—Explore the Global Impact of Rising Sea Levels and Intensifying Weather—
As the earth warms, sea levels rise and super-storms become more frequent and intense, many of the world’s major coastal cities may soon be under water.
In the last five years alone, the United States has been hit with 83 hurricanes, devastating cities from New York to Houston.
Now, WNET’s Peril and Promise initiative presents the new four-part documentary series SINKING CITIES, which explores how four global cities are coming to grips with the real-time effects of rising seas and extreme weather.
Many of the world’s most vital and historic cities were built on the coast because of their accessibility to trade via rivers and oceans. But, as the planet has warmed, geography and development have left billions of people living in the shadow of an impending disaster.
Through the stories of New York, Tokyo, London and Miami, SINKING CITIES presents an urgent and eye-opening examination of what may be one of the biggest threats to human survival.
Featuring the world’s foremost climate scientists, urban planners and expert engineers, each film presents what is unique about these cities when natural disaster strikes and examines the scientific and engineering challenges presented for the future.
We also hear from those affected by a changing and extreme climate — how have they dealt with it and what are they doing to protect themselves for the future?
The series also takes us deep inside the visionary, yet complex, infrastructure and engineering work already underway in each city to mitigate these current issues.
EPISODE GUIDE:
Episode 1 “New York” airs Wednesday, Oct. 31 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV + Sunday, Nov. 4 at 10 p.m. on KPBS 2 - Discover how New York City might defend itself against rising seas and the next big storm. With 520 miles of shoreline and absolutely no coastal protection, engineers and urban planners are tackling the problem with creative engineering.
Episode 2 “Tokyo” airs Wednesday, Nov. 7 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV + Sunday, Nov. 11 at 10 p.m. on KPBS 2 - Discover how Tokyo is looking for new ways to fight back against rising waters. As one of the world’s most populous cities, typhoons, tsunamis, earthquakes, and sinking neighborhoods, threaten the city with some of the world’s largest problems.
Episode 3 “London” airs Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV + Sunday, Nov. 18 at 10 p.m. on KPBS 2 - Discover why London’s Thames Barrier is no longer enough to keep the city safe from climate challenges. The system was once successful, but now London must explore both low-tech fixes and some of the most advanced solutions in the world.
Episode 4 “Miami” airs Wednesday, Nov. 21 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV + Sunday, Nov. 25 at 10 p.m. on KPBS 2 - Discover how engineers and planners might protect Miami from rising seas and violent storms. As development booms, the city must utilize creative solutions to mitigate the challenges of stronger and more frequent hurricanes.
WATCH ON YOUR SCHEDULE:
Episodes will be available for viewing on demand for a limited time after each broadcast. Extend your viewing window with KPBS Passport, video streaming for members ($60 yearly) using your computer, smartphone, tablet, Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire or Chromecast. Learn how to activate your benefit now.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
Peril and Promise is on Facebook, Instagram, and you can follow @PerilandPromise on Twitter. #SinkingCitiesPBS
CREDITS:
This series is presented as part of Peril and Promise: The Challenge of Climate Change, WNET’s national, multi-platform public media initiative reporting on the human impact of climate change, scientific solutions and innovation in resilience, mitigation and clean energy. Distributing stories since 2017, Peril and Promise has produced over 100 reports on-air and online.
Content partners include PBS NEWSHOUR, PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND, METROFOCUS, NJTV News, SciTech Now, Long Island Business Report and New York public radio station WNYC.
Produced by Cineflix (Cities) Inc. in association with THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET. Alex Bystram, Kim Bondi, Peter Emerson and Sherri Rufh are executive producers. Martin Pupp is series producer and director. For WNET: Stephen Segaller is executive in charge and Ed Hersh is senior programming consultant. For Peril and Promise: Geraldine Moriba and Eugenia Harvey are project directors and executive producers.
