It’s no secret that about a third of the Netherlandsliesbelowsea level. And at its lowest point , it’s already 7 meters below sea level. Parts of the country were even reclaimed from the sea in the 1950s by filling in land to expand the area. But how will rising sea levels affect our country now?
It doesn’t look good for Amsterdam.
It takes an enormous amount of effort to prevent the land from flooding. You’ve probably seen the artificial sand dunes along the coast. In addition, there are numerous dikes and pumps to prevent the sea from flooding our cities. The Netherlands even has an incredibly advanced system to keep the land dry. However, the land is sinking by about 7 mm per year, and global warming is causing sea levels to rise .
climatecentral.org
Coastal areas will face rising sea levels in the coming years. It is up to the Netherlands to keep those flood defenses strong; otherwise, according to this interactive map, the western part of the country will be underwater by 2030. The map uses “elevation and tide datasets” from around the world to show how rising tides will affect the world . NASA also notes that the sea has risen by 20 cm in the past 130 years alone .
How quickly sea levels will rise in the future depends on how we treat the Earth in the coming years. The Paris Agreement aims to limit global warming, but not every country in the world is adhering to this agreement. So as the Earth warms, the oceans warm as well, causing ice to melt, which then flows into the sea and raises sea levels. How will the Netherlands tackle this enormous challenge?
