US EditionNew Study Finds Sea Levels Far Higher Than Assumed, Raising Flood Risk for Millions
A Nature study finds 90% of prior assessments underestimated coastal water heights by about 30 cm, putting 77 million to 132 million more people at risk from sea-level rise.
- Using a review of 385 peer‑reviewed studies, researchers reported Wednesday in Nature that over 90% underestimated baseline coastal water heights by roughly 24–27 cm, according to authors.
- Geoids, not local measurements, produced large errors because many studies used unadjusted geoids instead of tide gauges and satellite observations, authors said.
- Using the revised baseline, the study estimates a 1 metre rise could flood 37% more land and add 77 million to 132 million people exposed by 2100.
- Planners face potential mistiming and underfunding of adaptation as governments and planners may use an incomplete picture of ocean change, while Seeger and Minderhoud released open‑source coastal sea‑level datasets and urged reassessments.
- Because impacts cluster in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, researchers call for more tide gauges and local measurements, as the study raises low‑elevation coastal population estimates from about 80 million to between 97 million and 107 million people.
178 Articles
178 Articles
The level of the sea on much of the planet’s coasts is higher than many studies used to calculate floods, damage and adaptation plans. A paper published in Nature concludes that more than 99% of the revised assessments inadequately handled sea height and elevation of land, an essential basis for knowing which areas are really in danger. It should be clarified well. It does not mean that the ocean has made a sudden jump of 30 centimeters from one…
According to new research, more than 99% of scientific studies on risky coasts used the data incorrectly
A growing body of research has underestimated sea levels around the world's coasts, leading to an underestimation of the negative impacts of climate change. A team from Wageningen University in the Netherlands has pointed out the possibility that this "fundamental gap in the broad scientific literature" may be the cause...
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- 65% of the sources are Center
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