erosion has changed the face of the French coasts

Fires, floods, concreting… Climatic hazards and human activity are changing French landscapes. To realize this, just consult the new atlas published by theNational Institute of Geographic and Forest Information (IGN). In particular, coastal erosion can be measured. These maps can be used as a tool to adapt cities to these changes. The sea, for example, is gaining ground every year. In 50 years, it has nibbled away 30 km2 of coastline.

Erosion has accelerated in recent years. “The two phenomena at the origin of this erosion are the rising waters, linked to climate change, which will come to raise the level of the sea a little on the ground, and storms which are more regular and more intense, which will tend to erode the coasts more strongly”, explains Swann Lamarche, expert at IGN. The government has drawn up a list of 126 municipalities particularly exposed to erosion.