A map currently floating around social media claims to show what the US would look like after the climate crisis raises global sea levels.
This weekend, a map went viral on Twitter and garnered over ninety-six thousand “likes” even though it’s completely inaccurate. The post, which reads “Scientists say this map represents the US in 30 years if we don’t reverse climate change”, doesn’t show a potential future shoreline -- it’s just a photo-edit of the Mediterranean Sea on top of the US.
Sea level rise does legitimately threaten many coastal communities and ecosystems in North America, just not in the way shown in this image.
There’s a few obvious tells that this is a fake map, even for people who might be unfamiliar with the shape of the Mediterranean. For one, the iconic boot shape of Italy is sticking out from the southeast corner of Montana, complete with Sicily hovering somewhere near Kansas.
Secondly, the “oceans” are mostly concentrated in the middle part of the country, as opposed to the coasts. As sea level rises, the coastlines are going to be eaten away, carving out low-elevation areas in states like Florida, Delaware and the Carolinas.
This map, on the other hand, shows those low elevation coastal areas completely unchanged, with oceans instead filling in over the Rocky Mountains, which sit over a mile (1,609 metres) above sea level.
The Associated Press reports that the photo originates from a 2015 blog post by architect Bret Drager, who only intended to see...
You don't have permission to access "http://biz.chosun.com/en/en-policy/2026/05/13/2HN2WQNDIBDIHAYG2WCLNSLBYU/" on this server. Reference #18.9e033817.1778664023.2326d3f https://errors.edgesuite.n...