NYC Sea Level Map: State Adopts Official Climate-Change Predictions

Waters off NYC could rise more than 6 feet by end-of-century, according to predictions adopted by New York state officials this week.

Simone Wilson, Patch Staff

Posted Thu, Feb 9, 2017 at 2:40 pm ET|Updated Thu, Feb 9, 2017 at 4:08 pm ET

NEW YORK, NY — What better a week than this here week of cry-for-help weather patterns in NYC and apocalyptic nature decisions down in DC to ponder our city's romantic fate as the next Atlantis under the sea?

According to a set of official climate-change predictions adopted this week by New York state, the waters surrounding NYC will most likely rise around 3 feet by the year 2100, and could conceivably rise more than 6 feet in that same time period "if current plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and vehicles are curtailed." (Scroll down to see these predictions mapped by neighborhood.)

This set of predictions will serve as the new standard for New York state agencies planning long-term projects that might be affected by rising sea levels, as well as other entities applying for certain state permits and funding.

Find out what's happening in New York Cityfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The figures should "help local governments, business owners, and planners ensure public safety and prevent the loss of property and services," Basil Seggos, head of the state's Department of Environmental Conservation, said Monday.

Here is the state's official set of climate-change scenarios, based on research from Columbia University, Cornell University and Hunter College (working together under the moniker "ClimAID"):

Find out what's happening in New York Cityfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

And below are some maps of what the state's "high projection" of a 6 foot rise in sea levels by the year 2100 would look like in Patch's coastal NYC neighborhoods, plus at LaGuardia and JFK airports (especially scary), via ClimAID. For an even closer look, a full interactive map is available here.

Inwood, Manhattan