Hiroshima (May 13) Antarctic scientists gathered on the site of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum today to emphasize the growing threat of sea-level rise to Hiroshima, including the site of the Museum itself, without more urgent climate action.

With continued high emissions, Hiroshima might see as much as 1 meter of sea-level rise by 2070, approaching 2 meters (1.7m) by the end of this century and 4 meters by 2150, based on highest estimates from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Even 1 meter would cut right across the Peace Museum grounds, near the site where scientists held a line of hazard tape to symbolize the danger.

Much of the southern part of the City of Hiroshima also would be inundated, especially at the 2-meter level.

These potential extreme levels could occur if tipping points and instabilities are triggered in the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Conversely, if the global community course-corrects to lower emissions in the next three decades – reaching net zero by 2050 – sea-level rise could be limited to around 0.5 meters, leaving most of Hiroshima untouched, though still subject to greater threats from storms and tidal surges.

The exhibit by scientists took place on the margins of the annual Antarctic Treaty meetings, hosted this year by the government of Japan in Hiroshima. The event preceded a formal presentation on COP31 by host country Türkiye, which has established an extensive Antarctic program over the past decade.

The full press release can be read by clicking on the button below.

For more information or interview, please contact:

In Hiroshima (GMT+9):
Julius Garbe, julius@iccinet.org, +49 176 31799171
Rod Downie, rdownie@wwf.org.uk, +44 7920 246244
Claire Christian, claire.christian@asoc.org, +1 (803) 429-6396

Virtual:
Amy Imdieke, amy@iccinet.org, +1 (507) 321-3255 (CDT, U.S.)
Dr. James Kirkham, james@iccinet.org, +44 7581 560936 (CET, Germany)
Dr. Julie Brigham-Grette, jbg92@umass.edu, +1 (413) 330-5623 (EDT, U.S.)
Pam Pearson, pam@iccinet.org, +46-70-5752257 (CET, Sweden)

Based on IPCC AR6 SPM Figure 3.4

Maps based on data from NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Alex Tingle © 2022