Floods, heat, migration: How extreme weather will transform cities

By George Webster, for CNN

Updated 1321 GMT (2121 HKT) April 4, 2012

Brooklyn Bridge stands shrouded in heavy rain and dark clouds as Hurricane Irene reaches the New York City area on August 28, 2011. According to Jan Corfee-Morlot, senior climate change analyst for the OECD, many developed coastal cities around the world face a "severe risk" of floods in the coming years.
Photos: How will cities adapt to climate change?
Coastal city calamities – Brooklyn Bridge stands shrouded in heavy rain and dark clouds as Hurricane Irene reaches the New York City area on August 28, 2011. According to Jan Corfee-Morlot, senior climate change analyst for the OECD, many developed coastal cities around the world face a "severe risk" of floods in the coming years.
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Russians walk near the Kremlin on Red Square under clear blue skies during a rare heat wave in Moscow, in August, 2010. According to a new report from the UK's Met Office, man-made climate change is likely to cause a global temperature rise of around 3-5C over the next century, and significantly increase instances of freak weather events.
Photos: How will cities adapt to climate change?
Red hot in Russia – Russians walk near the Kremlin on Red Square under clear blue skies during a rare heat wave in Moscow, in August, 2010. According to a new report from the UK's Met Office, man-made climate change is likely to cause a global temperature rise of around 3-5C over the next century, and significantly increase instances of freak weather events.
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Before London authorities built the Thames barrier, the city was prone to floods in times of high tide, as illustrated in this scene from 1963. But, according to Dr Doug Crawford-Brown, executive director at Cambridge University's Centre for Climate Mitigation Research, England's capital may face a return to its deluged days, if extreme rainfall patterns overwhelm current drainage systems.
Photos: How will cities adapt to climate change?
London: The submerged city? – Before London authorities built the Thames barrier, the city was prone to floods in times of high tide, as illustrated in this scene from 1963. But, according to Dr Doug Crawford-Brown, executive director at Cambridge University's Centre for Climate Mitigation Research, England's capital may face a return to its deluged days, if extreme rainfall patterns overwhelm current drainage systems.
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In 2007 the giant Maeslant surge barrier that guards the entrance to the largest port in Europe, Rotterdam closed for the first time since its construction in the 1990s. According to Jan Corfee-Morlot, other coastal cities such as New York and Miami will soon require similar defences.
Photos: How will cities adapt to climate change?
Coastlines to close against climate – In 2007 the giant Maeslant surge barrier that guards the entrance to the largest port in Europe, Rotterdam closed for the first time since its construction in the 1990s. According to Jan Corfee-Morlot, other coastal cities such as New York and Miami will soon require similar defences.
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A crowded row of skyscrapers are reflected on a man-made lake while a dark cloud hovers in Singapore. Matthew Kahn, economics professor at the UCLA's Environment Institute, says that this type of high-rise, high-density urban living will be the norm in years to come, as cities adapt to migrants escaping their climate-ravaged homes.
Photos: How will cities adapt to climate change?
The skyscraper solution – A crowded row of skyscrapers are reflected on a man-made lake while a dark cloud hovers in Singapore. Matthew Kahn, economics professor at the UCLA's Environment Institute, says that this type of high-rise, high-density urban living will be the norm in years to come, as cities adapt to migrants escaping their climate-ravaged homes.
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