World - Rural land area where elevation is below 5 meters (sq. km)

Definition: Rural land area below 5m is the total rural land area in square kilometers where the elevation is 5 meters or less.

Source: Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)/Columbia University. 2013. Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates Version 2. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.e

See also:

• Thematic map
• Country comparison
• Country ranking
• Download data to Excel

Limitations and Exceptions: The 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) assessment report concluded that global warming is “unequivocal” and gave the strongest warning yet about the role of human activities. The report estimated that sea levels would rise approximately 49 centimeters over the next 100 years, with a range of uncertainty of 20–86 centimeters. That will lead to increased coastal flooding through direct inundation and a higher base for storm surges, allowing flooding of larger areas and higher elevations. Climate model simulations predict an increase in average surface air temperature of about 2.5°C by 2100 (Kattenberg and others 1996) and increase of “killer” heat waves during the warm season (Karl and others 1997).

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Elevation data used to generate the low elevation coastal zones come from the SRTM3 Enhanced Global Map developed by ISCIENCES. The ISCIENCES digital elevation model was created using NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Shuttle Radar Topography Mission data processed to 3 arc-seconds (SRTM3).

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Environment Indicators

Sub-Topic: Land use