3:00 PM - 3:15 PM
[U10-06] Anthropocene risk: Natural, Urban and Social Environments
Today, more than half of the world's population lives in urban areas. According to UN, the number of cities with a population of over 10 million is expected to increase to 43 by 2030. We are currently living in a time when cities are rapidly expanding on the earth, and this expansion is driving complex social and environmental transformations on both local and global scales.
While the melting of ice sheets and the massive collapse of ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula have received much attention, recent studies have shown that the melting of the Antarctic ice sheet is also occurring in the coastal regions of East Antarctica. Understanding the melting of the ice sheet in East Antarctica is important for predicting climate and sea level changes. The impact of global warming and climate change is a growing concern for human society, not only in Antarctica but worldwide.
Natural disasters in the Anthropocene can be classified into two categories from the perspective of risk factors. One is the type of risk factor that increases in frequency and magnitude, such as climate change in the Anthropocene. The increase and expansion of typhoons, heavy rainfalls, droughts, heat waves are increasing the risk of natural disasters in human society. In particular, the risk of climate change is rapidly increasing in urban areas, as it is compounded by changes in society (population, demographic composition, population concentration, economy, infrastructure, medical system, water environment and source, energy, natural environment, etc.). For example, the heat island phenomenon is usually observed in Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, during the summer, but in early summer of 2021, a broad area of high-temperature conditions beyond the normal heat island range was observed due to a decrease in vegetation caused by an anormal drought resulting from climate change.
Another aspect is that natural disasters such as megaearthquakes or volcanic eruptions have low occurrence frequencies. Although the occurrence probability of these phenomena does not change, the damage caused when an event occurs has increased due to population growth and urban expansion. The risks of megaearthquakes or volcanic eruptions change depending on the environmental and systemic conditions of human society, so the risks change with the times due to changes in social structures and infrastructure. For example, compared to the time of the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923, the population of Kanagawa prefecture has increased from about 1.4 million to about 9 million, and the natural environment of the Tanzawa Mountains has greatly increased its role as a water source for Kanagawa. This is a significantly different environmental, urban, and social situation from that of the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923. In other words, if large-scale slope collapses similar to that of the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923 were to occur, the possibility of damaging Kanagawa's water source would be greatly increased due to its vulnerability.
Japan is currently facing an aging society and population decline, while the world's population has reached about 8 billion. In many parts of the world, high birth rates continue, particularly in developing countries, resulting in a correspondingly high rate of population growth. As a result, urban expansion into areas with high risk due to population concentration is occurring in developing country cities. For example, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, urban areas are expanding rapidly towards active volcano.
Here, we will discuss the risks of the Anthropocene from a multi-perspective view of the environment, urbanization, and society.
While the melting of ice sheets and the massive collapse of ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula have received much attention, recent studies have shown that the melting of the Antarctic ice sheet is also occurring in the coastal regions of East Antarctica. Understanding the melting of the ice sheet in East Antarctica is important for predicting climate and sea level changes. The impact of global warming and climate change is a growing concern for human society, not only in Antarctica but worldwide.
Natural disasters in the Anthropocene can be classified into two categories from the perspective of risk factors. One is the type of risk factor that increases in frequency and magnitude, such as climate change in the Anthropocene. The increase and expansion of typhoons, heavy rainfalls, droughts, heat waves are increasing the risk of natural disasters in human society. In particular, the risk of climate change is rapidly increasing in urban areas, as it is compounded by changes in society (population, demographic composition, population concentration, economy, infrastructure, medical system, water environment and source, energy, natural environment, etc.). For example, the heat island phenomenon is usually observed in Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, during the summer, but in early summer of 2021, a broad area of high-temperature conditions beyond the normal heat island range was observed due to a decrease in vegetation caused by an anormal drought resulting from climate change.
Another aspect is that natural disasters such as megaearthquakes or volcanic eruptions have low occurrence frequencies. Although the occurrence probability of these phenomena does not change, the damage caused when an event occurs has increased due to population growth and urban expansion. The risks of megaearthquakes or volcanic eruptions change depending on the environmental and systemic conditions of human society, so the risks change with the times due to changes in social structures and infrastructure. For example, compared to the time of the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923, the population of Kanagawa prefecture has increased from about 1.4 million to about 9 million, and the natural environment of the Tanzawa Mountains has greatly increased its role as a water source for Kanagawa. This is a significantly different environmental, urban, and social situation from that of the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923. In other words, if large-scale slope collapses similar to that of the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923 were to occur, the possibility of damaging Kanagawa's water source would be greatly increased due to its vulnerability.
Japan is currently facing an aging society and population decline, while the world's population has reached about 8 billion. In many parts of the world, high birth rates continue, particularly in developing countries, resulting in a correspondingly high rate of population growth. As a result, urban expansion into areas with high risk due to population concentration is occurring in developing country cities. For example, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, urban areas are expanding rapidly towards active volcano.
Here, we will discuss the risks of the Anthropocene from a multi-perspective view of the environment, urbanization, and society.