What Are Coastal Zones?

The Sabkhas are flat salt-encrusted plains usually lacking in any significant plant cover.

At risk…

Coastal zones located to the west of Abu Dhabi are most sensitive to sea level rise and may move inward due to seawater encroaching into the land areas. By one estimate, in the UAE, the ocean is entering inland by eating away the coastlines at an average of 50 metres every two years.

Climate change and rising sea levels

Remember that one of the most serious impacts of climate change is the rise in sea levels. The increase in global temperature has led to the melting of glaciers and ice caps, as a result of which the water level in seas has gone up. Over the last hundred years, the global sea level has risen by about ten to twenty-five centimetres!