Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Climate Change Turning NYC Into Deep South But With More Flooding, Fewer Waffle Houses
By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 11, 2013
Modified Jun 11, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Ultraclay on Flickr
By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 11, 2013
Modified Jun 11, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Dangerous weather patterns resulting from global warming are rapidly turning NYC into a hot sticky wet hellhole, according to a group of scientists assembled by the Bloomberg administration. You can peruse the full overview of their dire report here on the mayor's office Flickr, but the takeaway is alarming: by 2050, scientists predict NYC summers will be on par with Birmingham, Alabama, with an estimated 57 days a year above 90 degrees. For the past three decades, NYC has averaged 18 days a year at or above 90 degrees.
Heat waves are a significantly greater cause of death than any other natural disaster, but if the New York City Panel on Climate Change proves correct, more New Yorkers will also be at risk to flooding than previously anticipated. When the panel released its first study in 2009, it expected sea levels would rise by two to five inches by the 2020s. But in a sign of how rapidly the impact of climate change is unfolding, scientists now say sea levels will rise four to eight inches by 2020, and possibly as high as 11 inches.
Rainfall is also expected to increase 10%. Since the early '70s, NYC has averaged three days out of the year with 2 inches of rainfall or more. By 2020, scientists expect four days to exceed that amount of rain, on average.
That's just great. (NYC Mayor's Office Panel on Climate Change)
The dire new estimates project that more than 800,000 NYC residents will live in the 100-year flood plain by the 2050s, compared to the 398,000 currently in the zone. "When they've looked at what the potential storm surge for a so-called 100-year flood could be, the height of that 100-year flood could be five to six feet higher than Sandy in the out-years," said Seth Pinsky of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
This afternoon Mayor Bloomberg will announce plans to prepare the NYC for the increased nastiness to come. Sources tell NY1 that Bloomberg's plans will include dunes in the Rockaways, a storm gate at Newtown Creek and man-made ways to break waves off Staten Island's South Shore.
"We're going to need to make investments as a city, significant investments, if we're going to make sure that we're going to be protected over the long term," Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway told reporters at City Hall yesterday. "This is something that we can address, but it's not going to be easy. There’s going to be a real cost to inaction."
Tagged
climate change
global warming
mayor bloomberg
PlaNYC
science
weather
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Police are still investigating bike crash that killed dad of 2 in Central Park
The family is raising money for the wife and two daughters he leaves behind.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Sep 29, 2026 at 9:31 a.m. ET
NYC has a plan to stop homeless people from cycling between hospitals and the streets
The Bridge to Home program, which began last year, will officially expand to Brooklyn on Tuesday.
By
Karen Yi
News
NYC has a plan to stop homeless people from cycling between hospitals and the streets
The Bridge to Home program, which began last year, will officially expand to Brooklyn on Tuesday.
By
Karen Yi
Early Addition: Billy Joel is auctioning off 70 of his motorcycles
By
James Ramsay
Man dragged to death by subway in Brooklyn after getting caught on closing doors
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Upper East Side braces for affordable housing fast track, and backlash from residents
By
David Brand
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .