By 2100, as sea level rise intensifies, resulting in climate crisis and global warming, it is estimated that more than 410 million people in coastal areas are at risk of flooding.

And building or expanding existing settlements in coastal areas will put more and more people at risk.

Sea levels hit record highs in 2021 and NASA has warned that water levels are rising by unprecedented rates over the last 2500 years.

The US space agency and other government agencies warned a few months ago that only in the US could levels rise by as much as 25-30 cm by 2050.

global sea level grew by 21 cm. since records began to be kept in 1880. The main reason is melting iceexplains the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Since 1993, the melting of the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets has caused about a third of global average sea level rise, according to NASA.

Every year, Antarctica loses about 150 billion tons of ice, while Greenland 280 billion tons.

Which countries are most at risk?

China, Bangladesh, India, Egypt, the Netherlands, the United States, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand and some Pacific islands such as Fiji and the Maldives are among the countries most at risk from sea level rise, according to a data visualization company. visual capitalist;

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In Egypt, about 95% of the Egyptian population lives along the Nile, where some areas are below sea level. The same is true in the Netherlands, with regard to half of its population.

According to Reuters, sea levels around the Tonga island complex are rising at nearly double the global average.

In Shanghai, the number of people living in areas at high risk of flooding due to rising sea levels could double to 22.4 million if global temperatures rise 2 degrees to 4 degrees Celsius, according to EarthTime.

US Real Estate Bubble

Meanwhile, according to recent studies, facilities built in risk areas (from floods, lack of water and frequent fires), overvalued by hundreds of billions of dollarswhich creates a “bubble” in the real estate market that puts the US financial system at risk.

The problem, it notes, will worsen as sea levels rise, storms intensify and construction continues to be erratic. What can limit overpricing — and thus the risk of a bursting bubble with catastrophic financial consequences — is awareness of climate risks, realistic prices for flood insurance, and reform of public disaster policy.

A 2023 study published in the scientific journal Nature Climate Change focuses on the massive U.S. real estate bubble, with properties overvalued by $121 billion to $237 billion due to flood risk. This number of bubbles in previous studies rises to $520 billionwith nearly 3.5 million property owners facing depreciation of more than 10% of the value of their propertyif the flood risk is correctly assessed.

Source: World Economic Forum/Yale University/NOAA.