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- The United States faces a direct and immediate threat from sea-level rise caused by global climate change.
- “This new data on sea rise is the latest reconfirmation that our climate crisis – as the President has said – is blinking ‘code red.’”
- Many of our major metropolitan areas on East Coast will be at greater risk.
The United States is expected to experience as much sea-level rise by 2050 as in the previous 100 years, according to a federal report released Tuesday.
“Sea-level rising due to global climate change is a clear and immediate risk to the United States today and in the future decades and centuries,” stated the report released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and six federal agencies.
According to the report, the seas that lap against the U.S.A will be 10-12 inches higher by 2050.
“Make no mistake: Sea-level rise is upon us,” said report co-author Nicole LeBoeuf, director of NOAA’s National Ocean Service, at a press conference Tuesday.
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Although sea level has risen by almost 8 inches worldwide since 1880, it does not rise evenly like water in a bathtub. It has risen about a foot in some U.S. cities over the past 100 years due to ocean currents and sinking soil.
Here’s the reason: As the Earth’s surface temperature rises, so does its sea level. Heat-trapping greenhouse gases can cause more land glaciers (glaciers or ice sheets), to melt and water expansion to occur. Warmer water is more likely to take up space than cooler water. Scientists believe that global warming will be the main cause of future sea-level rise.
What’s at stake aren’t just beach mansions, but also thousands of working-class homes, as well as airports, military bases, seaports, power plants, oil refineries, bridges and highways.
“This new data on sea rise is the latest reconfirmation that our climate crisis – as the president has said – is blinking ‘code red,’” said Gina McCarthy, the national climate adviser for the Biden administration.
“We must redouble our efforts to cut the greenhouse gases that cause climate change while, at the same time, help our coastal communities become more resilient in the face of rising seas,” McCarthy said.
The U.S. will experience slightly higher sea-level rises than the global average. And the greatest rise in the U.S. will be on the Gulf and East coasts, while the West Coast and Hawaii will be hit less than average, said National Ocean Service oceanographer William Sweet, the report’s lead author.
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The report also found that sea level rise by 2050 will cause a significant increase in coastal flooding, even if there are no storms or heavy rains.
The report stated that “tens of millions” of Americans live in areas at high risk of coastal flooding. More people are moving to the coasts each year.
“It’s going to be areas that haven’t been flooding that are starting to flood,” Sweet added. “Many of our major metropolitan areas on the East Coast are going to be increasingly at risk.”
Contributing: The Associated Press
