Would YOU be underwater if the polar caps melted? Map reveals what our planet would look like if sea levels rose by 260ft

• Martin Vargic created the map to depict the planet with sea levels around 260ft (79m) higher than they are today
• Current coastlines are shown using a dotted line and the areas that will be submerged by water are unshaded
• In Europe, towns including London, Amsterdam and Berlin would completely disappear as the sea level rises
• In the U.S., large parts of the east coast would be submerged including Miami, New Orleans and Washington
• The Amazon would bursts its banks engulfing parts of Brazil, and a huge chunk of Australia would be swamped

By Ellie Zolfagharifard

Published: 10:11 GMT, 21 April 2014 | Updated: 14:21 GMT, 21 April 2014

Global sea levels have risen by 8 inches (20cm) since 1880 and scientists predict they could rise up to 3ft (98cm) by 2100.

But despite the UN’s recent threats of war, famine and extreme weather, such a dramatically different world caused by sea level rise can be hard to imagine.

To help picture the future, Martin Vargic, an amateur graphic designer from Slovakia, has created a map depicting the planet with sea levels around 260ft (79m) higher than they are today.

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Martin Vargic, an amateur graphic designer from Slovakia, has created this map to depict how the planet will look with sea levels around 260ft (79m) higher than they are today. Information panels outside the main map show 2013 population by country, 2100 population by country as well as countries with highest and lowest fertility rates

He imagines what Earth would look like if the ice sheets surrounding the North and South poles melted, releasing five million cubic miles of water into the world's oceans.

Whilst at first glance it doesn't seem much different to a map of the world today, a closer looks shows huge unshaded areas swamped by water with today's existing coastlines depicted in dotted lines. 

 

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A close up of Europe reveals how more than half of England would disappear, including towns such as London and Leicester. Amsterdam would also be submerged as would areas further inland such as Berlin in Germany. 

In the U.S., large parts of the east coast would be submerged including New York, Houston, Miami, New Orleans and Washington.

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The current coastlines are shown using a dotted line and the areas that will be submerged by water if the ice sheets surrounding the North and South poles melted are unshaded. This close up of Europe shows how more than half of England would disappear, including towns such as London and Leicester. Amsterdam would also be submerged as would areas further inland such as Berlin

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In the U.S., large parts of the east coast would be submerged including New York, Houston, Miami, New Orleans and Washington. According to recent studies, there is enough ice in Earth's polar caps to cause a 250-300ft (80-100m) rise in sea level

IS EARTH RACING TOWARDS AN APOCALYPTIC FUTURE?

In October, researchers at the University of Hawaii said that Earth is racing towards an apocalyptic future in which major cities such as New York and London could become uninhabitable.

The first U.S. cities to feel the changes would be Honolulu and Phoenix, followed by San Diego and Orlando, in 2046. New York and Washington will get new climates around 2047, with Los Angeles, Detroit, Houston, Chicago, Seattle, Austin and Dallas a bit later.

By 2043, 147 cities — more than half of those studied — will have shifted to a hotter temperature regime that is beyond historical records.

Meanwhile the Amazon would bursts its banks, becoming a sea and engulfing vast areas of Brazil, and a huge chunk of Australia would be swamped by the Artesian Sea and Murray Gulf.
'I worked on this map for about, gathering the data and rendering all the labels,' said Mr Vargic, speaking to MailOnline. 'It was entirely digitally hand-drawn, based on gathered topography data from Nasa. 

'I was always interested in the future climate change and human influence on the global warming. I created these maps both to raise awareness about the global warming and also because nobody has yet done this on such a scale

‘According to recent studies, there is enough ice in Earth’s polar caps to cause about 250-300ft (80–100m) rise of the sea level,’ he said on his website. 

‘Result of such an event would be catastrophic to human civilisation and Earth’s biosphere.’
More than 75 per cent of the world’s population lives below 300ft (100m) above the sea level, including the vast majority of all large urban areas.

As the warming gradually progresses, scientists predict that we will experience more and more extreme weather events. Hurricanes, typhoons and massive floods will occur more frequently and on a much more devastating scale. 

The world’s deserts will expand, engulfing areas as large as the entire continent of Australia, including Southern Europe, the Caribbean and entire southeast of Africa.

‘Although this scenario is extremely unlikely to happen within our lifetimes, the truth is, that climate is going to change sharply,’ claims Mr Vargic.

‘Unless we limit our CO2 emissions to bare minimum, Earth will be more than 4°C warmer in the year 2100 as it is now.

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As the warming gradually progresses, scientists predict that we will experience more and more extreme weather events. Hurricanes, typhoons and massive floods will occur more frequently and on a much more devastating scale. The Amazon would burst its banks, engulfing huge areas in Brazil

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A huge chunk of Australia would be swamped by the Artesian Sea and Murray Gulf. World's deserts will expand, engulfing areas as large as the entire continent of Australia, including Southern Europe, the Caribbean and entire southeast of Africa

‘Such a rise in temperature would be destructive to environment and human civilisation as well.’

Scientists believe it could take around 5,000 years for temperatures to rise significantly enough to melt all the ice on the planet, but claim the planet is already seeing the beginnings of this.

Over the past century, reports suggest the Earth's temperature has increased by around half a degree Celsius and, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this has already caused sea levels to rise by around 7 inches (18cm).

The largest concentrations of ice on Earth are found in Greenland and Antarctica but it is also found on exposed areas, on mountain tops and in other regions.

The East Antarctica ice sheet, for example, is so large it contains around 80 per cent of all the ice on the planet and its size has protected it previously during warmer periods in Earth’s history.

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Martin Vargic imagines what Earth would look like if the ice sheets surrounding the North and South poles - which contains five million cubic miles of frozen water - melted. Pictured here is the Antarctic without its polar ice

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In Mr Vargic's depiction, the U.S. would shrink dramatically. A separate study found that if climate change continues, the first U.S. cities to feel extreme weather changes would be Honolulu and Phoenix, followed by San Diego and Orlando, in 2046

This includes during the Eocene epoch - a period of increased global temperatures that lasted from 56 to 34 million years ago.

During this period of time, little to no ice was present on Earth and there was little difference in temperature at the equator compared to the poles.

Warming oceans are already melting the floating ice sheet in west Antarctica and since 1992, and the sheet has lost around 65 million metric tonnes of ice each year.

In October, researchers at the University of Hawaii said that Earth is racing towards an apocalyptic future in which major cities such as New York and London could become uninhabitable. 

It added that the scenario is too late to reverse and mankind needs to prepare for a world where the coldest years will be warmer than what we remember as the hottest.

With the climate change trend continuing, it argued that New York City will begin to experience dramatic, life altering temperatures by 2047, Los Angeles by 2048 and London by 2056.

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National Geographic recently created a series of maps similar to Mr Vargic¿s, demonstrating the catastrophic effect Earth¿s ice could cause if it melted and flowed into the oceans and seas. If these ice sheets melted, the rest of the world would be affected. In Europe, pictured, cities including London and Venice would be lost underwater, as would the whole of the Netherlands and most of Denmark. It would also cause the Mediterranean to expand and swell the Black and Caspian Seas

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The last time the Earth was ice-free was 34 million years ago during the Eocene epoch. If this happened again, the entire Atlantic seaboard in the U.S would vanish, wiping out Florida and the Gulf Coast. While the hills in San Francisco would become islands and San Diego would be lost forever

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How Britain would look if the ice sheets melted. A large proportion of the country would be left underwater

However, if harmful greenhouse emissions are stabilised, New York would be able to stave off the inevitable changes until 2072 and London until 2088.

The first U.S. cities to feel the changes would be Honolulu and Phoenix, followed by San Diego and Orlando, in 2046. New York and Washington will get new climates around 2047, with Los Angeles, Detroit, Houston, Chicago, Seattle, Austin and Dallas a bit later.

By 2043, 147 cities — more than half of those studied — will have shifted to a hotter temperature regime that is beyond historical records - in what is known as Climate Departure.

To help depict such changes, National Geographic recently created a series of maps similar to Mr Vargic’s, demonstrating the catastrophic effect Earth’s ice could cause if it melted and flowed into the oceans and seas.

These maps show how the entire Atlantic seaboard in the U.S would vanish, wiping out Florida and the Gulf Coast. While the hills in San Francisco would become islands and San Diego would be lost forever.

In the east, China and Bangladesh would both be completely flooded, wiping out around 760 million people based on current population levels. The coastlines of India would also be reduced.

In South America, the Amazon Basin and the Paraguay River Basin would both become Atlantic inlets and this would wipe out Buenos Aires, coastal Uruguay, and some of Paraguay.

The only areas that would survive are mountainous stretches along the Caribbean coast and in Central America.

Read more:

• Halcyon Maps | The World ¿ Climate Change

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2609338/Would-YOU-underwater-polar-caps-melted-Map-reveals-planet-look-like-sea-levels-rose-260ft.html#ixzz2zZUiu274