Study fears global tourism icons at risk from rising sea levels

Rising sea levels caused by global warming will see famous cultural and tourism landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House submerged if flood defences aren't bolstered.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters this week, looked at the impact rising sea levels would have on UNESCO World Heritage Sites over 2,000 years. However, the authors warn that the impacts of rising sea levels would be felt much sooner if measures aren't taken to boost flood defences.

The scientists said a global temperature increase of 3C (37.4F) by the end of the century causing ice sheets to melt and warming oceans to expand would see 20% of the world's 720 world heritage attractions affected.

Lead author Professor Ben Marzeion, of the University of Innsbruck in Austria, said that the Tower of London and New York's Statue of Liberty along with many of Europe's cultural treasures will be particularly vulnerable to the rising sea levels.

Marzeion told the Guardian "it's relatively safe to say that we will see the first impacts at these sites in the 21st century.

"Typically when people talk about climate change it's about the economic or environmental consequences, how much it's going to cost. We wanted to take a look at the cultural implications."

The report examined the impact across 2,000 years as such a timeframe eradicates potential anomalies, with scientists still in debate over how quickly global sea levels will rise.

The UN's climate science panel predicted sea level rises of between 26cm and 82cm by 2100 in a report last September, while a recent study published in Quaternary Science Reviews suggested this was a conservative estimate, saying the actual increase would be 70cm to 1.2 metres.

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