Comprehensive Assessment Maps Sea-level Rise Across Africa

Nature Communications, 15 December 2025

Sea-level rise along Africa’s coasts is now occurring four times faster than observed in the 1990s, with ice loss from Antarctica and Greenland now accounting for approximately 80% of the total rise. Highest rates of sea-level rise were observed in the Red Sea and Guinea Current regions. 2023 was particularly severe, when ocean surface temperatures warmed to unprecedented levels, and sea levels set new records across nearly 40% of the ocean surrounding the continent. Africa’s 40,000-kilometer coastline supports over 250 million people, many of whom reside in low-lying urban centers like Alexandria, Cape Town, Dar es Salaam, Douala, and Lagos. These cities are increasingly exposed to recurrent flooding, coastal erosion, and saltwater intrusion. The study maps the harm of mounting climate stressors on underrepresented marine ecosystems and island nations, providing the first holistic synthesis of sea-level rise dynamics across the African continent to better inform coastal planning and resilience.

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