There is a certain danger in low-lying areas, which could sooner or later lose ground to the sea.
Climate change is accelerating sea level rise, representing an increasingly alarming and dangerous threat to coastal communities around the world, including our country, Spain. According to current projections, by 2100, up to 410 million people could be at risk of coastal flooding due to this phenomenon, many of whom are expected to leave their home and see their way of life definitively threatened. At the same time, the oceans are increasingly polluted, which makes their preservation urgent. Let’s see Which regions of the Earth are most threatened by this situation?.
A dangerous increase for everyone
The scale of the problem is becoming clear from measurements by space satellites, which have recorded a global rise in sea level of more than 10 cm between 1993 and 2024. Scientists have identified a “fingerprint” of melting ice from Greenland, which is losing about 30 million tons of ice per hour. This melt, along with that of Antarctica and the thermal expansion of seawater due to global warming, are the main causes of sea level rise.
The consequences of this increase are particularly worrying for countries such as Bangladesh, China, India and the Netherlands. In Europe, the increase is expected to exceed 10 cm before 2050, while in the United States, nearly 1,100 critical buildings in coastal areas could face monthly flooding by mid-century. The Netherlands is the most affected country on our continent because They stole land from the seaincreasing its level could be worrying for large parts of the country. On the other hand, it must be taken into account that Spain is a predominantly coastal country. with all that this implies.
The severity of the situation has led the World Economic Forum to classify “critical change in Earth systems” as one of the two major threats facing the world in the next decade. However, there is a staggeringly large gap in the funding needed to adapt to climate change, estimated at between $194 billion and $366 billion per year.
Faced with this major problem, several countries are implementing adaptation strategies. These include the construction of coastal defensesby relocating communities and experimenting with innovative solutions such as houseboats and methods to absorb and store rainwater. In extreme cases, such as in Fiji, relocations of entire villages are being considered, because of the serious problems that leaving them in such environments would cause for their inhabitants.
Sea level rise represents a global challenge that requires urgent and coordinated action across the international community. Implementing adaptation and mitigation strategies, as well as increasing investment in climate solutions, will be key to protecting coastal communities and preserving marine ecosystems in the decades to come. Remarkably, the communities most vulnerable to these changes are, at the same time, those with the least economic power to cope with them, making global support necessary.
You can follow Andro4all on Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter (X) or check out our Telegram channel to stay up to date with the latest tech news.
