North Carolina Assessing Its Vulnerabilities to Climate Change and Sea Level Rise

Climate change experts in North Carolina are making final edits to a report that will give state government agencies an idea of how global warming and sea level rise flooding are going to impact the state this century.

Academics from the state university system teamed up with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s climate scientists to produce the report. Among their findings is that even with lower greenhouse gas emissions, seas will continue to rise throughout this century. The ocean could be up to 3.9 feet higher by 2100, which could cause high tides to flood coastal areas every day.

The scientists also worry that North Carolina, which is extremely vulnerable to hurricanes, will face even stronger storms due to climate change. This development will also increase the risk of storm-surge flooding.

The N.C. Institute for Climate Studies is producing the report under Governor Roy Cooper’s Executive Order 80 climate change initiative. State agencies will use the final report, which is to be delivered in March, as a guide for efforts to reduce the impact of climate change and sea level rise flooding.