Impact of sea level rise on the land cover structure in Southeast Asia

Abstract. Sea-level rise in Southeast Asia is a consequence of climate change that will affect almost all coastal countries in the region. The results of this phenomenon may have severe consequences, from problems with food production, through mass migration of people, to the threat to unique ecological areas. Hence, the main aim of this research was to investigate the impact of sea level rise on the land cover structure in the region and how it may affect the situation of the countries in the region. For this purpose, GlobCover 2009 data and projections of sea level rise by one meter were used and a multiband raster image was created containing information about the land cover class, country and whether the area is threatened by sea level rise. All calculations have been made on the raster prepared in this way, which shows that 4.4% of South East Asia's areas are at risk of rising sea levels. Finally, the ratio was calculated for each land cover class. This showed the unusual vulnerability of some of the classes to rising sea levels like irrigated croplands and urban areas.