“Coastal flooding will increase significantly over the next 30 years”, announces a major American report

Scientists have been investigating sea level rise for years now. These scenarios, modeled in particular for the end of the century, are catastrophic and warn of the need to monitor changes in sea level height. For the first time, short-term projections are presented in the February 15, 2022 report entitled Global and Regional Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the United States (“Global and Regional Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the United States”), prepared by The NASAthe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) and other federal agencies.

Projections for 2050

This report projects sea level rise to 2050 and focuses on coastal cities in United States who are already experiencing flooding in tide high, and therefore need these reports to inform their plans for anticipating and managing the consequences of sea level rise. The scientists’ projections estimate that the sea level will rise by 25 to 30 centimeters along the American coasts over the next thirty years, a rise equal to the total rise observed over the past 100 years. These forecasts are also accompanied by an increase in the frequency and intensity of these events. It is important to note also that estimates of sea level rise by the end of the century may be exceeded if emissions greenhouse gas continue to growin turn increasing global temperatures.

These projections have been developed thanks to the progress made in understanding the processes linked to the rise in water levels, such as the melting from ice caps and glaciers or complex interactions between oceans, ice and continents. Moreover, this information is accessible thanks to a new mapping tool developed in order to be able to visualize online the various scenarios of sea level rise presented by the report. This online climate data expands monitoring capabilities and aims to educate coastal and global communities about the alarming rate of sea level rise to better position themselves now for the future.

Research still active

The scenarios of Global and Regional Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the United States are already part of the latest assessment published in August 2021 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). These reports provide climate assessments of the Earth worldwide, via analyzes based, among other things, on computer simulations.

A final report concerning the evaluation of the impacts of the climate change on the United States has yet to be published: the Fifth National Climate Assessment (“Fifth National Climate Assessment”). Produced by the US Global Change Research Programit will draw on the present study of “Global and Regional Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the United States” and is expected to be released in 2023.