It's in a strong position: Wealthy, with a government that recognizes the danger of climate change, and a river that can -- for now -- be shut off from dangerous tidal and storm surges.At least 1 million Londoners live in the estuary's natural floodplain and 16% of the city's properties -- 84,000 -- are considered to be at"significant or moderate risk."
"I have to admit, I come up to London quite a lot, and this is one of the highest I've seen it ," Haigh said. Spanning 520 meters across the Thames, the barrier uses 10 enormous steel gates to shut the city off from tidal surge. Each gate, which rotates into position, stands more than five stories high.
"Sea level rise is a relatively slow process," Haigh said."But it's starting to accelerate. So although we don't see a trend now, with sea levels accelerating after 2050, or even before, that trend should become apparent."Those who run the barrier said it was a close call whether to close it that day. The tide got to about 40 centimeters away from the trigger point -- a complex calculation depending on the type and location of high water.
That means we will likely see a meter of sea level rise by 2100, from a combination of warmer water, which expands, and melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica.The Thames Barrier is only expected to last until 2070.