A fresh projection of sea level rise based upon satellite readings triples the number of people affected by 2050 than previously estimated. This new forecast is still an underestimate, as will be discovered next year.
Based upon poor data and conservative projection, most estimates of global mean sea-level rise this century are below 2 meters. Instead, over 2 meters is practically guaranteed. Every year new studies find fault with previous ones and estimates of the rate of environmental change are found shy.
Coastal regions around the world will be underwater by mid-century. This includes Miami, Boston, New York, Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and many other cities on the east coast of the US.
There are no last-minute fixes. There is only calamity and economic collapse.
Climate change is accelerating in an exponential way. With carbon emissions continuing full bore, Earth is quickly heading into the steep part of the damage curve.
There has been no public recognition of how fragile civilization is. The California wildfires now blazing and attendant power outages are a modest disruption compared to what’s coming.
“Unprepared” is a laughable understatement. Still, politicians do nothing – continuing to pretend that tomorrow will be like yesterday. That sucking sound you hear is a vacuum of leadership.
Sources:
Scott A. Kulp & Benjamin H. Strauss, “New elevation data triple estimates of global vulnerability to sea-level rise and coastal flooding,” Nature Communications (29 October 2019).
Denise Lu & Christopher Flavelle, “Rising seas will erase more cities by 2050, new research shows,” The New York Times (29 October 2019).