Human-driven sea level rise raised extreme coastal flood frequency, study finds
A study published Wednesday in Nature Climate Change found that human-driven sea level rise has made extreme coastal flooding events about 12 times more likely on average since 1900. A second study in Science Advances reported that climate change caused 58 percent of extreme water level days from 2000 to 2018.
The Boston GlobeHuman-driven sea level rise has increased the frequency of extreme coastal flooding worldwide, according to research published Wednesday. It concluded that events once expected once every 100 years are now about 12 times more likely overall and four times more likely due to human influence. Researchers separated the effects of human activity, natural forces, and local land movement.
Natural forces dominated sea level changes earlier in the 20th century, but human-caused warming became the primary driver after the 1960s.
