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Outta this life...
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Britain in 2205 could be ‘The Drowned World’... If global warming triggers a rise in sea levels, the future for the UK isles ain’t great. The computer-generated images show how Britain could look in 200 years if nothing is done to address carbon-dioxide emissions.
This “doomsday” scenario would see sea levels rise 84 metres.
Most of England would be under water, with only the mountains of Wales and Scotland, the South-West uplands and the spine of England surviving. It’s also been predicted that London will be affected by a seven-metre rise in sea levels caused by melting polar ice - the more likely scenario than international experts expect to see if steps are taken to reduce global warming.
Under these predictions, the tidal Thames would burst its banks, rendering much of central London uninhabitable. Southwark, Lewisham, Greenwich, Tower Hamlets, Bexley and Barking & Dagenham would all be entirely under water. Large areas of south Essex and North Kent would also be lost, along with landmarks such as Big Ben, Parliament and the Tower.
Pretty much all that could be left of Central London would be the City, as it’s built on a hill.
Our pride that is the Thames Barrier, for instance, will not save us even if strengthened because the rise of water would simply overwhelm it. The experts claim - the only realistic scenario would be to abandon large parts of London.
[For a version of a submerged future, find J.G. Ballard’s debut novel ‘The Drowned World’, originally published in 1962.]
Igor Mrtvak
27-6-2005