Rising Seas Present Risk to U.S. Military Bases by 2050
USA Today reports that “military bases along the East and Gulf Coast are at risk of losing large chunks of land as rising sea levels from man-made climate change swamp installations from New Hampshire to Florida.”
“The onslaught of water will come from both tidal flooding and hurricane storm surge and could cause a 2,600% increase in the number of annual flooding events on several bases in the U.S. in coming decades, according to a report released Wednesday by the Union of Concerned Scientists.”
“Sea level increases — already up 8 inches globally since 1880 — are the result of warming temperatures and ice melt caused by heat-trapping greenhouse gases. The phenomenon, which scientists say is primarily caused by global warming, doesn’t occur evenly worldwide. The East and Gulf Coasts in the U.S. experience some of the fastest rates of sea-level rise, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.”