Upcoming Moon ‘wobble’ could cause mass FLOODING across Earth, scientists warn

A NASA study has revealed how a ‘wobble’ in the Moon’s orbit could cause devastating flooding in the 2030s.

Research led by the US space agency predicts cities along the country’s coast could see three or four times as many high-tide flood days annually for a decade.

Nasa.govNasa made this map to show sea surface height anomalies in June 2021 and revealed some sea levels have been 10 to 15cm higher than normal[/caption]

The Moon’s gravitational pull impacts tidal forces on Earth.

A known ‘wobble’ in it’s orbit combined with rising sea levels could see some extreme tides, according to concerned researchers.

Nasa’s study about the potential problem has been published online in the journal Nature Climate Change.

It warns that coastal cities all over the world could see extra flood days clustered together over a few months in the year.

It means places that face a few floods a month could face dozens more.

This could have devastating impacts for people living along coastlines.

“Seeping cesspools become a public health issue.”

Lead study author Phil Thompson, an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii, said: “It’s the accumulated effect over time that will have an impact.

“If it floods 10 or 15 times a month, a business can’t keep operating with its parking lot under water.

“People lose their jobs because they can’t get to work. Seeping cesspools become a public health issue.”

The study notes how sea level rise connected to climate change is already causing issues.

The scientists are worried that rising sea levels coupled with a ‘wobble’ in the Moon’s orbit that’s already been observed could be a dangerous combination.

The Moon is said to wobble on a 18.6-year cycle and that changes its positioning to Earth ever so slightly.

This slight change can amplify or suppress tides depending on where the Moon is in its cycle, according to Nasa.

The tide-amplifying part of the Moon cycle is currently happening now and the next one is set to happen in the mid 2030s.

The researchers think by the mid 2030s, sea levels could have risen so much that amplified tides could cause major issues.

They think this could cause rapid flooding across the entire US coast and flooding will change “from a regional issue to a national issue with a majority of US coastlines being affected.”

As the extreme tidal events are only expected to happen in monthly clusters, the researchers think there would be time to prepare for them.

Study co-author and Nasa scientist Ben Hamlington said: “Understanding that all your events are clustered in a particular month, or you might have more severe flooding in the second half of a year than the first — that’s useful information.”

Since 1880, average sea levels across the globe have risen about 8 to 9 inches.

Around a third of that rise is said to have happened over the past 25 years and sea levels are predicted to rise even more in the next decade.

AlamyThe Moon’s gravitational pull impacts tides on Earth[/caption]

In other news, scientists have identified the place where aliens are most likely lurking in the Milky Way.

Aliens may have dropped life-detecting sensors onto Earth, according to a Harvard University professor.

And, China launched three astronauts into orbit to continue building its own space station.

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