Scientists warned that many of the scenic sites overlooking the Mediterranean, which attract tourists from around the world, may disappear completely in the future, being vulnerable to destruction by natural disasters caused by climate change.
A team of academics led by Lena Riemann of the University of Kiel in Germany has created a database of all UNESCO Mediterranean sites at risk during the next century due to floods or "erosion of the coast" using mathematical models to predict how sea level rise affects them.
The study included fascinating sites such as the Italian city of Venice "Floating" and the Italian Amalfi Beach, and Piazza del Duomo, the most important field in the Italian Pisa.
The researchers found that out of 49 coastal sites around the Mediterranean, only two would be safe from flooding or coastal erosion by 2100.
More than three-quarters (37 sites) are vulnerable to severe flooding by 2100, the Daily Mail reported.
The Piazza del Duomo in Pisa, the only site at risk of flooding, and 90 percent of the sites will face the risk of coastal erosion by the end of the century (42 sites).
It will face the risk of coastal erosion only, such as the Greek island of Rhodes, the Tunisian city of Sousse, archaeological areas in the Italian city of Pompeii, the ancient Roman city of Herculaneum in southern Italy, the Greek island of Corfu, the archaeological areas of the Nautus valley southeast of Sicily and the Stari Grad plain in Cyprus .
By 2100, flood risk could increase by 50 per cent and erosion risk by 13 per cent throughout the region.
The results can easily be replicated and applied to other regions where a large number of World Heritage sites are likely to be at risk of coastal disasters due to sea-level rise, for example in South-East Asia.
"With increasing coastal risks such as floods and erosion as sea level rises, a large number of World Heritage sites will gradually be at risk in the future, threatening the global value of the affected sites and potentially Leading to losses in economic revenues. "
