Local water levels will rise at an alarming rate, unless something changes soon: experts
Posted October 28, 2015 11:12 am.
Last Updated October 28, 2015 6:10 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Picture one of Vancouver’s pristine beaches. Now, imagine it gone.
Local experts are warning that rising sea levels here is a real concern.
That concern comes from the Arctic, which is melting at twice the rate of the rest of the planet.
Dr. John Nightingale with the Vancouver Aquarium says the impacts will eventually make their way here.
“Here in Vancouver, the projection is half a metre by 2050 and one metre by 2100. Some of the research institutes say that’s a little bit under — that it could be double that.”
Standing in hip waders in the rain and very cold waters, Nightingale explained what Vancouver’s Sunset Beach would look like:
“A metre rise would mean that at low tide, there’s no beach left. At high tide, the sea water [would be] above the sea wall in the grass. Obviously, something’s going to have to be done.”
He adds rising water levels could present possible dangers for underwater ecosystems and animals
Nightingale says it would be disastrous during a storm and is calling for world leaders, including our incoming prime minister, to come up with a solution.
