Estimating population and urban areas at risk of coastal hazards, 1990–2015: how data choices matter

14 December 2021

New estimates of population and land area by settlement types within low-elevation coastal zones (LECZs) based on four sources of population data, four sources of settlement data and four sources of elevation data for the years 1990, 2000 and 2015. The paper describes the sensitivity of these estimates and discusses the fitness of use guiding user decisions. Data choices impact the number of people estimated within LECZs, but across all sources the LECZs are predominantly urban and growing.

The press release by Columbia University can be found at: https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2021/12/20/improving-estimates-of-population-exposed-to-sea-level-rise-not-as-straightforward-as-it-may-seem/

Contact: Kytt MacManus (kmacmanu@ciesin.columbia.edu)