[LE CHIFFRE] New York flooded every five years due to climate change

This is the most pessimistic scenario retained by American researchers. Starting in 2030, New York will experience flooding every five years due to climate change. The city is already experiencing an increase in extreme events since the industrial revolution. While a hurricane like Sandy only happened every 500 years, it now repeats itself every 25 years.

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2.25 meters. It is the rise in sea level that could hit New York every five years. For comparison, the elevation following Hurricane Sandy, which hit the city in 2012, was 2.8 meters. More than 40 New Yorkers were killed by then.

A team of ten American researchers have chosen the most pessimistic scenario in terms of climate change. Their findings, published in the Proceedings of the American Academy of Sciences (PNAS), show that between 2030 and 2045, if left unchecked, major flooding could occur every five years in the city that never sleeps. .

A permanent rise in water levels from 2280

The rate of natural disasters has already accelerated in recent years. From 1970 to 2005, the average time lapse between two major climatic events rose to 25 years, according to study data. However, before the industrial revolution, an event like Sandy only happened every… 500 years!

To explain this acceleration, scientists point to climate change and rely on the hypothesis of an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. If we include the partial melting of Antarctica, the rise of 2.25 meters would become permanent from 2280.

And it’s not just New York that is under threat. Calcutta (India), Bombay and Dhaka (Bangladesh) are the most exposed according to a 2016 study by the NGO Christian Aid. Next come Miami, Alexandria (Egypt) and Lagos (Nigeria). In total, more than a billion people will be affected by climate change and rising sea levels by 2060.

Concepcion Alvarez placeholder image @conce1

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