Statue of Liberty, Tower of London at risk due to rising sea levels

A new study has revealed that 136 world heritage sites, including the Statue of Liberty and the Tower of London, are at risk of being lost in the long-term, as sea levels rise due to climate change.

Scientists have predicted that if global temperatures rise by 3°C by the end of the century, many historical sites listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), could be lost underwater as a result of rising sea levels and the worsening effects of climate change.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, looked at how many UNESCO sites would be threatened after 2000 years of rising sea levels, but the authors said the initial impacts would be felt much sooner if action is not taken to improve flood defences.

The study has suggested that sites such as the Statue of Liberty, Sydney Opera House, the Tower of London, as well as historical city centres of Bruges, Naples, Istanbul, Venice and St. Petersburg could be lost.

Other sites that would be affected by rising waters include Westminster Abbey and Westminster Palace, as well as the city centres of Bruges in Belgium, Naples in Italy and St Petersburg in Russia, the study says.

South-east Asia will have the highest number of people affected by sea level rises, partly because of low-lying, densely populated cities, but also because sea level rises will be the most extreme there.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is the UN's climate science panel, said in a landmark report last September that it expects sea level rises of between 26 and 82cm by 2100.