Climate change, sea-level rise imperil world's coastal areas - Statesville Record & Landmark

Climate change, sea-level rise imperil world’s coastal areas

EL BOSQUE, Mexico — People moved to El Bosque on the Gulf of Mexico in the 1980s to fish and build a community. Then climate change set the sea against the town.

Flooding driven by some of the world’s fastest sea-level rise and by increasingly brutal winter storms has all but destroyed El Bosque, leaving twisted piles of concrete where houses used to line the sand. Forced to flee the homes they built, locals are waiting for government aid in rentals they can scarcely afford.

The U.N. climate summit known as COP28 finally agreed this month on a multimillion-dollar loss-and-damage fund to help developing countries cope with global warming. It will come too late for the people of El Bosque, but by 2050 millions more Mexicans will be displaced by climate change, according to the Mayors Migration Council, a coalition researching internal migration.
Delmer Torres rides his motorcycle Nov. 28 on a road covered by debris left from flooding driven by a Gulf of Mexico sea-level rise in his coastal community of El Bosque, in the state of Tabasco, Mexico.

Just two years ago over 700 people lived in El Bosque; barely a dozen are left.

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Between those numbers lie the relics of a lost community. At one of the few solid buildings left — the old, concrete fishing cooperative — enormous, vaultlike refrigerators have become makeshift storage units for belongings left behind.

Guadalupe Cobos is one of the few still living in El Bosque. Residents’ relationship with the sea is “like a toxic marriage,” Cobos said, sitting facing the waves on a recent afternoon.

“I love you when I’m happy, right? And when I’m angry I take away everything that I gave you,” she said.
Yahir Mayoral and Emily Camacho walk Nov. 30 amid the rubble of their grandmother's home, destroyed by flooding driven by a sea-level rise in their coastal community of El Bosque.

Up to 8 million Mexicans will be displaced by climate change-driven flooding, drought, storms and landslides within the next three decades, according to the Mayors Migration Council, a coalition researching Mexican internal migration.

Along with rapidly rising water levels, winter storms called “nortes” have eaten more than one-third of a mile inland since 2005, according to Lilia Gama, coastal vulnerability researcher at Tabasco Juarez State University.

“Before, if a norte came in, it lasted one or two days,” said Gama. “The tide would come in, it would go up a little bit and it would go away.”

Now, fueled by warming air which can hold more moisture, winter storms stay for several days at a time.

Local scientists say one more powerful storm could destroy El Bosque for good. Relocation, slowed by bureaucracy and a lack of funding, is still months away.

As the sun sets over the beach, Cobos, known as Doña Lupe to neighbors, points to a dozen small, orange stars on the line of the horizon — oil platforms burning off gas.
Guadalupe Cobos sits along the shore Nov. 29 amid debris caused by flooding driven by a Gulf of Mexico sea-level rise, in her coastal community of El Bosque, in the state of Tabasco, Mexico.

“There is money here,” she says, “but not for us.”

As El Bosque was settled, state oil company Pemex went on an exploration spree in the Gulf — tripling crude oil production and making Mexico into a major international exporter. Now Mexico plans to open a new refinery in Tabasco, just 50 miles west of El Bosque.

Gulf of Mexico sea levels are already rising three times faster than the global average, according to a study co-authored by researchers from the United Kingdom, New Orleans, Florida and California this March.

The stark difference is partly caused by changing circulation patterns in the Atlantic as the ocean warms and expands.

Swathes of the coast known as the Emerald Coast in the state of Veracruz are storm-battered, flooded and falling into the sea, and a quarter of neighboring Tabasco state will be inundated by 2050, according to one study.

Around the world, facing similar slow-motion battles with the water, coastal communities from Quebec to New Zealand have begun beating a “managed retreat.”
Fisherman Alberto Isidoro walks Nov. 29 through his coastal community destroyed by flooding driven by a Gulf of Mexico sea-level rise in El Bosque.

Very little, however, seems managed about the retreat from El Bosque. When the Xolo family fled their home Nov. 21, they left in the middle of the night, all 10 children under a tarpaulin in pouring rain.

During a storm at the end of November, the community was accessible only by foot, or motorbike. That same day the shelter was closed, with papered-over windows and a government sign advertising “8 steps to protect your health in the event of a flood.”

Meanwhile, new houses will not be ready before fall 2024, according to Raúl García, head of Tabasco’s urban development department, who himself said the process is too slow.

While advocates call for specific climate adaptation laws, President Andrés Manuel Lopéz Obrador, born just inland, has made oil development a key part of his platform. That might change if former Mexico City Mayor and accomplished scientist Claudia Sheinbaum is elected president next year. Despite being Lopéz Obrador’s protégée, she pledges to commit Mexico to sustainability, a promise more urgent than ever.
A window frames a portion of the shore littered with debris left from flooding driven by a Gulf of Mexico sea-level rise on Nov. 29 in the coastal community of El Bosque, in the state of Tabasco, Mexico.

Eglisa Arias Arias, a grandmother of two, was forced to flee her home in El Bosque on Nov 3.

“I would go to sleep listening to the sea’s noise,” she said. “I would tell him I know I’m going to miss you because with that noise you taught me how to love you.”

When the flood came for Arias’ house, she only asked the sea for enough time to collect her things, and it gave her that.

“And so, when I left there, I said goodbye to the sea. I gave him thanks for the time he was there for me.”

How sea levels in 40 cities will change by 2050

How sea levels in 40 cities will change by 2050

By 2050, global sea levels could increase by 1 foot from where they were at the start of the millennium. Iconic beaches, large city centers, and quaint coastal towns will all have to be adapted for higher water levels.

Sea level rise means more than just coastal land eaten up by the ocean. It will cause more inland neighborhoods to be at risk of storm surges during hurricanes and high tides, more regular flooding, and saltwater intrusion into freshwater resources.

For communities facing the brunt of shifting waters, planning for resilience has become paramount. Charleston, South Carolina's climate resilience office has a multipronged plan, including seawall construction and shoreline restoration. Still, Charleston Harbor experienced 70 flooding events in 2022, the second highest in recorded history dating back to 1922.

Continued flooding and extreme weather events highlight the urgency of infrastructure fixes to mitigate sea level rise, but such plans are often expensive.

In California, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission has identified projects to enhance and build seawalls, levees, and marshes across the region's coastline. The cost of all the projects is estimated to be $110 billion by 2050. So far $5 billion has been allocated.

In western Oregon, the state's Department of Transportation estimates it would cost over $40 million to make a section of U.S. Highway 101 resilient to cliff erosion that will become more pronounced with sea level rise.

Planning for the future is also challenging for smaller communities. Solutions like paying to move and demolish waterfront houses are often unpopular with homeowners, and beach nourishment, or adding more sand to the coastline from the ocean floor, is an expensive and temporary solution.

The impact of sea level rise will be far-reaching on both the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the U.S., but sea level rise will not affect the world equally. Some of the countries impacted will be those who have contributed the least to global greenhouse gas emissions such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, and small South Pacific islands.

An analysis from Carbon Brief found the U.S. was responsible for releasing over 500 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent since 1850, or 20% of the world's historical total. Other major emitters include China (11%) and Russia (7%). As human activity releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, their heat-trapping characteristics fuel the warmer weather that causes sea level rise.

Ocean water naturally expands with warmer temperatures. Along with meltwater from shrinking Arctic sea ice and glaciers pouring into the world's oceans, global mean sea levels increase. Emissions currently in the atmosphere mean sea level rise can't be stopped, but lower emissions scenarios can slow its pace.

Using data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's sea level rise technical report, released in 2022, Stacker identified projected sea level rise by 2050 for 40 cities in the U.S. The report identifies five sea level rise scenarios based on changes by 2100 from 2000 levels. They are low (an average of 1 foot globally), intermediate-low (1.6 feet), intermediate (3.3 feet), intermediate-high (4.9 feet), and high (6.6 feet). For each, projections under low, medium, and high emissions scenarios are included. Stacker focused on each emissions scenario for low, intermediate, and high sea level rise.

Unlike most places on this list, cities in Alaska are seeing falling sea levels, as its land is actually rising with shifting tectonic plates. Read on to see where major coastal cities in the U.S. stand.

Anchorage, Alaska

- NOAA Region: National

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: -1.0 feet

--- Medium emissions: -0.7 feet

--- High emissions: -0.5 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: -0.9 feet

--- Medium emissions: -0.6 feet

--- High emissions: -0.3 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: -0.6 feet

--- Medium emissions: -0.2 feet

--- High emissions: 0.3 feet

Annapolis, Maryland

- NOAA Region: Northeast

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.8 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.1 feet

--- High emissions: 1.4 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.0 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.3 feet

--- High emissions: 1.6 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.2 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.7 feet

--- High emissions: 2.2 feet

Astoria, Oregon

- NOAA Region: Northwest

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.0 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.1 feet

--- High emissions: 0.2 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.2 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.4 feet

--- High emissions: 0.6 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.5 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.8 feet

--- High emissions: 1.3 feet

Atlantic City, New Jersey

- NOAA Region: Northeast

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.9 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.1 feet

--- High emissions: 1.4 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.1 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.4 feet

--- High emissions: 1.7 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.3 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.7 feet

--- High emissions: 2.3 feet

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

- NOAA Region: Eastern Gulf

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.9 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.1 feet

--- High emissions: 1.3 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.1 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.4 feet

--- High emissions: 1.6 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.4 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.8 feet

--- High emissions: 2.3 feet

Boston

- NOAA Region: Northeast

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.6 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.0 feet

--- High emissions: 1.2 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.9 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.2 feet

--- High emissions: 1.5 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.1 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.5 feet

--- High emissions: 2.0 feet

Bridgeport, Connecticut

- NOAA Region: Northeast

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.7 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.0 feet

--- High emissions: 1.2 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.9 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.2 feet

--- High emissions: 1.5 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.1 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.5 feet

--- High emissions: 2.0 feet

Corpus Christi, Texas

- NOAA Region: Western Gulf

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.9 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.1 feet

--- High emissions: 1.3 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.1 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.4 feet

--- High emissions: 1.6 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.4 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.8 feet

--- High emissions: 2.3 feet

Dauphin Island, Alabama

- NOAA Region: Eastern Gulf

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.7 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.9 feet

--- High emissions: 1.1 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.0 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.2 feet

--- High emissions: 1.4 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.2 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.6 feet

--- High emissions: 2.1 feet

Fernandina Beach, Florida

- NOAA Region: Southeast

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.6 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.8 feet

--- High emissions: 1.0 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.9 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.1 feet

--- High emissions: 1.3 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.1 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.5 feet

--- High emissions: 2.0 feet

Freeport, Texas

- NOAA Region: Western Gulf

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.4 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.6 feet

--- High emissions: 1.8 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.6 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.8 feet

--- High emissions: 2.1 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.8 feet

--- Medium emissions: 2.2 feet

--- High emissions: 2.8 feet

Galveston Pleasure Pier, Texas

- NOAA Region: Western Gulf

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.2 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.4 feet

--- High emissions: 1.6 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.4 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.6 feet

--- High emissions: 1.9 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.7 feet

--- Medium emissions: 2.1 feet

--- High emissions: 2.6 feet

Grand Isle, Louisiana

- NOAA Region: Western Gulf

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.5 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.7 feet

--- High emissions: 1.9 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.7 feet

--- Medium emissions: 2.0 feet

--- High emissions: 2.3 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 2.0 feet

--- Medium emissions: 2.4 feet

--- High emissions: 2.9 feet

Hilo, Hawaii

- NOAA Region: Hawaiian Islands

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.6 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.7 feet

--- High emissions: 0.9 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.9 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.1 feet

--- High emissions: 1.4 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.2 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.6 feet

--- High emissions: 2.2 feet

Juneau, Alaska

- NOAA Region: National

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: -2.0 feet

--- Medium emissions: -1.9 feet

--- High emissions: -1.8 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: -1.7 feet

--- Medium emissions: -1.6 feet

--- High emissions: -1.4 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: -1.5 feet

--- Medium emissions: -1.2 feet

--- High emissions: -0.8 feet

Lewes, Delaware

- NOAA Region: Northeast

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.8 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.1 feet

--- High emissions: 1.4 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.0 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.3 feet

--- High emissions: 1.6 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.3 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.7 feet

--- High emissions: 2.2 feet

Los Angeles

- NOAA Region: Southwest

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.2 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.3 feet

--- High emissions: 0.4 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.5 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.6 feet

--- High emissions: 0.9 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.7 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.1 feet

--- High emissions: 1.6 feet

Monterey, California

- NOAA Region: Southwest

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.3 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.4 feet

--- High emissions: 0.5 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.5 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.7 feet

--- High emissions: 0.9 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.8 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.1 feet

--- High emissions: 1.6 feet

Nantucket Island, Massachusetts

- NOAA Region: Northeast

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.8 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.0 feet

--- High emissions: 1.3 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.0 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.3 feet

--- High emissions: 1.6 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.2 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.6 feet

--- High emissions: 2.2 feet

New York City

- NOAA Region: Northeast

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.7 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.0 feet

--- High emissions: 1.3 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.0 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.2 feet

--- High emissions: 1.6 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.2 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.6 feet

--- High emissions: 2.1 feet

Newport, Rhode Island

- NOAA Region: Northeast

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.7 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.0 feet

--- High emissions: 1.3 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.9 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.2 feet

--- High emissions: 1.6 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.1 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.5 feet

--- High emissions: 2.1 feet

Pensacola, Florida

- NOAA Region: Eastern Gulf

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.6 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.8 feet

--- High emissions: 1.0 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.8 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.0 feet

--- High emissions: 1.3 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.0 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.4 feet

--- High emissions: 1.9 feet

Philadelphia

- NOAA Region: Northeast

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.8 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.0 feet

--- High emissions: 1.3 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.0 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.2 feet

--- High emissions: 1.6 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.2 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.6 feet

--- High emissions: 2.1 feet

Port Angeles, Washington

- NOAA Region: Northwest

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.0 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.1 feet

--- High emissions: 0.2 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.2 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.4 feet

--- High emissions: 0.6 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.5 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.8 feet

--- High emissions: 1.2 feet

Port Orford, Oregon

- NOAA Region: Northwest

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.2 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.2 feet

--- High emissions: 0.4 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.4 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.5 feet

--- High emissions: 0.8 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.6 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.0 feet

--- High emissions: 1.5 feet

Portland, Maine

- NOAA Region: Northeast

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.5 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.8 feet

--- High emissions: 1.1 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.8 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.1 feet

--- High emissions: 1.4 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.0 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.3 feet

--- High emissions: 1.9 feet

Providence, Rhode Island

- NOAA Region: Northeast

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.6 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.9 feet

--- High emissions: 1.2 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.9 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.2 feet

--- High emissions: 1.5 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.0 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.5 feet

--- High emissions: 2.0 feet

San Diego

- NOAA Region: Southwest

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.4 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.5 feet

--- High emissions: 0.6 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.7 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.8 feet

--- High emissions: 1.0 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.9 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.3 feet

--- High emissions: 1.7 feet

San Francisco

- NOAA Region: Southwest

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.4 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.5 feet

--- High emissions: 0.6 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.6 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.8 feet

--- High emissions: 1.0 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.9 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.2 feet

--- High emissions: 1.7 feet

Santa Barbara, California

- NOAA Region: Southwest

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.2 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.3 feet

--- High emissions: 0.4 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.4 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.6 feet

--- High emissions: 0.8 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.7 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.0 feet

--- High emissions: 1.5 feet

Santa Monica, California

- NOAA Region: Southwest

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.3 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.4 feet

--- High emissions: 0.5 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.5 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.7 feet

--- High emissions: 0.9 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.8 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.1 feet

--- High emissions: 1.6 feet

Seattle

- NOAA Region: Northwest

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.4 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.4 feet

--- High emissions: 0.6 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.6 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.7 feet

--- High emissions: 0.9 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.8 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.1 feet

--- High emissions: 1.6 feet

St. Petersburg, Tampa Bay, Florida

- NOAA Region: Eastern Gulf

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.7 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.9 feet

--- High emissions: 1.0 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.9 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.1 feet

--- High emissions: 1.4 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.1 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.5 feet

--- High emissions: 2.0 feet

Unalaska, Alaska

- NOAA Region: National

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: -0.5 feet

--- Medium emissions: -0.4 feet

--- High emissions: -0.3 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: -0.3 feet

--- Medium emissions: -0.1 feet

--- High emissions: 0.2 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.0 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.4 feet

--- High emissions: 0.9 feet

Washington D.C.

- NOAA Region: Northeast

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.8 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.0 feet

--- High emissions: 1.3 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.0 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.3 feet

--- High emissions: 1.6 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.2 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.6 feet

--- High emissions: 2.1 feet

Wilmington, North Carolina

- NOAA Region: Southeast

- Low sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.7 feet

--- Medium emissions: 0.9 feet

--- High emissions: 1.1 feet

- Intermediate sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 0.9 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.1 feet

--- High emissions: 1.4 feet

- High sea level rise scenarios:

--- With low emissions: 1.1 feet

--- Medium emissions: 1.5 feet

--- High emissions: 2.0 feet

Data reporting by Emma Rubin. Story editing by Ashleigh Graf. Copy editing by Tim Bruns. Photo selection by Ania Antecka.