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The threat of climate change and rising sea levels has never been as urgent as it is now.

Scour news sites for a few seconds and you are bound to come across more than a handful of headlines about climate catastrophes and natural disasters happening in various locations across the globe, many of them reported as unprecedented.

That darn word.

Non-profit group Climate Central, which researches how the changing climate can affect people’s lives, just released some alarming new research to add to it all.

They’ve shown how major coastal cities around the world are at risk due to rising sea levels and climate change, reports BusinessTech:

“Hundreds of coastal cities and land where up to one billion people live today are at stake. And the difference between increases of 1,5°C and 2,0°C degrees of warming is especially acute,” it said.

“Compared to the jump from 2,0°C to 3,0°C, this smaller increase adds nearly twice as much at-risk populated area, highlighting the consequences of missing the most ambitious targets in the Paris Agreement.”

Climate Central has created imagery, using data from Google Earth, to illustration the projected rise in water levels across more than 100 coastal cities in 39 countries.

South Africa’s major coastal cities might appear to be relatively unscathed, for now, but the predictions don’t show a pleasant picture of what’s to come if the climate crisis isn’t dealt with.

Below is how Cape Town’s city centre can expect to change after an increased temperature of three degrees Celcius, which can cause the water to rise substantially.

From the present:

Image: Climate Central

To this:

Image: Climate Central

You can just imagine the kind of traffic that will pile up on the M3 after the lower parts of Nelson Mandela Boulevard get swallowed up. Not to mention all the businesses and livelihoods that will get lost.

Likewise, with the Blue Train Park and Promenade in Green Point and Sea Point:

Present:

Image: Climate Central

And with that three degrees Celcius increase:

Image: Climate Central

If this is to become a reality, we will have to kiss promenade walks, runs, and general shenanigans goodbye.

Although, some events won’t be so sorely missed.

Rising sea levels won’t just affect Cape Town. To see what will happen to popular urban areas in Durban, head here.

[source:businesstech]