Researchers release animated models of rising sea levels submerging coastal cities

Fully imagining the tangible consequences of this The current climate crisis Human-driven global warming is not always an easy feat. Destruction of ecosystems, extinction of species and rising sea levels are not always readily apparent to the mind.

But now, the future that global warming is creating is right before our eyes — thanks to animated models Almost 200 coastal cities From climate researchers.

Climate scientists with a climate center a A collection of animation models It shows us what 196 cities will look like if global temperatures continue to rise Sea level will rise.

Ben Strauss, chief scientist at the Climate Center, said the images show the legacy we leave for future humans.

„These are the images we’re recording today,” Mr Strauss said The Independent. „It’s about our legacy. What future are we putting in the pipeline?”

The models show two possibilities side by side: the results if emissions are reduced and the Earth warms only 1.5C, and the results if emissions continue to rise and the Earth warms by 3C or more.

Footage included the world’s tallest building – the Burj Khalifa in Dubai – being flooded and the entire Plaza de la Catedral in Havana, Cuba being submerged in water.

A 1.5C increase in global temperatures is the upper warming limit of the Paris Agreement, which is set to avoid the most damaging effects of the climate crisis. Experts predict that the planet will remain Locked in for a 1.5C increase by 2029 Unless emissions – particularly from fossil fuels – are cut immediately.

This summer, the Global average temperatures temporarily exceeded 2CAbove pre-industrial levels for the first time since records began.

Global warming raises sea levels by gradually melting ice caps and expanding sea water. NASA. The Regions Rising sea levels include the East Coast and Gulf Coast of the United States, Asia, and any islands.

The models don’t necessarily predict how long the rise will take. The results won’t be immediate—the sea-level rise projected in these models could take hundreds of years. Instead, according to Mr Strauss, the models demonstrate eventual and inevitable future sea levels projected for different warming scenarios.

„Today’s sea level doesn’t come close to how much warming we’ve already caused,” Mr Strauss said. „If the planet stopped warming today, we could eventually see sea levels rise another five feet. But every year we keep putting carbon into the atmosphere, we’re increasing the amount of sea level we’re committed to.”

For Mr Strauss, the most poignant model in the collection is a model of Dubai, thanks to the striking images of the partially flooded Burq Khalifa and the city’s ties to fossil fuel production.

It is being held in Dubai this year too Cop28 conferenceMr Strauss said the annual climate summit is the world’s largest and most important, where world leaders gather to discuss the state of the climate crisis.

This year the summit is almost two weeks long The first „share” will feature – in which countries take stock of their collective progress in tackling the climate crisis – since the 2015 Paris Agreement.