Human-caused sea level rise drives rapid global increase in extreme water levels during 21st century, new research finds

Human-caused sea level rise drives rapid global increase in extreme water levels during 21st century, new research finds

PR Newswire

PRINCETON, N.J., June 10, 2026

Climate Central-led paper finds climate change tripled the number of days with extreme water-levels at worldwide locations since the 1970s.PRINCETON, N.J., June 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As sea level rise accelerates, more and more people, ecosystems, and infrastructure are facing increasing coastal flood risks globally. Until now, climate change's influence on local and regional flood risks has been underexplored, leaving communities without vital information they need. Now, a new paper led by Climate Central helps pinpoint how much human-caused climate change is responsible for increases in extreme water levels at local and regional scales across the globe.The new research published in Science Advances finds that human-caused sea level rise is detectable at 97% of global tide gauge sites investigated and climate change was responsible for 58% of the observed days with extreme water levels during 2000-2018. Averaged across all locations, climate change has nearly tripled the number of days exceeding extreme water level thresholds since the 1970s.