Sea level by city

Sea level rise by city

How much the sea is projected to rise in 52 coastal cities. The global average for 2100 is about 56 cm under intermediate emissions, but local rise can be much higher where the land is sinking — or lower where it is still rising after the last Ice Age.

City205021002100, very high emissions
Bangkok Thailand+73 cm+168 cm+189 cm
Manila Philippines+46 cm+112 cm+133 cm
New Orleans United States+49 cm+112 cm+133 cm
Houston United States+41 cm+94 cm+115 cm
Osaka Japan+37 cm+90 cm+116 cm
Washington United States+36 cm+82 cm+104 cm
New York City United States+36 cm+81 cm+104 cm
Boston United States+34 cm+78 cm+100 cm
Miami United States+29 cm+71 cm+92 cm
Yangon Myanmar+27 cm+71 cm+93 cm
Barcelona Spain+26 cm+65 cm+85 cm
Alexandria Egypt+25 cm+62 cm+85 cm
Abidjan Côte d'Ivoire+23 cm+60 cm+82 cm
Amsterdam Netherlands+24 cm+59 cm+80 cm
Lisbon Portugal+23 cm+59 cm+79 cm
Dar es Salaam Tanzania+22 cm+58 cm+81 cm
Casablanca Morocco+23 cm+58 cm+79 cm
London United Kingdom+23 cm+58 cm+78 cm
Perth Australia+20 cm+58 cm+77 cm
Taipei Taiwan+21 cm+57 cm+82 cm
Auckland New Zealand+22 cm+57 cm+83 cm
Rio de Janeiro Brazil+21 cm+57 cm+79 cm
Jakarta Indonesia+20 cm+57 cm+79 cm
Cape Town South Africa+20 cm+55 cm+77 cm
Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam+19 cm+55 cm+76 cm
Singapore Singapore+19 cm+54 cm+76 cm
Shanghai China+20 cm+54 cm+80 cm
Brisbane Australia+19 cm+53 cm+77 cm
Sydney Australia+20 cm+53 cm+78 cm
San Francisco United States+19 cm+53 cm+72 cm
Seattle United States+19 cm+53 cm+69 cm
Buenos Aires Argentina+19 cm+52 cm+73 cm
Dublin Ireland+21 cm+52 cm+70 cm
Copenhagen Denmark+22 cm+52 cm+72 cm
Jeddah Saudi Arabia+20 cm+52 cm+75 cm
Seoul South Korea+18 cm+51 cm+78 cm
Chattogram Bangladesh+17 cm+50 cm+72 cm
Hong Kong Hong Kong+17 cm+49 cm+71 cm
Melbourne Australia+17 cm+49 cm+67 cm
Istanbul Turkey+19 cm+48 cm+66 cm
Karachi Pakistan+19 cm+48 cm+72 cm
Los Angeles United States+17 cm+47 cm+67 cm
Edinburgh United Kingdom+19 cm+47 cm+66 cm
Lima Peru+16 cm+47 cm+68 cm
Mumbai India+17 cm+46 cm+70 cm
Tokyo Japan+15 cm+45 cm+73 cm
Athens Greece+13 cm+37 cm+57 cm
Vancouver Canada+9 cm+33 cm+48 cm
Gothenburg Sweden+13 cm+32 cm+53 cm
Helsinki Finland+9 cm+24 cm+45 cm
Oslo Norway+5 cm+16 cm+36 cm
Stockholm Sweden+3 cm+11 cm+31 cm

Median relative sea level change vs 1995–2014, intermediate (SSP2-4.5) unless noted. Source: IPCC AR6 Sea Level Projections, medium confidence.

Why some cities face more than others

Local projections combine the rise of the ocean with vertical land motion. Cities built on river deltas and soft sediments, such as Bangkok, New Orleans or Houston, are sinking — partly from groundwater extraction — so the sea effectively rises faster there. For a few cities without a nearby tide gauge (for example Jakarta and Shanghai) the projection comes from a regional grid point and does not capture the very fast local subsidence, so the real rise there is likely higher. In Scandinavia, the land is still rebounding after the weight of Ice Age glaciers was removed, so Stockholm and Helsinki see much less rise.

Higher seas mean more frequent coastal flooding long before land is permanently lost. See global sea level today.