Sea levels are starting to rise faster. Here's how much South Florida is expecting

Source: Miami Herald

Sea levels are starting to rise faster. Here’s how much South Florida is expecting

Alex Harris
Fri, May 17, 2024 at 5:30 AM EDT·4 min read

Sea levels are rising, swamping roads and homes in South Florida. And it’s picked up the pace in recent years.

In the last 80 years, sea level rise has risen about a foot, with 8 inches of that total in the last 30 years, said Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s best estimates, that pace is expected to speed up — dramatically.

It took about 80 years for the first foot. The second one will only take 30 years. The next, 20 years. And Florida could see the next foot in merely a decade after that.

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Those are the same predictions used by South Florida governments when deciding how high to build new developments. But after a new bill signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis this year, local governments hoping for state money for sea rise projects have to only consider the intermediate-low and intermediate scenarios, a downgrade from previous legislation that asked them to consider intermediate-low and intermediate-high scenarios.

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Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/sea-levels-starting-rise-faster-093000070.html

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