Climate: half of the sandy beaches of the world is in danger of extinction

ABOUT half of the sandy beaches of all the world could disappear by the end of the century due to the phenomenon of coastal erosion, which derives from climate change. This is what emerges from a study, published in Nature Climate Change and conducted by the experts of the European Commission Joint Research Centre, according to which the erosion will worsen with sea-level rise caused by climate change. According to what reported by the researchers, and effective action could prevent about 40% of the erosion.

"The sandy beaches cover about 30% of the coastline on the Planet, and in addition to being places of recreation for the people, play an important role as buffer zones, natural that protect the coast and ecosystems from the waves and flooding by the sea, and also provide important habitat for wildlife," explain the researchers.

The team analyzed data from 35 years of observations of coastal satellite and to 82 years of climate predictions and modelling, by simulating more than 100 million events, violent atmospheric phenomena, such as storms or flooding, to check the possible consequences on coastal erosion global. "A drastic reduction of greenhouse gas emissions would reduce by 40% the erosion expected, but even if global warming were to come to a standstill, it would still be necessary to take action to better protect the sandy beaches," continues the team, emphasizing the loss of ecosystems and the socioeconomic implications that could result from the loss of the beaches. The european Commission is working to address the challenges posed by these scenarios, and strategies on adaptation to climate change aim to make Europe more resilient to the inevitable climate change.

Among the measures suggested to prevent the loss of coastal zones, the european Commission has identified recommendations for the management of areas at risk, which include, for example, the establishment of an area of coastal retreat, extended for at least a hundred meters towards the inland. Other measures were called for to control the risk of floods and to restore the natural function of rivers, transport sediment , in order to safeguard the sandy beaches.

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