign to defend its hard-won territory against rising sea levels linked to climate change. Stone breakwaters are being enlarged on the low-lying island state’s man-made east coast and their heights raised. Barges carrying imported sand top up the beach, which is regularly breached by high tides. Singapore, the world’s second most densely populated country after Monaco, covers 715 square km (276 sq miles). It has already reclaimed large areas to expand its economy and population — boosting its land area by more than 20 percent since 1960. But the new land is now the frontline in a long-term battle against the sea. Every square metre is precious in Singapore. One of the world’s wealthiest nations in per-capita terms, it is also among the most vulnerable to climate change that is heating up the planet, changing weather patterns and causing seas to rise as the oceans warm and glaciers and icecaps melt. Late last year, the government decided the height of all new reclamations must be 2.25 metres (7.5 feet) above the highest recorded tide level — a rise of a metre over the previous mandated minimum height. The additional buffer was costly but necessary, Environment Minister Vivian Balakrishnan told Reuters in a recent interview. “You are buying insurance for the future,” he said during a visit to a large flood control barrier that separates the sea from a reservoir in the central business area. The decision underscores the government’s renowned long-term planning and the dilemma the country faces in fighting climate change while still trying to grow. It also highlights the problem facing other low-lying island states and coastal cities and the need to prepare. A major climate change review for the Chinese government last week said China’s efforts to protect vulnerable coastal areas with embankments were inadequate. It said in the 30 years up to 2009, the sea level off Shanghai rose 11.5 centimeters (4.5 inches); in the next 30 years, it will probably rise another 10 to 15 centimeters. […] The U.N. climate panel says sea levels could rise between 18 and 59 centimetres (7 to 24 inches) this century and more if parts of Antarctica and Greenland melt faster. Some scientists say the rise is more likely to be in a range of 1 to 2 metres. Singapore could cope with a rise of 50 cm to 1 m, coastal scientist Teh Tiong Sa told Reuters during a tour of the East Coast Park, the city’s main recreation area. “But a rise of two metres would turn Singapore into an island fortress,” said Teh, a retired teacher from Singapore’s National Institute for Education. That would mean constructing more and higher walls to protect against the sea. […] Climate change presents a host of other challenges. More intense rainfall has caused embarrassing floods in the premier Orchard Road shopping area. And the government says average daily temperature in tropical Singapore could increase by 2.7 to 4.2 degrees Celsius (4.9 to 7.6 degrees Fahrenheit) from the current average of 26.8 deg C (80.2 F) by 2100, which could raise energy use for cooling. Here lies another dilemma. The country is already one of the most energy intensive in Asia to power its industries and fiercely air conditioned malls and glass office towers — a paradox in a country at such risk from climate change. […]
Singapore raises sea defences against tide of climate change
