A recent analysis has found that some of the world's most iconic UNESCO World Heritage Sites are at significant risk from climate-related threats, including 21 in the United States.
The report, conducted by climate risk analysis company ClimateX, identifies the vulnerabilities of the world's 500 UNESCO World Heritage sites that are most at risk by 2050 if urgent action is not taken to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
The analysis found that Florida's Everglades National Park faces a variety of climate hazards, including coastal flooding, tropical cyclones, extreme heat, drought and storm surges, making it the most at-risk place in the United States.
Washington state's Olympic National Park also features in the top 50 most dangerous places due to the risk of river and surface flooding and landslides.
Entrance to the pristine Hoh Rain Forest near Forks, Washington. Olympic National Park in Washington is one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites most at risk as assessed by Climate X. Entrance to the pristine Hoh Rain Forest near Forks, Washington. Olympic National Park in Washington is one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites most at risk as assessed by Climate X. Read more George Rose/Getty
“The potential impacts of climate change on these places are enormous, but it's not just the heritage of the past that's at risk – it's the heritage of the present as well,” Lukki Ahmed, CEO and co-founder of ClimateX, said in a statement.
Globally, the Korean peninsula's ancient Buddhist mountain temple complex, Samsa, tops the list of places most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, with the report citing river and surface flooding as the main threats to the temples, some of which date back to the 7th century.
Other high-risk areas include the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Bali Cultural Landscape in Indonesia, the West Lake Cultural Landscape in Hangzhou, China, and the West Norwegian Fjords in Norway.
“The loss of these cultural assets, preserved for millennia, is of course devastating, but we must not forget that the real social and economic impacts of climate change are happening right now,” Ahmed said.
Climate X co-founder Kamil Kurza echoed the urgency, telling Newsweek: “I think the message is that the risks are there and we need to be proactive.”
“That means putting investment budgets and funding into both climate adaptation and reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.”
The report was produced using Climate X's Spectra platform, which uses advanced algorithms to model the future likelihood of 16 types of climate hazards, including extreme heat, tropical cyclones and floods, across eight warming scenarios over a 100-year period.
Each site was assigned a risk score from A (no risk) to F (high risk) based on its predicted total loss rate.
Sites in African, Middle Eastern and Latin American countries were excluded from the analysis because Climate X does not yet cover these regions. Other sites excluded were based on an assessment of zero risk.
In total, UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has recognised 1,223 World Heritage Sites across the globe.
The United States is home to 26 World Heritage Sites, including Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks.
In response to the report, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre told Newsweek that the organisation was not involved in the analysis and did not have information about the methodology used.
“UNESCO is not in a position to comment at this stage,” the centre said.
Ahmed concluded by calling on governments, preservationists and the international community to prioritize the protection of these sites.
“Our findings send a stark warning to governments, conservationists and the international community to prioritise protecting our planet – preserving our ancient sites and current assets and infrastructure – to safeguard life now and into the future,” he said.
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