Coastal cities in the south USA the likes of Miami, Houston and New Orleans are already experiencing unprecedented rises in water levels, and these areas are at much greater risk than scientists predicted, according to a new analysis.

From 2010 to today, in the Gulf of Mexico and the southeastern states, a sea level rise of 12.7 cm was recorded; which, according to scientists, is a “drastic increase”. Sea level rise in these areas is twice the global average on an annualized basis. which does not exceed half a centimeter (0.44 cm).

This phenomenon, in turn, fuels more powerful cyclones.For example, Hurricane Yang, which hit Florida in September, caused $113 billion in damage. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), this is the third-worst economic disaster in US history and the worst in state history.

The University of Arizona published a study in the journal Journal of Climate climate crisis that threatens vulnerable areas of the US where millions of people live.

NASA’s predictive models show sea levels rising as much as 30 centimeters by 2030, and scenarios for the next decades are even more worrisome.

According to NASA, the areas from Texas to Florida and the southern coast of the United States, washed by the Atlantic, will be most affected.. “The entire southeast coast and the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of Mexico) will be affected by an increasing rate of sea level rise,” said study author Yangtong Yin, professor of geosciences at the University of Arizona. “As it turns out, water levels associated with Cyclone Yang were the highest on record due to a combination of sea level rise and storm strength,” he adds.

The threat of sea level rise hung over several urban centers along the coastline. Tellingly, home insurance policies in areas of Florida, which account for 40% of hurricanes that hit the US, are steadily rising.

Source: Guardian

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