New York faces the greatest danger in its history, devastating hurricanes and floods are coming

New York, a city with a population rapidly approaching nine million and with significant cultural, historical, and financial resources, is approaching a dangerous zone of climate change, writes Business Insider. Some say it has already arrived, reports the BiH news agency Patria.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has ranked New York among the ten cities most vulnerable to sea-level rise, with 2.9 million people and $2.1 trillion worth of assets exposed to storm surges and floods if sea levels continue to rise.

Hurricane Sandy is just one symptom of global warming and the first terrible warning. It struck without mercy. The wind felled trees and power lines, destroying cars and homes. Within hours, thousands of New York homes were left without electricity, and the city lost an estimated $25 billion due to the work stoppage.

However, as devastating as Sandy was, it is only a harbinger of what could follow. While our grandparents likely experienced one storm as devastating as Sandy, our grandchildren can expect to face at least 20 in their lifetime.

Hurricanes will be more intense

Although climate change is best known for rising sea levels and temperatures, it will also make storms more intense. As the Earth warms, more water vapor enters the atmosphere, which is fuel for storms. And it's not just the air that will get warmer. As the oceans warm, hurricanes like Sandy that form in the Atlantic will become more intense.

Due to increasingly warm oceans and melting ice, sea levels will rise, leading to an increased frequency of floods. Ultimately, this will lead to entire parts of New York being permanently submerged.

Since the mid-1800s, the water level near the city has risen by almost half a meter. As a result, dangerous waves are now 20 times more likely to flood the Manhattan dam than they were 170 years ago.