The areas most at risk of disappearing underwater by 2050

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Huge swathes of the region's coastline are at risk of being lost to the sea within 30 years, a new study has concluded, prompting experts to call for the creation of 'a nationwide strategic approach' to tackle climate change land loss.

One environmental professor said it would 'not be possible to protect every house and business from sea level rise' and predicted 'changes are coming sooner than we might think'.

More than 2,000 homes and businesses face disappearing by the 2050s in West Lancashire alone, with significant risk in other areas of the North West too, according to the new research. The borough faces losing more than 2,000 properties as a result of rising sea levels, the study suggests. It is among 20 local authority areas across the country to face losing that number, with almost 200,000 properties said to be at risk in total, reports Lancs Live.

The research examines how rising sea levels caused by climate change, combined with erosion of foreshores by waves, are increasing coastal flood risk, and warns it may not be possible to protect some communities. Experts warned there is an urgent need for a national debate about the flooding threat to coastal communities, and for long-term clarity on 'transformational change' in some areas, including rolling back defences and moving properties.

Greater Manchester - which is far more inland - is not affected and doesn't feature on any published mapping. The study, which was published in the journal Oceans And Coastal Management, compares the rising risk of coastal flooding with existing policies for managing the coast. England could face around 35cm (14ins) of sea level rise compared to historic levels by 2050 and is nearly certain to see close to 1m (3ft) of sea