Nature Climate Change, 10 June 2026
Human-driven sea-level rise is transforming once-rare “extreme sea-level events” into more frequent coastal hazards, increasing the risk of flooding, infrastructure damage, and coastal erosion worldwide. This study combined more than a century of global tide measurements with climate models to determine how much human-driven sea-level rise has increased the frequency of these events. They found that sea-level rise is now the primary driver of extreme sea-level events at most locations. Globally, historical 1-in-100-year coastal sea-level events are now occurring about 12 times more often than they did in 1900, with human-driven climate change alone increasing their likelihood fourfold. Under high emissions, 1-in-100 year extreme sea-level events, once only expected to happen once a century, are projected to occur annually by 2100. Directly linking more frequent coastal flooding to human-caused climate change provides evidence that helps strengthen coastal adaptation planning, risk management, climate litigation, and loss and damage claims.
By Science Writing Intern Aubree Klein, Global Outreach Director Amy Imdieke, and ICCI Director Pam Pearson.
Published Jul. 22, 2026 Updated Jul. 22, 2026 8:47 pm