The Earth’s climate has been changing at an unprecedented rate during the last few decades. The dramatic melting of ice sheets and glaciers near the poles demonstrates the cascading effect of rising temperatures.
One of the most alarming and broad repercussions of such melting is the rising sea levels. It has the potential to inundate the world’s coastal regions, affecting the lives of millions of people worldwide.
The tides in Earth’s oceans, which are regulated by the Moon’s gravitational pull. This can play a role in severe flooding of worldwide coastal areas by the time the current decade comes to an end. When accompanied by climate change can induce a rise in sea levels.
The bleak forecasts are revealed in a new first-of-its-kind study undertaken by NASA. This explains how the moon’s elliptical orbit around Earth and the moon’s wobble effect might cause significant changes on Earth.
The moon wobble is nothing more than the moon’s orbit swaying.
It was documented for the first time in 1728. This wobble takes 18.6 years to complete and repeats itself in a cyclic manner.
The moon’s wobble influences the moon’s gravitational pull. So it adversely affects the ebb and flow of tides on Earth. According to a NASA study, each wobble cycle has the potential to both increase and reduce the Earth’s tides.
The tides are reduced for half of the 18.6-year cycle, which means that high tides are lower and low tides are greater than normal. When this cycle comes to an end, the tides are amplified in the following cycle, with high tides getting higher and low tides getting lower!
By mid-2030, the lunar cycle will shift again, and the tides will begin to intensify. The upcoming moon cycle changes will represent a serious threat, as increased high tides combined with rising sea levels will increase the risk of floods. This will badly affect all coastal places throughout the world.
According to the study, high tide floods, often known as nuisance floods or sunny day floods, may occur in clusters that last months or even longer! The position of the Moon, Earth, and Sun will all play a role in this surge.
“When the Moon and Earth line up in precise ways with each other and the Sun, the gravitational pull and the ocean’s corresponding response may leave city-dwellers dealing with floods every day or two,” according to a NASA statement.
According to NOAA, severe flooding is already on the rise, particularly along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the US. Over 600 such floods were reported in the United States in 2019. With these pessimistic predictions, the flooding situation is likely to worsen. Particularly for those living in low-lying areas around the world.
