Five Greek World Heritage Cities in Greece are threatened by floods and drought due to Climate Change: Athens, Thessaloniki, Corfu, Rhodes and Patmos are estimated to face problems such as floods and drought according to a scientific research conducted by the UNESCO.
114 UNESCO World Heritage Cities in the Mediterranean region are emitting a danger signal due to climate change: according to a reputable scientific study to be presented to the public today, more than half of the World Heritage Cities in the region will face at least two types of climate threats by the end of the 21st century – such as extreme temperature fluctuations, heat waves, drought, floods – with multiple risks expected to worsen.
At the same time, the rise in sea levels, by more than half a meter, is estimated to affect all coastal World Heritage Cities in the Mediterranean Sea.
According to daily tanea.gr, the original scientific report was prepared by UNESCO, the Group on Earth Observation and the Greece ‘s Geo-Observation Office as “an urgent call to action” to save the collective history of humanity. As the researchers emphasized, irreplaceable cultural treasures face the risk of irreversible loss and damage, resulting in the urgent need to take preventive measures.
Based on the reports of the cities themselves examined, on projections from advanced climate models and on geo-observation data, the report is an evidence-based, collaborative assessment of the impacts of climate change on these cities.
Five World Heritage Sites in Greece were included in the research and are located in a similar number of cities:
- the Acropolis of Athens
- the Medieval City of Rhodes
- the Old Town of Corfu
- the Early Christian and Byzantine monuments of Thessaloniki
- the Chora of Patmos, with the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian and the Cave of the Apocalypse.
To draw conclusions, the scientists grouped the areas studied into broader geographical zones with similar climatic impacts. Greece was included in the Eastern Mediterranean sub-region along with Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Turkey.
Two threats
According to the report, the World Heritage Cities in Greece, like the rest of the same group, mainly face two threats – rapid storms and a significant increase in temperature – and are among the most “vulnerable” areas to extreme weather events. In addition, 1/5 of the cities in our region already face more than three climate threats.
Scientific forecasts show for the future that the Eastern Mediterranean sub-region will experience the greatest increase in temperature (4.3° C) and will stand out as the area with the greatest number of “extremely hot days” (more than two months per year). At the same time, increasingly lower rainfall is predicted with “consecutive dry days”, which will even approach 18 days. At the same time, sea level rise is estimated to range from 0.5 to 0.67 meters, posing an additional risk to all coastal World Heritage Cities in the region, with the greatest rise in the central part of the Mediterranean basin, where the Aegean Sea is located.
“All of us who contributed to the new UNESCO report, which focuses on the impacts of climate change on Mediterranean World Heritage Cities – the teams of the National Observatory of Athens and the Academy of Athens – feel particularly satisfied that we managed to mobilize two leading global organizations, UNESCO and the intergovernmental geo-observation organization GEO (Group on Earth Observations), to collaborate with us to highlight an issue of utmost importance and sensitivity for our country: the protection of Cultural Heritage at a global level, starting with the particularly affected Mediterranean”, commented to “NEA” Dr. Evangelos Gerasopoulos, director of the Institute for Environmental and Sustainable Development Research of the National Observatory of Athens and director of the Hellenic Geo-Observation Office, who will participate in today’s presentation.
“We hope to create a global awareness of the seriousness and urgency of the climate crisis.”
Alarming data
The data is alarming: almost two-thirds of the World Heritage Cities in the Mediterranean region report that they are already facing at least one climate risk. And all this while the Mediterranean, which is, according to scientists, a climate change hot spot, is home to cultural and natural heritage of immense importance, including almost 300 cultural sites inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Almost a fifth of the World Heritage Cities report that they are already facing three or more risks, one in three cities reports floods and a significant number storms and drought. The picture is familiar and the scientists warn through their report: in the event of inaction by the global community, it will worsen. [via in.gr]
See also other reports and researches about the dangers of the climate change in the Mediterranean Sea HERE on KTG.
