New York, Venice, the Maldives — these and more popular holiday destinations are at risk of being flooded or totally submerged by sea level rise, experts have warned.
While cities like New Orleans and Tokyo will face increased risk of flooding, places like the Seychelles and Fiji may disappear beneath the waves entirely.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, climate change will lead to between 17–33 inches (32–84 cm) of average global sea level rise by 2100.
Researchers with financial comparison service Money have produced travel posters imagining the impact of dramatic sea level rise on famous destinations.
While the wetter vistas they have dreamed up are exaggerated, the artworks draw attention to the plight faced by many coastal areas from rising sea levels.
Researchers with money.co.uk have produced travel posters imagining the impact of dramatic sea level rise on famous destinations, like Hong Kong. While the wetter vistas they have dreamed up are exaggerated (Hong Kong will likely see only 2–4.3 feet of sea level rise, rather than that depicted) the art highlights the plight faced by many coastal areas
Cities like New Orleans and Tokyo will face increased risk of flooding, while places like the Seychelles and Fiji may disappear beneath the waves entirely, the team have warned
Hong Kong, which presently is visited by some 56 million tourists each year, could face around 2–4.3 feet (0.6–1.3 metres) of sea level rise by 2100, with devastating consequences for its 8.4 million residents and bustling financial sector
‘While sea-level rise is likely to affect hundreds of millions of people throughout this century, certain tourist destinations are at serious risk of completely vanishing by 2100,’ the researchers explained.
‘In particular, the Small Island Developing States — Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tuvalu, Vanuatu Micronesia, Palau, Seychelles, Maldives, and others — are at serious risk of vanishing due to their low lying landscapes.’
‘Already, the residents of these countries are having to consider their future homes, and further rising sea levels threaten to displace millions more.’
The Republic of the Maldives, for example, could lose as much as 77 per cent of its land area to the sea by 2100, some experts have warned based on predictions that waters could rise by around 3.3 feet (1 metre).
‘Although other holidaying hotspots are unlikely to completely disappear, extreme flooding is likely to become a regular occurrence because of accelerated sea-level rise, caused by global warming,’ the experts continued.
Coastal areas such as those around Alexandria, Cape Town, Miami, Shanghai and Tokyo are likely to be seriously impacted by rising waters, affecting the lives of their residents, local infrasture and tourism.
The team imagined a travel poster for the New York of today (left) and of 2100 (right), in which the Statue of Liberty is submerged up to the waist beneath an exaggerated volume of water. In reality, sea levels are expected to rise by some 17–33 inches — enough, however, to result in an increased risk of flooding
New York City (pictured) contains ‘the largest population living inside a floodplain’, the researchers noted, adding that tens of thousands of people could potentially be displaced by rising waters, especially in low-lying boroughs like Brooklyn and Queens
‘Similarly, in global cities such as London, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, and New York, future visitors may have to take a “Red London boat” to see Big Ben, or go by canal boat to the Empire State building,’ the researchers added.
New York, for example, could see as much as six feet of sea level rise by the end of the century — not enough to submerge the Statue of Liberty up to her waste as in the Money travel poster, but certainly a problem for the Big Apple’s residents.
The city contains ‘the largest population living inside a floodplain’, the researchers noted, adding that tens of thousands of people could potentially be displaced by rising waters, especially in low-lying boroughs like Brooklyn and Queens.
Hong Kong, which presently is visited by some 56 million tourists each year, could face around 2–4.3 feet (0.6–1.3 metres) of sea level rise by 2100, with devastating consequences for its 8.4 million residents and bustling financial sector.
More information on the research can be found on the Money website.
‘The Small Island Developing States — Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tuvalu, Vanuatu Micronesia, Palau, Seychelles, Maldives [depicted], and others — are at serious risk of vanishing due to their low lying landscapes,’ researchers with Money.co.uk warned
The Republic of the Maldives — famous for its iconic overwater bungalows — could lose as much as 77 per cent of its land area to the sea by 2100, some experts have warned based on predictions that waters could rise by around 3.3 feet (1 metre)