Breaking: First climate risk assessment finds 1.5m Australians at risk from sea level rise by 2050

One and a half million Australians are at risk from sea levels rising by 2050 unless climate change can be limited, Australia’s first national climate risk assessment has warned. 

It found under 1.5C of warming, sea levels would rise by 0.14m, but they would rise by 0.54m under a 3C scenario — with Queensland home to 18 of the 20 most-exposed regions.

The assessment, which is the single most-significant body of climate work by the Australian government, also warns that 597,000 people are living in areas that will become exposed to sea level rise by 2030.

The grim document has been released days ahead of the federal government committing to its emissions target for 2035, and a meeting at the United Nations where countries will update their commitments.

The National Climate Risk Assessment modelled impacts under three scenarios: 1.5C of warming, 2C of warming and 3C of warming.

The Climate Change Authority says based on current global commitments, the world is on track to see 2.9C of warming this decade.

The assessment shows Northern Australia will be particularly prone to hazards, with more pressure on population health, critical infrastructure and natural species.

But everywhere can be expected to feel the impacts.

Heatwave deaths in Sydney, for example, would rise by more than 400 per cent under a 3C scenario, and would still double under 1.5C scenario.