A “disaster” threatens America in the coming years due to climate change

Weather of Arabia - A study conducted by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) expected that sea levels around the United States will rise by about 30 centimeters within the next thirty years due to climate change, which is the same as its increase during the past century.

The study, issued on Tuesday, expected that sea levels on the US coast would increase between 25 and 30 centimeters by 2050.

In addition to the more frequent flooding of beaches during storms, rising sea levels increases tidal flooding.

Nicole Lebov, director of the oceans division at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said devastating coastal flooding would increase 10 times within 30 years.

The study, which comes as part of planning efforts to confront and adapt to the expected rise in sea levels, shows a high degree of certainty about the next three decades, regardless of any efforts to contain greenhouse emissions that increase the temperature of the planet.

"This new data on rising seas is the latest confirmation that the climate crisis, as the president said, has raised the red flag of danger," said Gina McCarthy, climate advisor to President Joe Biden. "We must redouble our efforts to reduce the greenhouse gases that cause climate change, and at the same time, help our coastal communities become more resilient in the face of rising waters," she added.

Among the US cities hardest hit by mid-century are Galveston, Texas, and St Petersburg, Florida, which are expected to see a 60-centimeter rise in sea level over the next four decades.

A study published in January in the monthly journal Nature Climate Change predicted that the cost of annual flood damage in the United States could increase by 26 percent by 2050, totaling more than $40 billion, and indicated that poorer communities would be disproportionately affected.

And early next century, there will be an even worse problem ahead, when the melting ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland are likely to send more seawater to distant shores.

reuters - VOA