by In 2024, the hottest year in the listed history, the sea level increased by 35% more than expected, according to a new report by NASA.
On its website, the space agency said that the acceleration of the increase in sea level “was due to an unusual amount of ocean heating, combined with melting water made of land -based ice like glaciers”.
“The promotion that we recorded in 2024 was higher than expected,” said Josh Willis, a researcher of the sea level at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA in South California. “Every year it is a little different, but it is clear that the ocean continues to rise and the rise rate is getting faster and faster.”
While the global average sea level rose by only 0.23 inches in 2024, this was above the expected rate of 0.17 inches and is at a time when the coastal communities in many parts of the USA are dealing with the acceleration of the rise rates of much higher than in the global average. Based on the tidal measurement data compiled by the Washington Post, more than a dozen locations from Texas to North Carolina have risen by 6 inches or longer since 2010.
If the global temperatures continue to rise, the problem will probably deteriorate in the next 25 years.
“Evidence indicates that the sea level along the US coast will increase by 10 to 12 inches by 2050 – as well as the increase from 1920 to 2020,” explains the Environmental Protection Agency on its website.
Here is a sample of some of the US cities, in which the oceans rose the fastest.
Galveston, Texas
The US community with the dubious award as the place where the seas climb the fastest rises, Galveston has increased by 8 inch sea levels in the past 14 years, a study by the National Wildlife Federation 2024. While the rise rate continues to accelerate and the Barrier Island decreases, Galveston was able to record between 3 and 8 feet of additional marine levels by 2100, according to forecasts from the national oceanic and atmospheric administration.
Jacksonville, Fla.
The sea level in Jacksonville has increased by 6 inches in the past 14 years. According to NOAA, a further 9 inch sea level increase is possible for a large part of Floridas by 2050, which will lead to a dramatic increase in flood events. “In the course of the next century, Jacksonville will experience more coastal floods due to the increase in sea level and by greater coastal storms,” says a report commissioned by the city 2023. “One of the short -term effects of the increase in sea levels are an increased risk of flooding and storm surgery.”
Charleston, SC
Since 2010, Charleston has recorded an increase in sea level by 7.4 inches, reported the post office. That is more than half of the total of 13 inches that have been measured by Noaa in the past 100 years. As in many cities, in which the flood deteriorated by increasing the sea level, Charleston committed a plan to try to be one step ahead of the rising water, and the conclusion that it has to be prepared by 2060 to an additional increase in sea levels around 2040 and 2.5 feet.
Miami Beach, Fla.
Since 2000, the ocean has risen by about 6 inches on this Barrier Island that has already started to increase roads to have worsened the floods by increasing the sea level.
“By 2040, the sea level is expected to be 10 to 17 inches higher than 2000,” explains Miami-Dade County on its website. The highest natural height of Miami Beach is home to a dramatic skyline of hotels and apartment complexes and is only 4.4 feet.
Savannah, Ga.
While the city center of Savannah is about 18 miles from the Atlantic, it has increased its share in the effects of the sea level due to its location on the Savannah flow.
“A widespread misunderstanding that we see out there is that the increase in sea level only affects the place where the ocean hits the shore or our beaches,” said Mark Risse, director of the marine expansion of the University of Georgia, and sea position to the Savanna Morning News.
Data from the tidal knife in Fort Pulaski, which is located along the coast, show that the sea level rose by 7.3 inches between 2010 and 2023. This contributed to a significant increase in floods in Savannah. A 2023 study by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at the College of William & Mary showed that the sea level will increase by another 1.5 feet by 2050.
Wilmington, NC
The coast of North Carolina near Wilmington has recorded 7 inch sea levels since 2010, reported Washington Post. In a report on 2024 of the science committee of the NC Coastal Resources Commission, the conclusion came to the fact that Wilmington will experience partly thanks to the rising sea level by 2050 and 323 to 2100 30 wedding days.
