US and German climate scientists warn that failing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the next several decades could cause global sea levels to increase by more than 14 feet, forcing between 20 and 31 million Americans from their homes due to flooding.
According to Reuters, the research, published online Monday by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that this doomsday scenario could take place if the global average temperatures increase by 5.9 degrees Fahrenheit from pre-industrial levels by 2100. The areas that will be most affected are South Florida, California, and the East Coast.
In order to keep these currently inhabited areas from being reclaimed by the oceans, lead author Benjamin Strauss from Princeton-based Climate Central and his colleagues wrote that emissions would need to be reduced by more than what the UN and more than 140 other members of the United National have proposed as part of an upcoming climate change agreement.
Based on their statistics, every one degree of Celsius of warming over pre-industrial levels that the planet experienced between now and the end of the century will result in approximately 2.3 meters of long-term sea level rise, according to The Washington Post. While this will take place over the course of millennia, it will also have noticeable short-term affects, they added.
More than a dozen large cities could be at risk
In a high-emissions scenario, indicating that little to no action is taken to address climate change, the current locations of more than 26 million US homes could be engulfed by the rising tide, and the residential districts of at least 1,500 American cities could find themselves underwater.
Even with some action towards cutting emissions, current and expected emissions from existing infrastructure could result in at least half the population of more than 600 cities or towns winding up underwater by 2100, flooding the homes of at least nine million people, the Post added. Up to 14 US cities with populations of more than 100,000 could be at risk, the study authors said.
“Our actions today determine sea-level rise tomorrow,” Strauss told Reuters Monday. “We can act… or we can delay and leave a legacy of irreversible rising seas that threaten to destroy some of our nation’s most iconic cities.” To drive home the point, he and his Climate Central partners have developed an online tool for people to see where or not their cities will be at risk.
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Feature Image: Thinkstock
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