Department of Land and Natural Resources

JOSH GREEN, M.D. GOVERNOR

DAWN CHANG CHAIRPERSON

UPDATED SEA LEVEL RISE VIEWER SUPPORTS SMARTER COASTAL PLANNING

HONOLULU – The Hawaiʻi Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission (CCMAC) has launched an updated version of the State of Hawaiʻi Sea Level Rise Viewer, an online tool giving communities and local officials clearer insight into the growing threats facing our coastlines.

Hawaiʻi is projected to experience four feet of sea level rise, up from 3.2, by the end of the century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says sea level rise will continue for thousands of years, even with drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

The viewer was developed through partnership between the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS); the Coastal Research Collaborative at the University of Hawaiʻi and the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program; along with CCMAC, DLNR, and the Hawaiʻi Office of Planning and Sustainable Development. Improvements include expanded data, user-friendly guidance and social vulnerability indicators.

First released in 2017, this update seeks to help Hawaiʻi residents, planners and beachgoers get a better picture of how sea level rise may impact them at a range of projected heights. A new feature is the addition of passive flooding layers between four and eight feet from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which provides valuable information about high-tide still-water flooding in higher sea level rise conditions.

The viewer contains descriptions of the NOAA data as well as guidance on when to use different sea level rise scenarios and data sets from state sea level rise reports. The updates also include the addition of a “social indicators” layer which allows users to view factors that can contribute to vulnerability from sea level rise impacts, such as houses built before 1970, with household members over the age of 65 and those identified as low income. Organizations can use this data to enhance community resilience and inform adaptation planning in coastal areas.

“Sea level rise isn’t a distant forecast – it’s happening now and its impacts are already being felt across Hawai‘i,” said State of Hawai‘i Climate Coordinator Leah Laramee. “We need tools like the Sea Level Rise Viewer to make informed planning and policy decisions. These updates give our communities and leaders clearer, more actionable information so we can plan smarter, protect people and respond to the realities unfolding along our shores.”

This update supports an informed community and makes steps toward addressing the many planning and design recommendations in the 2017 and 2022 Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Reports.

To continue these efforts, CCMAC is beginning work on a 10-year update to the 2017 Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Report.

 

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RESOURCES

(All images/video courtesy: DLNR)

State of Hawaiʻi Sea Level Rise Viewer: https://www.pacioos.hawaii.edu/shoreline/slr-hawaii/

Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Reports:

Hawai’i Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Report 2017

Hawai’i Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Report 2022 Update

 

Media Contact: 

Patti Jette

Communications Specialist

Hawai‘i Dept. of Land and Natural Resources

Email: [email protected]