Extreme sea levels and coastal flooding

This indicator reports changes in the frequency of historically 1-in-100-year floods along the European coastline. Such floods are caused by extreme sea levels, particularly during storm surges.

Extreme sea levels have increased at most locations along the European coastline. Both observed and projected increases can be explained mainly by increases in mean local sea levels. However, extreme sea levels can be further increased by storm surges and tidal changes, particularly along the northern European coastline. In the absence of better coastal protection, the sea level rise projected for 2100 will increase the frequency of extreme coastal flooding events by a factor of 10 to more than 1 000 along most European coastlines, depending on the location and the emissions scenario.