The US Space Agency contemplates an increasingly depressing scenario in the coming decades with areas of the Alicante coastline at risk of flooding, including Babilonia beach, El Pinet, the north coast of Dénia and the coves around El Campello, with serious danger to many homes that are close to the Mediterranean.
The sixth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) contemplates the devastating impact of the climate crisis as it confirms the deterioration of the planet due to global warming, with an increase in the temperature in the Mediterranean that will cause droughts, torrential rains and cold snaps.
What it shows is devastating for the province: the values are growing inexorably, decade after decade, starting with a rise of 9 centimetres by 2030, 40 centimetres by 2080 and reaching one meter in 2150.
The forecasts are based on data collected by satellites and instruments on the ground, as well as analysis and computer simulations, and this projection is the most optimistic because the US space agency proposes up to five scenarios, depending on the different levels of emissions.
The professor of Regional Geographic Analysis at the University of Alicante, Jorge Olcina, says that areas particularly at risk include Babilonia beach, El Pinet, the north coast of Dénia and areas around the coves of El Campello, which have houses located very close to the sea.
He says that one immediate measure that the administration should carry out is the installation of a network for monitoring the rise in sea level throughout the Spanish coast, including Alicante. “It is essential to know the evolution of this process with real data”, he emphasises.
