Paris: The sightseer of 4014 may have to pay a virtual visit to the Tower of London or Statue of Liberty, said a climate study on Wednesday that warned of dramatic ocean encroachment on heritage sites.
While modern civilisation is fascinated by the pyramids of Egypt, Rome's Colosseum and the Parthenon in Greece, much of this inheritance as well as our own cultural legacy may be lost to sea-levels rising as much as 1.8 metres (six feet) due to global warming, researchers said.
Out of more than 700 listed UNESCO World Heritage sites, nearly 140 risk being flooded in 2,000 years' time, they projected in a study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.
These also include the Sydney Opera House, Venice in Italy, Japan's Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Robben Island in South Africa where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years.
The calculation is based on sea-level rises associated with temperatures three degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than pre-Industrial Revolution levels. The UN-targeted maximum rise is 2 Celsius.
"Our analysis shows how serious the long-term impacts for our cultural heritage will be if climate change is not mitigated," study co-author Anders Levermann from the Potsdam Institue for Climate Impact Research (PIK) said in a statement.
The average global temperature has already increased by 0.8 C on pre-industrial levels.
According to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), it could rise by an additional 2.6 to 4.8 Celsius by the end of this century, on a scenario for high emissions of greenhouse gases.
Levermann and his team set out to study the impact on cultural heritage of climate change - a phenomenon whose effects are usually measured for nature, the economy and agriculture.
While modern civilisation is fascinated by the pyramids of Egypt, Rome's Colosseum and the Parthenon in Greece, much of this inheritance as well as our own cultural legacy may be lost to sea-levels rising as much as 1.8 metres (six feet) due to global warming, researchers said.
Out of more than 700 listed UNESCO World Heritage sites, nearly 140 risk being flooded in 2,000 years' time, they projected in a study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.
The calculation is based on sea-level rises associated with temperatures three degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than pre-Industrial Revolution levels. The UN-targeted maximum rise is 2 Celsius.
Advertisement
The average global temperature has already increased by 0.8 C on pre-industrial levels.
Advertisement
Levermann and his team set out to study the impact on cultural heritage of climate change - a phenomenon whose effects are usually measured for nature, the economy and agriculture.
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Japan Lifts Megaquake Warning, Says Citizens Can Return To Normal Life Japan Set To Lift Megaquake Warning If There Is No "Major Seismic Activity" Japan PM Fumio Kishida To Step Down Amid Sinking Poll Ratings Parents Gave Names Of Interns, Doctors To CBI In Kolkata Horror: Sources Who Is Jasveen Sangha, "Ketamine Queen" Charged With Matthew Perry's Death How Extreme Weather Is Leading To Rise In Child Marriages In Pakistan India Sends 1,400 kg Anti-Cancer Drugs To Syria In Humanitarian Assistance Police Arrest Suspect In Bihar Dalit Girl Kidnapping, Murder Case 80 Killed In Paramilitary Attack In Sudan Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.