Rising sea levels could “swallow” beaches in Paraná

Cities on the Parana coast are at risk of part of the coastal area being submerged by 2050. According to a study published this week by the United Nations and specialized agencies, the ocean level could rise by more than 25 cm. This is enough to put 5% of the population living near the sea at risk.

According to IBGE, the cities of Paranagua, Matinhos, Guaratuba, Pontal do Paraná and Guaracaba have a population of just over 265,000, five percent of the 13,250 people whose homes could be flooded.

Climatologist and coordinator of the National Center for Monitoring and Warning of Natural Disasters (Simaden), Marcello Cellucci, explains that the forecasts are based on the impacts on the climate at this time, such as unprecedented floods and severe droughts.

As the United Nations has released, new data shows that the extent of coastal flooding has increased in the past 20 years, as a result of rising sea levels – a direct reflection of the increase in global temperature and the melting of the polar ice caps.

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According to a study published in the journal Nature Communications, the important ice shelf that has remained stable over the past fifty years rapidly retreated between 2018 and 2019 in Antarctica. According to the text, the Cadman Glacier, on the Antarctic Peninsula, lost ice at a rate 94% higher than expected during this period, a phenomenon that indicates a future trend.

The United Nations study on the possibility of flooding on beaches as sea levels rise also classified the cities that could be most affected by the end of this century. Guayaquil (Ecuador), Barranquilla (Colombia), Santos (Brazil), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and Kingston (Jamaica) are among the top countries on the list.

Report: Leonardo Gomez