The Statue of Liberty in the USA. File photoMOSCOW, Feb. 7Global warming and population growth will lead to great damage from floods in the United States by the middle of the 21st century. Phys.org writes about this with reference to a study published in Nature Climate Change.
"The risk of flooding in the West is already unacceptably high. Climate change and population growth threaten to greatly increase the losses from these cataclysms,» said hydrology professor Paul Bates.
Scientists predict that rising temperatures on Earth will lead to a 25 percent increase in flood damage in the United States — now the country annually loses 32 billion dollars from this natural phenomenon, and by 2050 this figure could reach 40 billion. At the same time, the brunt of the financial burden will fall on the poorest segments of the population, experts warn. Tropical cyclones, rising sea levels and worsening weather conditions will lead to the destruction of homes and businesses. As scientists expect, by the middle of the century, about seven million Americans will suffer from cataclysms — this is almost twice as many as now. The most significant damage will be suffered by residents of the east coast of the United States, in Texas and Florida, the frequency of floods will increase by 50%, the researchers concluded. To mitigate the effects of global warming, 190 countries signed the Paris climate agreement in December 2015. It defines a plan of action to curb the rise in temperature on the planet. The agreement does not imply a complete phase-out of fossil fuels. However, all parties must take action to reduce emissions, technologically upgrade, adapt to climate change and switch to renewable energy sources. disaster worse than the COVID-19 pandemic