Climate change continues to be one significant challenge that the world faces daily. However, U.S. homeowners living near bodies of water could be in jeopardy.
A New Study
The Union of Concerned Scientists released a new study that focused on rising sea levels, and flooding would impact the real estate industry on the two coasts. The science advocacy nonprofit revealed that citizens that live in coastal communities would face massive and frequent flooding.
They also believe that the recurring flooding could occur 26 times per year, which averages to once every other week. The study also points to the fact that this phenomenon could take place within the next 30 years and threaten over 300,000 homes.
The group used real estate data from Zillow and a scenario from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that focused global sea levels that were at 6-and-a-half feet. Using the data, the UCS pinpointed that these potentially life-disrupting events could take place in 16 different states. Due to the potential disruption, scientists predicted that these communities would have to make difficult and theoretically costly decisions.
Flooding The Coastlines
The study noted that of the numerous states that were threatened by rising sea-levels, the UCS revealed that states that low-lying states could be on the receiving end of the high sea levels. It predicted that by the year 2100, New York, New Jersey, and Florida would have a hard time dealing with the enduring flooding. They also noted that it could also affect home values and real estate investments.
Other things that it could affect attaining mortgages. Also, it could also cause flood insurance payments to increase exponentially. If that scenario happens researchers believe that people in the affected areas could be looking to either move to other regions or pay a massive clean-up bill. It could also potentially lead to a regional housing crisis.
"In contrast with previous housing market crashes, values of properties chronically inundated due to sea level rise are unlikely to recover and will only continue to go further underwater, literally and figuratively," said Rachel Cleetus, an economist and climate policy director at the UCS, to the Guardian.
The Price Of Climate Change
It was reported that Antarctica had lost over 241.4 billion tons of ice between 2012 and 2017. Scientists also added that because of this ice loss, sea levels rose 0.12 inches during that period. The study, which was published in Nature, noted that West Antarctica lost 58.4 billion tons of ice per year since the 1990s. The research team also noted that there was a severe ice loss that was taking place at the Antarctic Peninsula.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal found that climate change could affect the world's supply of vegetables. Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Medicine noted that soybeans and lentils would decrease due to water shortages and rising temperatures. They also pointed out that the vegetable supply could shrink by a third in 2050 if people do not do something about climate change.
Research published in Nature Plants journal that African baobab trees are dying. These trees are anywhere between 1,100 and 2,500-years-old. The scientists stated that they could not find enough evidence to pinpoint a culprit, they believe that climate change is causing trees to die.
Tech Times reached out to the Union of Concerned Scientists for a comment on this story.
