The Dunkirk region under water, the submerged Poitevin Marsh, the engulfed Camargue… By raising the sea level, global warming will profoundly redraw the contours of the French coast in the coming century. According to the IPCC (in English), this intergovernmental group of experts on climate change, the average level of the ocean will rise, if man clearly and rapidly reduces his greenhouse gas emissions, by at least 28 centimeters in 2100. More likely, given the current track, the sea level will rise between 63 cm and 1.01 m.
>> This article is part of the special operation # MontéeDesEaux launched by franceinfo on the occasion of the COP26
If the deadline of 2100 seems distant for some, municipalities like Gouville-sur-Mer (Manche), Dolus-d’Oléron (Charente-Maritime), Biscarrosse (Landes), Etretat (Seine-Maritime) or Le Prêcheur (Martinique) ) are already facing a decline in their coastline due to erosion and storms.
What about you? Is your home threatened by the # MontéeDesEaux? Will the beach where you spent your summers as a child disappear? To help you see more clearly, franceinfo offers you this map produced by the American research institute Climate Central. We set it to a rise in water of one meter, a round and symbolic number, at the top of the range of the IPCC towards which we are heading. You can search for the name of the city you are interested in using the small magnifying glass placed just above the map.
>> In France, the climate crisis is here: immersion in these cities threatened by the # MontéeDesEaux
This visualization has its limits: outside the United States, it does not take into account the current defense structures (dikes, riprap), integrating, in the best case, only their height recorded by satellite observations. Of course, it does not prejudge any measures that will be taken in the coming years either. But it is based on solid data and on long-term development that is not in doubt.
To find the town that interests you, click on “search places”, right next to the magnifying glass and type in its name.