The study found that sea levels are rising faster than expected

Sea levels are rising twice as fast as expected in some parts of the UK New ZealandWhich threatens the country’s two largest cities, according to a study published Monday.

Data collected along the country’s coastal strip showed that some areas are already sinking by three to four millimeters a year, accelerating the alarming danger. These projections are the result of an intensive five-year research program – dubbed NZ SeaRise – carried out by dozens of national and international scientists and funded by the government.

According to their predictions, the authorities have less time than expected to plan how to adapt to the consequences Climate changeparticularly the resettlement of the population living along the coasts.

30 cm more by 2040

According to Tim Naish, a professor at the University of Wellington in Victoria who co-manages the programme, if global sea level rises by about half a meter by 2100, that rise should be about a meter higher in large parts of the archipelago because land is sinking at the same time.

This would be particularly disastrous for the capital, Wellington, which could see a sea level rise of 30 cm by 2040, which was not expected before 2060. So Wellington residents could be victims every year Flood cause damage. Data shows that the North Island’s most populous southeast coast is the most exposed.