Asia's coastal cities face challenge of rising seas

Predicted sea level increases this century mean many face increased flooding, stronger storm surges and unpredictable weather.

How quickly these changes occur will partly depend on whether negotiators at this week's U.N. climate talks in Paris can broker a strong treaty to limit the release of climate-warming greenhouse gases.

[...] with a certain amount of sea rise considered inevitable as warmer temperatures melt glaciers and expand oceans, cities will have to adapt quickly to spare investors losses and citizens from disaster.

[...] some governments now realize "they need to pay attention to these climate risk factors to attract investment."

Global losses from flooding in coastal cities are already averaging about $6 billion a year, according to a 2013 study published in the journal Nature.

The Bangladesh capital, Dhaka, holds sprawling slums to which millions fled when rising seas swallowed their coastal homes.

In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a vision of 100 smart cities popping up across the country, integrating high-tech systems for transportation, communication and sewage treatment.

[...] little has been said about upgrading existing cities, where some 400 million Indians still cope with shoddy infrastructure, makeshift housing, trash-clogged drainage systems and inadequate sewage treatment.

If the Paris climate talks cannot steer the world from its current path toward a 4 degree Celsius rise in temperatures, sea rise will subsume coastlines that are now home to 470 million to 760 million people, according to a November study by the nonprofit research and news organization Climate Central.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has estimated that climate change, and specifically increased flooding and stronger storm surges, will lead to an average decline of 1.2 notches in sovereign credit ratings, based on direct damage data projections from global insurance giant Swiss Re.