Even a modest sea level rise, triggered by increasing global temperatures, would place 100 airports below mean sea level by 2100, a new study has found.
Scientists from Newcastle University modelled the risk of disruption to flight routes as a result of increasing flood risk from sea level rise.
Publishing the findings in the journal Climate Risk Management, Professor Richard Dawson and Aaron Yesudian of Newcastle University’s School of Engineering analysed the location of more than 14,000 airports around the world and their exposure to storm surges for current and future sea level. The researchers also studied airports’ pre-COVID-19 connectivity and aircraft traffic, and their current level of flood protection.
They found that 269 airports are at risk of coastal flooding now. A temperature rise of 2C – consistent with the Paris Agreement - would lead to 100 airports being below mean sea level and 364 airports at risk of flooding. If global mean temperature rise exceeds this then as many as 572 airports will be at risk by 2100, leading to major disruptions without appropriate adaptation.
Read more at Newcastle University
Photo Credit: Dylanwill via Wikimedia Commons
