Roughly five million Europeans could lose their homes due to severe flooding, which, according to a new study, could cover the region at the end of this century. If earlier such devastating floods occurred no more than once every hundred years, then with the rise in sea level provoked by global warming, natural disasters will occur in Europe every year, the authors of the study, published in the journal Earth's Future, assure.
According to the calculations of scientists from the Joint European Research Center, in the near future the level of the North Sea will rise by about a meter compared to the current one. A significant rise in the level of the Baltic Sea is also expected.
The Atlantic coasts of Ireland and Britain will also find themselves in a flood zone, while southern Europe will see only small changes in terms of extreme climatic conditions.
At the same time, the Portuguese coast and the Gulf of Cadiz will be out of the general trend - local sea level drops are possible here. At the same time, the researchers emphasize that the coming extreme sea level rise and the risk of devastating floods in the region will be highly dependent on global warming.
Another study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, also showed that as the oceans get warmer, tidal waves will become more powerful. Computer simulations have shown that by 2100, waves in the southern hemisphere could be 30% more powerful than they are now.
According to Dr. Lorenzo Mentaschi of the Joint European Research Center, this will have huge consequences for the coast, in particular, noticeably accelerate the rate of erosion.
Experts also note that as the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increases, the amount of thermal energy accumulated in the atmosphere and oceans increases. This leads to increased power of storms and hurricanes. In addition, warm air is able to carry more moisture, so floods caused by heavy rainfall are also increasing.