Building a resilient Kuala Lumpur

Waterlogged: An afternoon of heavy rain is sometimes enough to cause a flash flood in Kuala Lumpur. This one occurred on Aug 22 in the vicinity of the World Trade Centre. — AZMAN GHANI/The Star

CLIMATE change is impacting us more rapidly and more severely than expected. It has become apparent that due to extreme dry and wet spells in Malaysia, the risk of climate change-related disasters in Kuala Lumpur has increased significantly.

The Malaysian National Water Research Institute estimates that from the 1970s to 2007, the intensity of rainfall duration increased by approximately 30%, while sea levels rose between 2.7mm and 7mm per annum from 1993 to 2010. At the same time, the incidence of droughts has increased.