Revised Forecasts on Rising Sea Levels

The estimated increase in sea levels around the island is projected to be on the order of 29.3cm by 2050, and 95cm by 2100

Orfilio Peláez | [email protected]
May 31, 2019 14:05:10
Photo: Ismael Batista

Through the application of an improved version of software, Cuban experts have reformulated estimates regarding the rise in average sea level around our archipelago for the years 2050 and 2100.

D.Sc. Rafael Pérez Parrado, a researcher at Cuba’s Institute of Meteorology’s Center for Marine Meteorology, told Granma International that the figures obtained are higher than those of ten years ago, and as such the impact of rising sea levels will be greater than initially expected, especially in low-lying coastal areas and wetlands.

According to the scientist, the rise in sea levels around the Cuban archipelago is estimated to be on the order of 29.3cm by 2050, and 95cm by 2100; whereas the previous calculations for these years were 27cm and 85cm, respectively.

Such a projection could also aggravate the effects of storm surges caused by hurricanes, with the sea inundating larger populated areas and arable land.

Upwellings, or storm surges, cause a significant rise in sea level when tropical storms hit land, and can span coastal sections greater than one hundred kilometers long.

The sea is highest to the right of the hurricane’s path, in the area near the entry point of the eye of the storm, and close to the maximum wind area.