Reports confirm sea level rising | The Jackal

16 Jul 2012

Reports confirm sea level rising

Today, the Wairarapa Times-Age reported:

Councils have been warned not to build on parts of the Wairarapa coastline after areas at high risk of flooding and erosion have been identified in reports released by Greater Wellington Regional Council.

Senior hazards analyst Iain Dawe said the two reports researched the rate of sea-level rise and the likelihood of coastal flooding in the Wellington region.

The reports show that sea levels are rising at over 2 millimetres per year and the Wellington region is tracking towards 1 metre of sea level rise over the next 100 years.

If global warming isn't causing increased water expansion and more ice to melt, what is making the sea level rise? Surely all those climate change deniers out there must have a plausible explanation?

Here is what New Zealand has to look forward to:

  • Drought risk is expected to increase in already drought-prone areas such as inland and north Otago, eastern Canterbury, Marlborough, parts of Wairarapa, Hawkes Bay, Bay of Plenty, Coromandel and Northland.
  • Severe drought is expected to be more frequent across many eastern parts of New Zealand by 2080. For example, in a ‘low-medium’ scenario, Marlborough could experience a one-in-20-year drought event every 3-5 years by 2080.
  • Droughts may happen in spring and autumn, as well as summer.
  • Very heavy rainfall events may increase in many parts of New Zealand, even in areas where the average annual rainfall decreases.
  • It’s expected to be wetter in the west and drier in the east.
  • Temperatures are expected to increase, with greater increases in winter, and in the north of New Zealand.
  • Frost risk is expected to decrease, while the risk of very high temperatures will increase.
  • Westerly winds are expected to increase in strength and frequency.
  • An increased risk of forest fire.

Unfortunately the National government isn't making any plans to manage these liabilities. Instead they're promoting further dependance on fossil fuels and simply manipulating the media to keep people uninformed about climate change, which will undoubtedly contribute to further problems.
Buller River in flood 16-07-2012