It’s sometimes easy to forget how precarious our situation is on Earth. For example, as we go about our lives, there are multiple threats to our planet from space , including gamma ray bursts, space debris (of which there’s a staggering amount) , and asteroid impacts. Then, there are the looming crises down here on Earth’s surface, the most alarming of which is surely climate change.
Our shifting climate is already having a major impact on the world around us, but global warming will have even more of an effect in future, including a likely increase in wildfires, severe droughts, and severe flooding. All of this has prompted some pretty grim predictions about the end of the world from such eminent individuals as Stephen Hawking and Neil deGrasse Tyson, both of whom have said that humanity should probably try to set up an off-planet colony within a century or so.
Should we find ourselves in the position of having to make a speedy retreat from our home planet, we will almost certainly leave behind a world where sea levels have risen to the point some of our most beloved coastal cities will have been largely subsumed by the ocean. Massive cities are already sinking into the ocean and you might be surprised to learn which urban areas are included in this bleak list. Florida, for instance, could lose huge portions of one of its largest cities in fewer than 40 years if things continue the way they’re going.
Sea Levels Are Rising Dramatically
The most populous city in Florida is Jacksonville, with an estimated population of 985,843. While Jacksonville will feel the effects of climate change, Miami, in the south of the state, will face even more of a crisis. Miami is the second-largest city in Florida, with 455,924 people living in the coastal metropolis. As such, it is poised for a battering as climate change continues to affect sea levels…