Parts of New York could be devastated by rising sea levels should new climate change models come to fruition.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has modelled how sea level increases between 3ft and 10ft would impact one of the world’s most famous cities.
The modelling shows that in a worst case scenario, entire areas of New York such as Long Island and the John F. Kennedy International Airport would become completely submerged.
Vast swathes of Staten Island would also be lost to the water while LaGuardia Airport and Citifield, home of the Mets baseball team, would now be submerged.
According to Newsweek, sea levels changing by just 3ft would see New York’s coastline start to recede. The neighbourhoods in Hamilton Beach, Montauk and Westhampton would be at risk of flood water encroaching into them.
Streets in northern Long Beach would be the first to be submerged, while areas such as Montauk Airport, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and Mill Creek in Queens would become prone to flooding.
A 6ft increase would see even more impact on New York however. Half of LaGuardia Airport woud already be lost to the East River, while streets immediately bordering Manhatten’s waterfront would become flooding hotspots.
It would see the island home to the Statue of Liberty shrinking with Ellis Island also hit by the water.
An increase in 10ft for water levels would see the Statue of Liberty’s island reduced virtually to just the monument itself. While Ellis Island would become submerged in the water.
Almost all neighbourhoods bordering the water would be liable to regular flooding, with the NOA saying large parts of Staten Island would now be at risk.
Climate scientist David Thornalley, from University College London, told Newsweek there could be a profound impact on the Earth hundreds or thousands of years due to climate change.
This he said is down to the polar ice sheet collapsing. Sheets in the Antarctic are most at risk.
The ice sheet in Antarctica holds enough water to raise sea levels by 190ft.
A paper released in 2022 predicted the ice sheet could melt entirely by as little as 500 years away.
Should all of the ice sheets melt, it is thought water levels in the sea would increase by 216ft.
While research from National Geographic in 2013 suggested rising tide levels could mean Florida disappears under water, along with both Carolinas and Louisiana.
