The sea surface rises rapidly. In fact, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), its speed increase more than doubled from 0.06 inches per year in most of the 20th century, to 0.14 inches per year from 2006 to 2015.
NOAA estimates that sea levels are likely to rise at least 0.3 m above levels seen in 2000, while the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that sea levels will rise 40 to 63 cm by 2100.
If the sea level rises this far, it could wreak havoc around the world. As many as 250 million people, covering all continents, could be directly affected by 2100, according to a 2019 study in the journal Nature Communications.
Will these countries or cities disappear altogether? Is there anything that can be done to prevent this disaster?
"A country or city disappears depending on whether we as humans do something to combat that threat," Gerd Masselink, professor of coastal geomorphology at the University of Plymouth in the UK, was quoted as saying by Live Science.
"Most of the Netherlands is already below sea level but has not disappeared. That's because the Netherlands is building and maintaining its coastal defenses," he continued.
Most Visible Countries
Which country is most affected if this disaster occurs? First of all, let's look at the countries that have the lowest elevation levels.
According to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), the Maldives is a flat country on Earth with an average height of only 1 m. If the Maldives experiences sea level rise on the order of “only” 45 cm, the region will lose about 77% of its land area by 2100, according to UCS.
Another country with a very low average elevation, about 1.8 m above sea level, is Kiribati. This small island in the heart of the Pacific could lose two -thirds of its landmass if sea level rises 1 meter.
In fact, almost everyone living on a Pacific island will most likely be greatly affected by sea level rise. According to the Science and Development Network, about 3 million Pacific islanders live within 10 km of the coast and therefore, may need to relocate before the end of the century.
Sea level rise has led to at least the disappearance of five vegetated coral islands that were previously part of the Solomon Islands. According to a 2016 study in the journal Environmental Research Letters, six other islands in the region are experiencing a severe coastline recession.
But the Pacific Islands, despite being highly endangered, tend to have relatively small populations (Maldives and Kiribati have a population of 540,000 and 120,000, respectively). So, which big country is probably the most hit? Most likely China.
The country with a total population of 1.4 billion, as many as 43 million people are in dangerous coastal locations, so China is predicted to be the most affected country. Other countries facing major problems related to sea level rise including Bangladesh (32 million people) and India (27 million) will be threatened by 2100, according to the European Union-funded Life Adaptate project.
Although no country is likely to be "devoured" by 2100, many large cities are at very serious risk of submergence.
"One of the clearest examples of sea level rise causing significant real -world difficulties is Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia," wrote an Earth.org report.
Jakarta, home to about 10 million people, has been dubbed "the fastest sinking city in the world" by the BBC. Earth.org says Jakarta sinks 5 to 10 cm every year due to excessive groundwater drainage.
If coupled with rising sea levels, this combination results in disaster. According to the World Economic Forum, most of Jakarta could be submerged in water by 2050.
Not only Jakarta is facing this threat. The World Economic Forum also mentions in 2100, Dhaka the capital of Bangladesh (population 22.4 million); Lagos, the capital of Nigeria (population 15.3 million), and Bangkok, the capital of Thailand (population of 9 million), could also be completely submerged or have large tracts of land under water and unusable.
Rising sea levels are also likely to have a major impact on the United States (US). Based on recent projections, many cities in the U.S. face serious problems in 2050, with most lands potentially becoming uninhabitable.
According to NOAA, in many locations along the U.S. coastline, tidal flooding is now 300% to more than 900% more common than 50 years ago. This shows that sea level is a cause for concern.
New York City in the US is also the most at risk. According to research from Climate Central, by 2050, nearly half a million (426,000) New Yorkers will live on endangered land. New York's vulnerability to flooding was evident in 2012, when the city was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy.
So, what can be done? Are these cities and countries doomed, or can they be saved? Countries that invest in infrastructure, such as the Netherlands, may be able to avoid some of the impacts of the floods.
According to some experts, the key factor in determining whether a city or country will be lost to water is not always due to the rate of sea level rise, but more on the capacity of the city or country to solve problems and develop long -term defenses.