Concerns Heighten as American South Experiences Rising Sea Levels
The pace at which the sea level is rising in the American South is growing more rapid. According to the findings of an analysis completed by the Washington Post based on tide gauge data, “sea levels are at least 6 inches higher than they were in 2010,” an increase that equates to a similar change that occurred spread over the previous five decades. Since 2010, the Gulf of Mexico has experienced a sea level rise that is twice the global average according to the Post’s analysis of satellite data. Some American South coastal communities cited were Charleston, SC., Jacksonville, FL, and Galveston, TX which experienced sea level increases of 7 inches, 6 inches, and 8 inches respectively since 2010. As a result, the number of high-tide floods is rapidly increasing in the region — 5 times as often as occurred in 1990 and projected to “strike 15 times more frequently in 2050 than they did in 2020. Although the precise causes of the recent surge have yet to be deciphered, since 2010 it has been “very abnormal and unprecedented;” and “while it is possible the swift rate of sea level rise could eventually taper, the higher water that has already arrived in recent years is here to stay.”