Scientists have warned of flooding of coastal cities due to rising sea levels

Rising sea levels could lead to flooding of coastal cities across the planet. This is reported in a study by scientists at McGill University in Canada, which was published on August 29.

"Sea levels are expected to rise in the future, leading to progressive flooding of coastal cities," the publication says.

Coastal communities in Africa, Southeast Asia, and South and Central America are most at risk of flooding. With a sea level rise of 0.5 m, about 8 million buildings out of 840 in the territory studied by scientists will be flooded. And if the level rises by 20 m, 136 million buildings will go under water.

At the same time, in some countries, a rise in water even by 5 m will lead to the loss of more than 80% of the housing stock.

"Due to the slow response of the polar ice sheets to climate change, the invasion of coastal waters into the built environment is projected to continue for many centuries," the experts said.

The Earth's climate has changed forever: What awaits humanity after the point of no return

Scientists confirm that the world has entered an era of irreversible climate change

On October 1, it became known that, according to the Glacier Monitoring Network of Switzerland (GLAMOS), over the past 10 years, glaciers in the mountains of the country have lost a quarter of their volume.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported in March that record high temperatures in 2024 accelerated the melting of glaciers and sea ice. This has led to rising sea levels and brought the world closer to a key warming threshold. It clarifies that other factors could have influenced the global temperature increase last year, including changes in the solar cycle, a powerful volcanic eruption and a decrease in the amount of cooling aerosols.

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