Page 62 - Çevre Şehir İklim İngilizce - Sayı 1

Climate Change Crisis And Cities

Another problem that is caused by climate change and affects all settlements
around the world, mainly the cities, is drought. Globally, 411 million people
are effected by drought. As the magnitude and large populations of the cities
lead to an increase in water demand, water stress is experienced intensely in
the cities. According to UN figures, as of 2050, half the world countries will
suffer from drought. Moreover, it is predicted that there will be water stress
or water scarcity in the cities due to increased population and fast-paced
urbanization. Thus, it is estimated that three out of every four people will face
water scarcity in 2050 (WEF, 2022b: 10)
Due to climate change, transportation and other infrastructures may be
damaged. As the transportation network is submerged due to overflows,
food and supply chain may break and extreme weather conditions based
on climate change might damage critical urban infrastructures. Another
negative impact of climate change on cities is that increased temperatures
and precipitation may render drainage systems insufficient or make access to
power used in homes, hospitals and industry harder. The consequences due
to climate change also pose a threat by increasing the risk and frequency of
extreme heat, drought, megafires and tropic cyclones (Ebinger ve Vandycke,
2015: 2; IPCC, 2021).
As a result of climate change, the emergence of public health issues in the
cities has become inevitable. The increase in global temperatures creates an
ideal environment for the spread of water-borne and vector-borne diseases. In
this respect, it is seen that especially the city-dwellers of developing countries
are under great risk (Kumar, 2021).
Today, due to climate change, another important issue effecting especially
the megacities is migration. Owing to climate change, the environmental
degradation and the ensuing desertification, rising sea levels, and other
issues in the land not only affect the livelihood of people in their regions,
but also leads them to escape conflicts and violence due to lack of natural
resources and accelerates migration to cities. This in turn increases the
existing poverty, inequality, and employment in informal sectors. In addition,
the increase in population brings about urban expansion, the emergence
of illegal settlements, and an increase in the consumption of energy and
resources as well as demands in urban infrastructure and services. This further
increases the vulnaribility of cities to the effects of climate change (Warn and
Adamo, 2014).

Year 1 / Issue 1 / Jan 2022 47