ADB report: Asia-Pacific coastal flood losses could hit $199 billion a year by 2050

Key facts

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) released the Asia-Pacific Climate 2026 report, titled 'Coastal Risks on the Rise: Actions for a Resilient Future', on 21 October 2026.
• Annual coastal flooding damages in Asia-Pacific could reach $172-199 billion by 2050 and $520-739 billion by 2100 without adaptation, with India, China and Indonesia facing the largest monetary losses.
• Coastal flooding currently causes about $27 billion in damage a year across 30 economies, and $40-45 billion in trade value is at risk annually from port disruptions.
• In atoll nations, annual flood damages could exceed half of GDP; small island developing states account for nine of the ten largest welfare losses, including Maldives at 3.8%, Kiribati at 2.7%, and Tonga and the Federated States of Micronesia at about 2.6%.
• Keeping coastal flood damages near current levels would require about $9-19 billion a year in flood protection across ADB's developing member countries, with avoided damages of $178-360 billion a year, making adaptation benefits nearly 20 times the cost.
• By 2030, climate factors could push up to 124,000 Pacific women into food insecurity compared with 102,000 men, and women contribute about 56% of small-scale fisheries catches in the Pacific.
• The report cites a mangrove and salt-tolerant bioshield in Gujarat that reduces salinity intrusion while restoring fisheries as a youth-led climate adaptation solution.