A new study published in Nature Sustainability argues that at this point, southern Louisiana will face three to seven meters of sea level rise as a result of warming global temperatures, which will result in the loss of three quarters of its remaining wetlands and push the shoreline as much as 100 kilometers inland. This is not all forecast; since the 1930s, Louisiana has lost 2,000 square miles to coastal erosion and at current rates, will lose another 3,000 square miles over the next 50 years. At that point, New Orleans, which is home to 360,000 people, might only be able to exist with a seawall, substantially upgraded levees and at some point may not be viable.
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