Coastal Risk Screening Tool

Overview

LAND PROJECTED TO BE BELOW ANNUAL FLOOD LEVEL IN 2050

Improved elevation data indicate far greater global threats from sea level rise and coastal flooding than previously thought, and greater benefits from reducing their causes. A report and scientific paper detail research methods and results for 135 nations and globally.

Areas shaded red reflect places that are lower than the selected local sea-level and/or coastal flood projection according to the selected elevation dataset. Red areas must also meet hydrologic connectivity criteria. This refined "bathtub approach" makes mapping numerous scenarios fast and efficient and reproduces potential future sea-level threats well. However, when coastal floods are added, the bathtub approach becomes less accurate the higher the flood. Maps take neither engineered coastal defenses nor long-term dynamic changes into account. Due to the error always present in wide-area elevation datasets, as well as the other limitations described here, this map should be regarded as a screening tool to identify places that may require deeper investigation of risk.

Climate Central

Climate Central is an independent nonprofit organization that was founded in 2008 to meet the need for a central authoritative source for climate change information.

Climate Central scientists publish peer-reviewed research on climate science; energy; impacts such as sea level rise; climate attribution and more. But our work isn't confined to scientific journals. We investigate and synthesize weather and climate data and science to equip local communities and media with the tools they need to visualize the threat of climate change and the need for practical solutions.

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