Rising Sea Levels Threaten 300 Million People, New Study Finds
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Written by Danie Shen
Over 300 million people will experience annual flooding from rising sea levels by 2050, a recent study found. This new estimation is three times more than the previous estimate of 80 million. The study was published this week in Nature Communications, by chief executive Benjamin Strauss and colleague Scott Kulp.
The drastic change in results is attributed to the updated land elevation data used in the study. Preceding research had used the inaccurate land elevation data gathered from NASA’s 2000 Space Shuttle Endeavor Mission--which included the elevation of everything on the land surface it measured, including buildings and trees. Yet for all the focus on sea level variables, Strauss and colleagues “realized that [they did not ] really understand what the elevation of the land is.” Through using a laser-measured coastal land data and a trained algorithm, the researchers were able to obtain more precise data for global land elevation.
The study has also estimated that over 110 million people are currently living below the high sea tide. The number is expected to rise to 150 million by 2050 and 200 million by 2100.
The study also indicated that populations near coastal regions of East and South Asia will suffer the brunt of the blow. Statistics fare the worst for China, Bangladesh, and India. By 2100, the countries will have 87 million, 50 million, and 58 million habitants below sea high tide levels.
Fortunately, Canada will suffer relatively little from rising sea levels, as it is still affected by the last ice age. The country’s land mass is still lifting steadily, which causes “the land is coming [to come] close to keeping pace[with the sea level rising],”Strauss says. Areas threatened by annual flooding by 2050, however, still exist--such as Richmond of B.C and Fredericton in New Brunswick.
However, as the set scenario for the study was an increase of 2 degrees celsius, many other variables are left out--simplifying the range of possible outcomes of rising sea levels. To exemplify, should the Antarctic ice sheets become more unstable, 640 million people will be threatened by sea levels by 2100.
In response to the study’s findings, Strauss has predicted that future coastal defense or relocation of Asia's megacities will be of great need. Throughout years of rising sea levels, “nations will increasingly confront questions about whether, how much and how long coastal defenses can protect them,” Strauss said.
Over 300 million people will experience annual flooding from rising sea levels by 2050, a recent study found. This new estimation is three times more than the previous estimate of 80 million. The study was published this week in Nature Communications, by chief executive Benjamin Strauss and colleague Scott Kulp.
The drastic change in results is attributed to the updated land elevation data used in the study. Preceding research had used the inaccurate land elevation data gathered from NASA’s 2000 Space Shuttle Endeavor Mission--which included the elevation of everything on the land surface it measured, including buildings and trees. Yet for all the focus on sea level variables, Strauss and colleagues “realized that [they did not ] really understand what the elevation of the land is.” Through using a laser-measured coastal land data and a trained algorithm, the researchers were able to obtain more precise data for global land elevation.
The study has also estimated that over 110 million people are currently living below the high sea tide. The number is expected to rise to 150 million by 2050 and 200 million by 2100.
The study also indicated that populations near coastal regions of East and South Asia will suffer the brunt of the blow. Statistics fare the worst for China, Bangladesh, and India. By 2100, the countries will have 87 million, 50 million, and 58 million habitants below sea high tide levels.
Fortunately, Canada will suffer relatively little from rising sea levels, as it is still affected by the last ice age. The country’s land mass is still lifting steadily, which causes “the land is coming [to come] close to keeping pace[with the sea level rising],”Strauss says. Areas threatened by annual flooding by 2050, however, still exist--such as Richmond of B.C and Fredericton in New Brunswick.
However, as the set scenario for the study was an increase of 2 degrees celsius, many other variables are left out--simplifying the range of possible outcomes of rising sea levels. To exemplify, should the Antarctic ice sheets become more unstable, 640 million people will be threatened by sea levels by 2100.
In response to the study’s findings, Strauss has predicted that future coastal defense or relocation of Asia's megacities will be of great need. Throughout years of rising sea levels, “nations will increasingly confront questions about whether, how much and how long coastal defenses can protect them,” Strauss said.
Works cited
- maryamshah647. “300 Million People Currently Live in Areas Threatened by Rising Sea Levels, Study Finds.” Global News, Global News, 30 Oct. 2019, https://globalnews.ca/news/6099866/rising-sea-levels-300-million-people/.
- Mooney, Chris. “Scientists Triple Their Estimates of the Number of People Threatened by Rising Seas.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 2 Nov. 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/10/29/scientists-triple-their-estimates-number-people-threatened-by-rising-seas/.
- Watts, Jonathan. “Rising Sea Levels Pose Threat to Homes of 300m People – Study.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 29 Oct. 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/29/rising-sea-levels-pose-threat-to-homes-of-300m-people-study.