One of the last Obama-era climate reports had a troubling update about the rising seas

A new report, released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on the last day of Barack Obama’s presidency, presents a series of updated estimates for future sea-level rise, both in the United States and worldwide. It suggests that, under extreme future climate change, global sea levels could rise by more than eight feet by the end of the century — one of the highest estimates yet to be presented in a federal report. 

The report also contains a series of regional estimates, suggesting that many parts of the United States will experience sea-level rise at a rate well above the global average. And with little more than a foot of sea-level rise, many coastal cities could see a 25-fold increase in the frequency of damaging floods. How soon this could happen will depend on the severity of future global warming. 

“When we apply these scenarios, it’s giving communities a better sense of what the future might hold with continued sea-level rise so they can plan accordingly and have better insights and make smart decisions about how they want to plan for the future,” said William Sweet, a NOAA oceanographer and one of the report’s authors.

Prior public reports have focused on only global sea-level-rise estimates, Sweet noted. The new report aimed to both update these global estimates and provide regional assessments as well, so local governments can have the best available information when making decisions about how to protect coastal communities.

Read Chelsea Harvey’s story in The Washington Post story - “One of the last Obama-era climate reports had a troubling update about the rising seas.”