Coastal population around the world will age rapidly: scientists warn of dangerous anomaly

Scientists are sounding the alarm as global warming may have even worse consequences than expected. Rising sea levels will lead to a sharp surge in migration. Young people will move inland, away from the coast.

In fact, scientists say that the population of coastal zones around the world will age rapidly. The details were reported by the Daily Mail.

A new study estimates that climate change could lead to a 10-year increase in the average age of coastal communities by 2100.

Sociologist Mathew Hauer, lead author of the study and a professor at Florida State University, emphasized that this could provoke dramatic disruptions in the ability to provide vital health services.

"Mass migration away from the sea will have a global scale. We often underestimate the dangers of global warming. Rising sea levels will force hundreds of millions of people around the world to seek refuge inland.

Hauer and his colleagues included additional data in their study, establishing a link between migration propensity and demographic characteristics.

It will be mostly young people who leave. This, in turn, will lead to an aging population in coastal areas. In the abandoned beach towns, certain groups of people, mostly older people, who will not want to leave their homes and places where they have spent their entire lives, will remain.

"As migration is likely to be driven by young people, coastal areas may face a rapidly aging population," the professor emphasized.

Miami-Dade County in Florida will be one of the counties in the United States that, according to researchers, will be most affected by these migrations. The list of areas at high risk of becoming depopulated also includes Dare County in North Carolina, San Mateo County in California, and Brazoria and Galveston counties in Texas.

Sunshine Jacobs, a co-author of the study, added that even with the many factors included in their model, the new findings are only part of the future climate migration crisis.

The scientists only took into account the risk of rising ocean water. However, there are other threats, such as heat and forest fires.

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