Experts from the Joint Research Center of the European Commission said that more than five million people living in Europe may lose their homes as a result of floods that will occur by the end of this century.
As scientists note, global warming will cause the water level in the seas, in particular the Baltic and the North, to rise to a critical level, which, in turn, will lead to flooding of part of the European coast. And if we take into account that the rate of warming is fast enough, then such floods can occur annually.
Alexander Kislov, Head of the Department of Meteorology and Climatology, notes that at present most European states are not technically ready for climate change, so it is already necessary to take measures and prepare for cataclysms of this kind. The only European state that is able to provide the required level of protection is the Netherlands, where a unique gateway system has been built. A similar system is installed in St. Petersburg, so the Russian coast is also protected from flooding.
Several large-scale floods have occurred in Europe in recent years. The most dangerous year was 2013, when the territories of Latvia, the Czech Republic and Macedonia were partially flooded. Both Germany and Norway were affected by the floods.
In the past year, water levels in the Danube, Seine, Neckar and Rhine have risen sharply, causing flooding along the banks. In France, in the vicinity of Paris and in the capital itself, the authorities declared the orange level of danger, and in the north of the country they even had to evacuate several thousand people.