Densely populated Southeast Asian island states such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and the Philippines are likely to face more intense climate events in future, analysts said on Thursday.

 

These islands are especially vulnerable because of their large populations and because much of their land is exposed to storm surges and sea-level rises, according to research published by risk analysis group Verisk Maplecroft.

 

Eight of the 10 cities most at risk from such events are in the Philippines, according to a study by the same firm last month, which said the country had "poor institutional and societal capacity to manage, respond and recover from natural hazard events".

 

The study tried to quantify the risk of a country being hit by extreme climate events such as droughts, wildfires, storms and floods, as well as the dangers posed by changing temperatures and sea levels.

 

China is "high risk" due to increased industrial, domestic and agricultural competition for water, and some northern parts of the country have already experienced reductions in rainfall, the study said.

 

Outside Southeast Asia, Bangladesh also ranked high on the list of places at risk.