Researchers foresee a myriad of environmental catastrophes in the decades ahead as a result of climate change, with rising sea levels at the forefront of these problems — and for good reason too. With Flood Maps elevation map, we can see what a terrifying 100 meters of rising sea levels would look like for the globe. Of course, the United Nations estimates that a mere one meter increase in sea levels, about 3.28 feet, will displace between 250 to 400 million people worldwide.

0 Meters

At zero meters, we are where we are today. No areas are submerged, but sea levels are beginning to encroach coastal areas. Climate change and global warming will begin to melt polar ice caps, resulting in a rising sea level.

10 Meters

Parts of the Western U.S are beginning to be submerged. A large chunk of Florida is gone. Areas in South America are begging to flood, creating small rivers stretching throughout parts of the continent, like Brazil and Argentina. The African Coast is beginning to shrink, and parts of Southeast Asia are disappearing, like islands near Malaysia and the Philippines.

20 Meters

Island nations are beginning to significantly decrease in size. Parts of Vietnam and India are completely gone, and the horn of Africa is beginning to take on a completely new shape. Waters are encroaching on South America, flooding significant portions of important civilized areas.

30 Meters

The Red Sea has increased by a massive amount in surface area, swallowing coastal regions of Africa and the Middle East. The Eastern Seaboard of the U.S has suffered tremendous losses in landmass. Huge chunks of Northern Russia are completely missing, and several new peninsulas make up China’s coast. The Caspian Sea now takes up a significant portion of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

40 Meters

Central America is beginning to thin, with large chunks of Belize and Honduras being swallowed by the sea. The South American landmass is beginning to split in two due to an emerging river in Brazil. Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore are suffering heavy losses of landmass. More than half of Bangladesh is underwater, and only parts of Denmark remain as Germany also begins to succumb to heavy shrinkage.

50 Meters

The Southern U.S has been greatly reduced in size, with water encroaching into Texas and Louisiana. Southeast Asia is partially underwater, and China’s massive population centers have been submerged. Mediterranean countries have significantly shrunk in coastal areas, and many island nations such as Tuvalu and the Maldives are completely gone.

60 Meters

Afghanistan and Syria are beginning to suffer large landmass loss, and the Black Sea is beginning to swallow parts of Romania and Belarus. Florida is completely underwater, as is much of Northern Russia and Germany. Some Japanese regions are gone, and Australia is beginning to shrink considerably. Much of Chile is also gone.

70 Meters

The U.S East coast is submerged. Scandinavian countries are beginning to shrink in land size, with much of Northern Europe suffering the same. Much of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia is underwater, and Denmark is now only a small speck on the world map. Somalia and Kenya are losing land on their border, and much of Western Africa is beginning to be submerged. Italy is significantly thinner.

80 Meters

A large portion of India and Pakistan is underwater. Huge chunks of Southern and Central Australia are gone. The Gambia and Senegal are nearly completely underwater. The United Kingdom is now an archipelago. A new river flows through Libya and Egypt. Caribbean islands like Cuba are beginning to split into regions separated by water.

90 Meters

Water has flooded much of Argentina, spreading to Paraguay and Bolivia. Large parts of Mexico, Belize, and Honduras are underwater. The East coast of the U.S is gone as water begins to spread further West, and California begins to flood in the Central Valley region. The horn of Africa has taken on a new shape, and East African states are beginning to be completely submerged, like Mauritania. Much of Northern Europe is underwater, such as Denmark and Germany, and Mediterranean states including Italy and Greece have shrunk greatly. Southeast Asian states are losing humongous areas of land, like Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Much of Eastern China is underwater, and the Koreas have lost their Southern coast completely. The North Coast of Australia is underwater, and massive flooding has submerged much of Central Australia.

100 Meters

The seven continents are now completely different. Much of the southern coast of North America is submerged, as are many of the islands within the continent. Rivers are flooding through South America, and the continent’s east coast is beginning to encroach on nations that it has never touched before. Much of Northern Europe is submerged, and the southern states have shrunk significantly in size as the Mediterranean floods their coasts. Northern African states have taken on new coastal shapes, with significant portions of their interiors being flooded. East and West Africa are shrinking, with some states completely submerged. Asia is unrecognizable. Its eastern states now are mostly peninsulas stemming from Central Asia, with the southeastern region missing many countries completely. Oceanic nations are also completely submerged, with the larger landmasses still present. Much of Antarctica is underwater.

Sound like science fiction? A 2022 report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warns: “About 2 feet (0.6 meters) of sea level rise along the U.S. coastline is increasingly likely between 2020 and 2100 because of emissions to date. Failing to curb future emissions could cause an additional 1.5 - 5 feet (0.5 - 1.5 meters) of rise for a total of 3.5 - 7 feet (1.1 - 2.1 meters) by the end of this century.”

But fears about rising sea levels extend far beyond the next few decades. How much sea levels rise globally in the centuries ahead will impact civilization for thousands of years. Humanity’s future literally depends on the actions we take today to dramatically reduce carbon emissions worldwide.