Scientists warn that climate change could expose millions to coastal flooding

Researchers from around the globe have warned that rising sea levels will highly threaten coastal communities in the next century, despite current targets to mitigate global warming.

An international study published last week in the journal Science has indicated that an additional sea-level rise of 0.1m, approximately the difference between a 1.5°C and 2.o°C warming this century, could lead to an additional 10 million people being exposed to flooding.

Dr Sally Brown , a Senior Research Fellow in the University of Southampton’s School of Engineering, led research on the effects of climate change on the Maldives.

Her findings warn that sea-level rise could inundate the nation’s lowest islands but added that islands which have been artificially raised to 2m above sea-level could survive for several hundreds of years with significant climate change mitigation.

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