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New Study Finds Sea Levels Far Higher Than Assumed, Raising Flood Risk for Millions
About 90% of sea level rise studies underestimated baseline coastal water heights by 1 foot, raising risk estimates for millions in vulnerable regions, researchers said.
- 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.
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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…
Millions more people are in the path of rising seas than previously thought
Oceans are rising as the climate changes, threatening coastal cities. A new study shows that much more of the world's population is vulnerable than earlier predictions had estimated.
·Washington, United States
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Total News Sources171
Leaning Left27Leaning Right11Center77Last UpdatedBias Distribution67% Center
Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources are Center
67% Center
L 23%
C 67%
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