These maps of US cities show sea levels if we do nothing about reversing climate change

If you need a reason to take an interest in climate change, we have some maps for you.

The Paris climate talks are approaching in December, and in anticipation of them Climate Central has released interactive maps showing the effect of rising sea levels on hundreds of US cities up to the end of the century.

The maps use data from a study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which links CO2 to sea level rise on the US coast, with predictions using decades of satellite imagery and US census data.

We’ve used one version, which compares the effect of unchecked pollution to extreme carbon cuts on New York City, but if you want to play around with the full version, you can visit the website.

Similar visualisations for the rest of the world are to be released in November, but the US as a base model provides plenty of food for thought.

If that's not enough for you, however...

• Burning one gallon of fuel translates to adding 400 gallons of water volume to the ocean in the long run.
• The ice sheets are so large that they exert gravitational pull on the ocean, meaning that sea levels are higher in those areas, and will rise elsewhere if the ice sheets deplete.
• Warmer water is less dense, meaning if the oceans heat they will also rise.

(HT Wired)

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