Ibadan, August 23, 2024. – Climate risk data analytics company Climate X has revealed new data identifying which UNESCO World Heritage sites are most vulnerable to climate-related damage. The analysis highlights that four of the UK’s 35 UNESCO World Heritage sites – the Forth Bridge, St Kilda and New Lanark in Scotland, as well as Studley Royal Park in Yorkshire – are among the most at-risk sites in the world.
Climate X has modelled how climate change will affect 500 UNESCO World Heritage sites, assessing the physical hazards each site faces, such as flooding, coastal erosion, landslides, wind hazards, storms and cyclones. The four UK World Heritage sites together attract more than 750,000 visitors annually, with a rich history and structures dating back to 1332.
Climate X used its Spectra platform, which models how climate change will impact properties, assets and infrastructure under various scenarios, to conduct the analysis. The platform’s algorithms quantify the risk of extreme weather, providing a Google Maps-like interface and allowing users to model the future likelihood of 16 different climate hazards (from extreme heat to tropical cyclones and flooding) under eight warming scenarios over a 100-year time horizon.
Lukky Ahmed, CEO and co-founder of Climate X, said: “The potential impact of climate change on these sites is profound. But it is not just our past heritage that is at risk, it is also our present. Our findings serve as a stark warning to governments, conservationists and the global community to prioritise the protection of our planet, to preserve our ancient monuments and our current assets and infrastructure, and to protect life today and in the future.”
Other UNESCO sites at highest risk of climate-related hazards include the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Olympic National Park in the United States, the Jungfrau-Aletsch Alps in Switzerland and the Buddhist monasteries of the Sansa Mountains in Korea.
