Quantifying UK Coastal Flood Exposure Under Future Sea-Level Rise To [2100 and] 2300
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-74982-1 <-- shared paper
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/21/millions-long-term-coastal-flooding-risk-uk-climate-action <-- shared media article
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H/T @University of Bristol School of Geographical Sciences
“🌊 New research on long-term coastal flooding as a result of climate inaction 🌊
… The researchers found:
🔷 By 2100 at least an additional 0.5 million people exposed to the 1-in-200 year undefended flood extent - a 25% increase compared to present day.
🔷 Under the most pessimistic storyline by 2300 involving significant ice-sheet instability, an additional 13 million people could be exposed to the 1-in-200 year undefended flood event.
🔷 Under some scenarios there is a need for large-scale movement of populations and settlements away from the coast in the coming centuries…”
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“Up to 13 million people in the UK face the long-term risk of coastal flooding due to the climate crisis, scientists have warned, with a ‘reasonable worst-case scenario’ suggesting the need for the large-scale movement of populations away from a dramatically reshaped coast…
Sea level has risen by about 20cm around the UK in the last century and is accelerating. A further 40cm to 60cm by 2100 is already baked in, meaning about half a million more people will be at risk of their homes being flooded, on top of the 2.5 million already in danger near the coasts. Lincolnshire and the Humber estuary are most in danger…”
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“The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment report highlighted the potential for more than 15 metres of global sea-level rise by 2300. In this study, [the authors] explore the implications for UK coastal flood exposure by combining national-scale flood modelling with physically-based storylines of UK sea-level rise. By 2100 all storylines show broadly similar results with at least an additional ½ million people exposed to the 1-in-200 year undefended flood extent, which represents a 25% increase compared to present day. Under the most pessimistic storyline by 2300 involving significant ice-sheet instability, an additional 13 million people could be exposed to the 1-in-200 year undefended flood event. This would imply the potential need for large-scale movement of populations and settlements away from the coast in the coming centuries. Given current global emissions pledges, exposure increases by 1.7 million people by 2300, however up to 1 million could be avoided if Paris Agreement targets for greenhouse gas emissions are met…”
#coast #coastal #innundation #climatechange #global #sealevel #sealevelrise #SLR #flood #flooding #climatechange #population #infrastructure #UK #England #Scotland #Wales #NorthernIreland #Lincolnshire #Humber #estuary #settlement #city #urban #mitigation #planning #policy #infrastructure #risk #hazard #humanimpacts #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #GIS #spatial #mapping #coastalflooding #climatecrisis #model #modeling #elevation #DEM