MORE THAN than 100 towns and cities on the peninsula are at risk of severe flooding due to rising sea levels, Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said.

Speaking to New Straits Times in a podcast, he said severe heatwaves and rainfall due to climate change are having an impact on the environment.

“It is expected that with the rise in sea levels, 111 towns and cities across the peninsula of Malaysia, particularly Penang, Selangor, Johor, Kedah, Malacca, and Terengganu, will be affected.

“You’ve seen erosion occurring on beaches. (Beaches) that used to be there are now erased. In residential areas, you have seawater infiltrating the drains due to the rising sea level.

“So that is something real which we need to address. An adaptation plan is important,” the minister said.

Nik Nazmi said a national plan is currently in the works to address the problem.

“Moving forward, we are working on a national adaptation plan. I think that’s key because when we talk about putting up solar plants, electric vehicles or public transport, those are mitigation measures.

“You want to reduce carbon emissions and that’s important. But you also need to adapt because the world has progressed so fast so mitigation alone won’t be sufficient.”

Maintenance, he said, has always been a significant challenge in addressing environmental issues, no matter how well-crafted the policies and guidelines.

“I think, in a sense, maintenance (on the environment) has always been a challenge. We have nice policies and guidelines, but how do we keep up with the maintenance?

“But to also be fair to our policymakers, (the challenge) is due to all the severity of the heatwaves, rains, and storms that are getting worse because of climate change.

“A lot of engineers, for example, are having to revise their forecast.” – May 19, 2024.