What is the likely impact of global warming on the Northeast and on Boston?
More than half the country’s population now lives along the national’s coasts and one third of them live in the highly populated coastal areas of the Northeast. The area between Boston and Philadelphia is one of the most populous areas of the country, with extensive infrastructure, buildings and businesses. Global climate change affects the coastal areas for raising air temperature, increasing rainfall, raising the temperatures of the oceans, and causing sea levels to rise and increase coastal flooding. In addition to sea level rises, much of the Northeast shoreline is gradually sinking, increasing the effects of rising ocean waters. In Boston, if the number of 100-year storms increases, more buildings and infrastructure will be at risk of being inundated by rising waters during intense weather such as hurricanes and nor’easters. While many of Boston’s neighborhoods are protected from wave action and flooding by seawalls, they have not been fully tested by extreme weather conditions an
