Areas of East & West Sussex potentially underwater by 2030 Brighton News

Using current projections, they produced a map showing which areas of the country would be submerged by 2030.

Sussex sites threatened by rising sea levels

Most parts of East and West Sussex are at risk of losing land to rising sea levels. Image: Climate Central

The map reveals that much of the East and West Sussex coastline is at risk of losing at least some land to sea level rise within less than a decade.

Areas that could see large areas under water in just eight years include Eastbourne in East Sussex and Worthing in West Sussex.

Although it is expected to lose land to the sea, including beaches and the marina, Brighton appears to be faring slightly compared to other seaside towns such as Bognor Regis and Shoreham-by-Sea which could be almost entirely swallowed by water.

The further inland you travel the lower the risk, it is of course the coastal regions which are much less likely to remain unaffected by climate change, but several towns along rivers and estuaries such as Barcombe and Beddingham in the east and Arundel and West Grinstead in the West could also succumb to rising waters.

Datasets include “an error”

Climate Central admits the calculations that raised fears of a nightmare scenario have “a few errors”.

He says: “These maps incorporate large datasets, which always include errors. These maps should be viewed as scouting tools to identify locations that may require further risk investigation.”

The maps were based on “global scale datasets for elevation, tides and coastal flood probabilities” and “imperfect data is used”.

Somewhat comfortingly, Climate Central adds: “Our approach makes it easy to quickly map any scenario and accurately reflect the threats of future permanent sea level rise.

“However, the accuracy of these maps decreases when assessing extreme flood risk.

“Our maps are not based on physical simulations of storms and floods and do not take into account factors such as erosion, future changes in storm frequency or intensity, inland flooding, or contributions from precipitation or rivers.”

But he adds: “Improved elevation data points to far greater global threats from sea level rise and coastal flooding than previously thought, and therefore greater benefits in reducing their causes. .”