February 17, 2022 –America’s coasts will be dealing with about a foot of sea level rise on average by the year 2050, a new federal study shows.
The biggest impacts are forecast for the East Coast, where sea level rise estimates are between 14 and 18 inches. Hawaii, meanwhile, is projected to see between 6 and 8 inches in three decades.
NOAA, which is one of seven agencies responsible for the report, says that much sea level rise will cause tide and storm surge heights to increase and reach further inland.
By the year 2050, “moderate” flooding ― the kind that causes damage ― is expected to occur on average more than 10 times as often as it does today.
“The impacts will will depend upon what we do to mitigate against those,” said William Sweet, a NOAA oceanographer. “With less heating under less emissions, the risk of higher sea level rise of mountains is much less. The future is in our hands, and that future does not need to be one of doom and gloom.”
Read the full story at Hawaii News Now