
Port of Malmö could be submerged by 2100
Climate change is a tangible threat to Swedish society and the state must up its game, according to the Swedish
Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR).
A newly-published report, co-authored by SALAR and the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), finds that, if greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, today, Sweden will be about 5 degrees warmer around 2100 compared to the end of the 19th century. According to the scenarios, this would mean, for example, that the sea level will be raised by about one meter and that heavy downpours will become more common.
- In Malmö, the sea level can rise by one meter or more. When extreme weather with waves and wind will occur, large parts of Malmö’s port area risk being submerged, including important infrastructure such as the station area and several major roads. Extreme weather would pose a danger to human health and also damage to real estate and large costs for society.
- 50 days a year, Norrköping would have an average temperature of over 20 degrees, three times more than the last few decades’ average. The risk of heat waves, droughts and fires increases, affecting also human health and ecosystems.
- For the Municipality of Härjedalen the snow season in the ski resorts would be reduced dramatically. In Vemdalen, the snow season would become 3.5 months, almost a halving compared to the average for the period 1961–1990, when the snow lay for 6 months. This would probably mean a considerable reduction in revenue from tourism, which is important for the municipality. The reindeer husbandry would also suffer greatly.
If the emissions instead decrease and the heating for Sweden’s part brakes at about 3 degrees, extreme weather events in Malmö will not be as common and not as powerful, the days with high temperatures will be almost half as many in Norrköping and the number of snowy days in Vemdalen will decrease half as fast, compared to a 5-degree scenario. Report (in Swedish) can be found here.