Sea level rise could leave 200 million homeless
The oceans could swell nearly seven feet by the end of the century– destroying the homes of almost 200 million people, according to new research.
It would wipe out over a million square miles of farming and other food producing lands – having “profound consequences for humanity”.
This is over twice as much as previous “doomsday” predictions – suggesting the world really is facing a global warming “apocalypse”.’ the shock finding is based on a technique called structured expert judgment (SEJ) that pooled the knowledge of 22 climate change specialists.
Lead author Professor Jonathan Bamber, of Bristol University’ s School of Geographical Sciences, said: “Such a rise in global sea level could result in land loss of 1.79 million square kilometres (1.1 million square miles).
“This includes critical regions of food production – and potential displacement of up to 187 million people.”
He added: “A subsequent sea level of this magnitude would clearly have profound consequences for humanity.”
The study is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.