Events

As a coastal megacity subject to flooding, what can Mumbai learn from the experience of New York City? In October 2012, New York experienced the most severe natural disaster in its modern history when 'Superstorm' Sandy flooded large portions of the city, destroying low-lying neighborhoods and incapacitating much of the city’s infrastructure. How predictable was this event and how prepared was the city? In the five years since, New York has undertaken an ambitious program to increase its resilience to future storms; is the city better prepared for such events and for longer term effects of climate change and sea level rise?

Columbia Global Centers | Mumbai invites you to a lecture by Professor Adam Sobel, the Director and Chief Scientist at the Initiative on Extreme Weather and Climate at Columbia University, who will address these questions and similar risks to other coastal megacities. In particular, he will describe an ongoing project (inspired by the aftermath of Sandy) on storm surge in Mumbai.

About the Speaker

Dr. Adam Sobel is a Professor in the Departments of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, and Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University, where he directs the new Initiative on Extreme Weather and Climate. He authored Storm Surge, Hurricane Sandy, Our Changing Climate, and Extreme Weather of the Past and Future, where he combines science with his first-hand experience of Sandy and encourages readers to think differently about the long-term risk of storm surges.