Sea levels along the coastal United States will rise by about a foot or more on average by 2050, government scientists said Tuesday, with the result that increasing water now considered "nuisance flooding" will become far more damaging, Report informs, citing New York Times.
The researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other agencies also found that, at the current rate of warming, at least two feet of sea-level rise is expected by the end of the century.
"What we're reporting out is historic," said Rick Spinrad, the NOAA administrator, at a news conference announcing the findings. "The United States is expected to experience as much sea-level rise in the next 30 years as we saw over the span of the last century."
Dr. Spinrad said that while cutting greenhouse gas emissions to limit warming was critically important, the projected sea-level rise by 2050 "will happen no matter what we do about emissions."