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A warming world means big changes in the Big Apple. T photography/Shutterstock Last week, the New York City Panel on Climate Change released a new report detailing exactly how climate scientists expect New York City to change over over the next 100 years, focusing on projected increases in temperature and sea level. Sea level rise will certainly transform the shape of the city’s coastline. But Manhattan’s edges are basically a man-made pile of garbage already—they can go ahead and disintegrate. What climate will really change is the true shape of New York: Its iconic skyline, and the buildings in it. New York has a head start on adapting its buildings to its flooded future. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the city made zoning changes to support elevating homes, and mandated that new construction and substantial alterations meet the newest flood maps. “Flooding issues were felt most strongly after Sandy,” says Russell Unger, president of the Urban Green Council. “There was a vigorous response to adapt the building and zoning codes.” But those changes won’t be nearly enough. Last week’s report estimates that average annual rainfall in New York City will increase between 5 and 13 percent by the 2080s. Sea levels could be as high as six feet by 2100, doubling the area of the city currently at risk for severe flooding. And that’s without taking into account results published this week in Nature that found coastal sea level north of New York City had jumped temporarily by more than five inches between 2009-2010—an extreme, unprecedented event scientists partially blame on climate change. Read the rest at Wired.
Original source:
How Climate Change Will Alter New York City’s Skyline
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