Living low poses risk.

Although only 2.2% of the world's land area is less than 10 meters above sea level, 10% of the world's population--some 600 million people--lives at these low elevations. Of these, 60% live in urban areas. A report in the April 2006 news bulletin Tiempo by researchers from The Earth Institute at Columbia University states these people are at risk from rising sea levels and increasingly strong storms due to climate change. Geographical location isn't the only factor that determines vulnerability, however. Although the United States has more urban areas in low-elevation coastal zones than any other country, low-income countries and those designated as Least Developed Countries have fewer resources to rebound from the effects of climate variability.