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Human-caused sea level rise quadruples extreme flood frequency
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Environment & Climate

Human-caused sea level rise quadruples extreme flood frequency

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency Context piece
  • Human-caused sea-level rise has quadrupled the frequency of extreme coastal flooding events since 1900, according to a new study.
  • Flooding events once expected once a century now occur about 12 times more frequently on average.
  • The research highlights the urgent need to integrate these climate change impacts into coastal adaptation and risk management strategies, as over 680 million people live in low-lying coastal regions.

Human-induced sea-level rise has dramatically increased the frequency of extreme coastal flooding, with events once considered a once-in-a-century occurrence now happening approximately 12 times more often on average since 1900. This alarming trend underscores the profound impact of climate change on coastal regions worldwide.

A study led by Tulane University, with participation from the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (Imedea UIB-CSIC), reveals that climate change has already altered coastal flood risk. The research emphasizes the critical need to incorporate these evolving risks into adaptation and management strategies. Extreme sea-level events happen when rising baseline sea levels combine with tides and storm surges, leading to coastal inundations that can devastate infrastructure and ecosystems.

In almost half of the 130 locations analyzed, a flood that in 1900 was expected once every 100 years now occurs 'at least once per decade'.

— Sönke DangendorfThe lead author of the study, from Tulane University, quantified the increased frequency of extreme flooding events.

More than 680 million people reside in low-lying coastal areas, making them particularly vulnerable to even minor sea-level changes. The research team analyzed long-term tide gauge records and climate model simulations to differentiate the influences of human activity, natural forces, and local land movements. They found that in nearly half of the 130 analyzed locations, a flood once expected every 100 years now occurs at least once per decade.

While natural variability, including factors like volcanic aerosols and El Niño, played a role, the study concluded that human-caused climate change is the primary driver behind the increased flood frequency. The influence of anthropogenic warming has grown significantly since the 1960s, now accounting for the majority of sea-level rise and associated flood risk. These findings have critical implications for coastal infrastructure planning and flood defense measures, suggesting that historical estimates of flood frequency may no longer be adequate.

human-caused climate change is the main factor increasing the frequency of floods.

— Study authorsThe researchers identified the primary driver behind the escalating flood risks.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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