Penish Island? Aveiro, Faro and Olhão underwater? A new study highlights the Portuguese cities most affected by rising sea levels by 2100

The NGO Climate Central recently launched a study suggesting that thousands of square kilometers of coastlines will be submerged if there are no changes in greenhouse gas emissions patterns: by 2010, about 50 large cities around the world could be affected by this situation. .

According to NASA, in the past decade, ocean levels have risen by about 9 cm, or at a rate of 0.3 cm per year. As the average temperature of the planet rises, the increasing concentration of population in coastal areas, relatively close to the coast, may pose a risk in the short and medium term.

according to Climate Central report.Approximately 10% of the world’s population will be affected by this phenomenon, that is, approximately more than 800 million people, who due to atmospheric pollution and the melting of glaciers, in both the northern and southern hemispheres, will become vulnerable and will have to deal with this phenomenon. The phenomenon. Find a new home and completely reorganize your lifestyle.

Indeed, island states in the Pacific Ocean, especially those belonging to Oceania and the Asian continent, may disappear. The latter will be the most affected, as densely populated countries such as China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam will have large parts of their lands below sea level.

In Portugal, how will it be affected?

The impacts on our country will be significant: lagoon areas, such as the Delta Half in Aveiro (Ria di Aveiro) or the Lido in Faro (Ria Formosa), will be among the places most affected, with cities such as Aveiro and Faro. And Olhão lost part of its urban area.

In addition to these areas, other coastal incidents will be severely affected, such as Peniche Tombolo Bay and São Martinho do Porto Bay. In the risk map developed by the study authors, extreme scenarios of global warming between 1 and 4 degrees Celsius above the current temperature are analyzed. In the case of Beneš, the situation is truly worrying, because even in the most pessimistic scenario, this city will return to being an island.

In the worst-case scenario, with a rise of 4 degrees, the ocean could almost reach Atoguia da Palea, which is about 6 km from Peniche. In the case of São Martinho do Porto Bay, which was formed from an ancient bay, it could return to a well-known, but never-before-seen landscape. Seawater could submerge Alvizerão again, more than tripling the current area of ​​the bay.

The largest cities, Lisbon and Porto, will also suffer from rising ocean levels, but in the Tagus Basin the consequences will be more pronounced, specifically in the cities of Benavente, Carregado, Almerem and Santarem. On the southern bank, the Costa da Caparica as we know it today will disappear, even from the best of perspectives.