SPACE WIRE
Global warming could submerge three of India's largest cities: scientist
MADRAS (AFP) Dec 06, 2003
Global warming could submerge three of India's biggest citiesbeneath the sea by 2020 unless the crisis was brought under control, an Indian scientist warned Saturday.

"If the warming continues, there will be about half to one metre increase in sea level by 2020 and cities like Bombay, Calcutta and Madras will be completely submerged," said Rajiv Nigam, a scientist with the Geological Oceanography Division, in the western Indian state of Goa.

He said that a one-metre rise in sea level could cause five trillion rupees (108 billion dollars) worth of damage to property in Goa alone.

"If this is the quantum of damage in a small state like Goa that has only two districts, imagine the extent of property loss in metros like Bombay," he added at a workshop in the National College in Dirudhy, Tamil Nadu state.

He also predicted that global warming could also cause frequent cyclones along the coastal areas and affect the annual monsoon rains, which is crucial for India's farm-dependent economy.

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