From London to Shanghai, world's sinking cities face devastating floods

Threat to major population centres is increasing as planners fail to prepare for impacts of global warming, report says

London, Jakarta, Shanghai and Houston and other global cities that are already sinking will become increasingly vulnerable to storms and flooding as a result of global warming, campaigners have warned ahead of a landmark new report on climate science.

The threat to cities from sea level rises is increasing because city planners are failing to prepare, the charity Christian Aid said in the report. Some big cities are already subsiding - the ground beneath Shanghai, for instance, is being pressed down by the sheer weight of the buildings above - and rising sea levels resulting from global warming will make the effects worse.