With climate change comes rising sea levels, and that means many parts of Florida are expected to return to the seas.
Thankfully, it doesn’t appear as though the entire state will get drowned out anytime soon, according to a map released by researchers with Climate Central.
[The Climate Center’s map shows which parts of Florida may be flooded by 2150]
According to the map, much of Florida’s coastal areas — particularly around the Everglades National Park and Florida Keys — could be largely submerged within the next 100 years.
Of course, Central Florida wouldn’t be spared either in that case. According to the estimates, many low-lying areas bordering bodies of water like Lake Jesup and Lake Monroe would also be below flood levels.
Coastal parts of the region like Volusia County and Brevard County would be heavily impacted, with the map suggesting large portions of the land surrounding the Kennedy Space Center could be flooded by 2120.
Last year, Professor Emeritus of Planetary Sciences Dr. Joseph Donoghue with the University of Central Florida told News 6 that sea levels are rising about 4 millimeters per year, though he expected that figure to increase quickly.
“The global climate models — which are the only insight we have into future climate — all project that global sea level will continue to accelerate in the rate of rise and that sea levels by 2100, the end of this century, will be over one meter above present, so 3.1 feet, and could be much more if parts of West Antarctica collapse. That’s the worst-case scenario. If that happens, it could be 2 meters or more. Some of the worst-case projections say that it could be 2 meters by 2100 and certainly by another century.”
[BELOW: Watch News 6’s previous conversation with Dr. Donoghue in 2024]
Donoghue added that a single meter used to be an outrageous suggestion, though it’s now what many climate models suggest.
“A 1-meter rise inundates about 10% of Florida, and as you said, that’s mostly in the South and Southwest,” he explained.
These projections have already begun to impact people living in the state.
“Even the insurance companies are starting to realize that. It’s going to be harder and harder to get a mortgage and insurance on a coastal property,” Donoghue continued.
Hear more about rising sea levels and their impact on Florida by checking out News 6’s archived episode of Talk to Tom.
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