In the aftermath of the CNN presidential debate, former President Donald Trump took aim at President Joe Biden’s stance on climate change by making a misleading statement about sea levels.
Speaking at a rally in Virginia, Trump dismissed the idea that climate change is a threat, contrary to the consensus among scientists. He specifically targeted Biden’s assertion that climate change is the only existential threat to humanity.
Trump quipped, “He said it again last night, that global warming is an existential threat. And I say that the thing that’s an existential threat is not global warming, where the ocean will rise – maybe, it may go down, also – but it may rise one eighth of an inch in the next 497 years, they say. One eighth.” He even joked, “Which gives you a little bit more waterfront property if you’re lucky enough though.”
However, Trump’s claim about the pace of sea level rise is far from accurate. NASA reported earlier this year that sea levels are currently rising at a rate of 0.17 inches per year, more than what Trump suggested for the next 497 years.
In fact, the rate of sea level rise is already more than an eighth of an inch annually and is increasing. NASA found a significant jump of 0.3 inches between 2022 and 2023.
Gary Griggs, a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who studies sea level rise, criticized Trump’s comments as being out of touch with reality. He emphasized that sea levels rise at different rates in different locations and that some areas, like Florida, will be severely impacted by rising sea levels.
For instance, data from a tide gauge near Mar-a-Lago shows an increase of an eighth of an inch roughly every nine months, debunking Trump’s claims about sea level rise in that area.
Trump has a history of making inaccurate statements about sea level rise, often exaggerating the timeline over which it will occur. Despite his jokes about waterfront property, rising sea levels pose a serious threat to coastal communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems, with potential devastating consequences for many areas.
