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Parts of New York City To Disappear Underwater By 2100

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 18 2015 (IPS) - Parts of Queens, Brooklyn and The Bronx may be swallowed by the sea in coming years, with an alarming new climate change report predicting a water-logged future for New York City.

Sea levels may rise by as much as 75 inches by 2100 in New York, drowning entire sections of New York, and leading to far more frequent coastal flooding for the rest of the city.

The New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC) published its 2015 report on Tuesday, warning of rising seas as well as soaring temperatures, more frequent heatwaves and rainstorms, and more intense hurricanes.

“Climate change research isn’t just something for the future,” said NPCC co-chair Cynthia Rosenzweig. “It’s affecting how key policy decisions are being made now.

The NPCC report predicted mean annual temperatures to increase by 4-5 degrees Fahrehneit by the 2050s, and by 5-13 per cent by the 2080s. The frequency of heatwaves is set to triple by the 2080s, but in a rare piece of good news, extreme cold events are predicted to decrease.

Days of extreme rain are also to increase.

The report stated sea levels had risen an average of 1.2 inches per decade since the 1900s, or a total of 1.1 feet, “nearly twice the observed global rate of 0.5 to 0.7 inches per decade over a similar time period.”

New York City is tipped to exceed the global average for sea level rise in the next century. “Projections for sea level rise in New York City are 11 to 21 inches by the 2050s, 18 to 39 inches by the 2080s, and could reach as high as 6 feet by 2100,” the report claims.

This would make serious coastal flooding up to 15 times more frequent, and double the size of the city’s current flood zone to 99 square miles.

If these figures are accurate, most of south-east Queens would lie underwater by the 2050s. A large part of south-east Brooklyn would also be drowned by the 2080s.

Aside from having to deal with a hot, wet life in the city, New Yorkers will also have to contend with subsequent health effects.

The NPCC warns of “increases in respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, compromised mental health” and a rising number of heat-related deaths in Manhattan.

The report, while outlining a worrying future for The Big Apple, does give some optimism for New York in adapting to a climate-affected future. The city is “well placed to develop an expanded Climate Resiliency Indicators and Monitoring System,” according to the NPCC, while the ‘NYC Cool Roofs Program’ is nominated as a “valuable testbed” for evaluating measures to adapt to changing climates.

The panel called for high-resolution climate modelling through the city, more research on ice shelfs will respond to climate change, and further study on how to manage heat inside apartment buildings.

 
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