Charleston is a beautiful, historic coastal city — and one of the most climate-exposed cities in the continental United States. Over the past century the city’s waterfront and low-lying neighborhoods have already seen measurable sea-level rise and a dramatic uptick in high-tide (“sunny day” or “nuisance”) flooding. If greenhouse-gas emissions continue to push global warming upward, Charleston faces increasing frequency and severity of floods that threaten lives, infrastructure, the local economy, and irreplaceable cultural assets. This article summarizes the best available data, what it means for risk in Charleston, and practical actions the city and residents can take.
What the data shows
• The long-term tide gauge at Charleston shows a relative sea level trend of about 3.51 mm per year, roughly 0.35 m (≈1.15 ft) per century at the gauge’s location…