The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting that the US will experience as much sea-level rise in the next 30 years as in the previous hundred years.
The study forecasts a significant increase in the frequency of coastal flooding, despite the absence of storms and heavy rainfall, as sea levels are slowly creeping up 25-30cm on average. Gina McCarthy, the US climate adviser, says that the new data is the latest reconfirmation of our climate crisis, and it is blinking "'code red.'"
Scientists hope the data in this study will help communities to plan and adapt to the changing climate.
"The changes are slow and incremental, but after decades would become devastating without proper action," said Ilan Kelman, professor of disasters and health at University College London.
"We must start now, immediately acting and planning for the next century to ensure that we can experience these changes without catastrophe," - Professor Kelman.
Climate change is causing sea levels to go up around the world by melting glaciers and expanding the volume of water as it warms.
Scientists are stating that some of these changes are "irreversible for centuries to millennia", however, according to the study, reducing climate-heating emissions right now can lower future risk.
