ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – NASA, the United States space agency, has issued a stark warning about the future of Asia’s coastal cities.
According to recent reports, global sea levels are expected to rise between 0.9–1.8 meters by the end of this century, triggering extreme floods that could submerge major urban areas, including Jakarta.
This is not a distant prediction. The frequent tidal floods and severe inundations hitting the Greater Jakarta area throughout 2025—exceeding the 2016 and 2020 flood events in Bekasi—signal the potential for a much larger disaster.
“Jakarta is considered one of the fastest sinking cities in the world,” reported Sciencing on Thursday, January 1, 2026.
NASA reports that Jakarta’s water level is rising by approximately 17 cm per year. Situated on low-lying reclaimed marshlands, crossed by 13 rivers, and bordering the Java Sea, the city faces exceptionally high vulnerability to rising sea levels.
Jakarta’s history of major floods is alarming: in 2007, 80 people lost their lives, and damages reached hundreds of millions of dollars. This was one of the reasons the Indonesian government relocated the capital to the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) in 2022, which is expected to be fully completed by 2045 as a safer alternative to the sinking Jakarta.
Asia’s Most Vulnerable Coastal Cities
Besides Jakarta, NASA and global climate agencies highlight several other Asian coastal cities at high risk:
– Bangkok, Thailand – Coastline receding 1 km per year; city could disappear within a century.
– Manila, Philippines – Sinking 4 inches per year; loss of 130,000 hectares of mangroves worsens the threat.
– Kolkata, India – Floods and groundwater extraction endanger 10 million residents.
– Yangon, Myanmar – At risk due to tidal floods and tectonic activity.
– Semarang & Surabaya, Indonesia – Coastal cities highly vulnerable to rising seas and tidal floods.
– Alexandria, Egypt (North Africa, for global context) – Could lose 30% of its area by 2050, illustrating worldwide coastal risk.
Time Is Running Out
Scientists emphasize that although sea level rise is gradual, its effects are permanent. Without immediate action to reduce carbon emissions and protect the environment, Asia’s coastal cities face irreversible disasters.
Urgent adaptation measures include: Elevating sea walls and improving urban drainage systems, Restoring mangroves and coastal ecosystems, Implementing advanced water management to prevent floods.
If these measures are not taken, Jakarta and other coastal cities in Asia could disappear from maps and history. (Sciencing)
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