Andhra Pradesh likely to see a 20-cm rise in sea level by 2050 due to global warming

The adverse impacts, which are conspicuous along the coastal belt of the combined West and East Godavari districts and a few other locations, call for drawing of appropriate strategies.
| Photo Credit: File Photo

Andhra Pradesh’s 1,030-km-long coastline is a boon for the State government as it offers tremendous opportunities for economic growth.

But, it also poses a big challenge in the form of adverse impacts of the constant sea-level rise, which is conspicuous along the coastal belt of the combined West and East Godavari districts and a few other locations.

The extent of land mass being devoured by the rising sea in those places every year is a case point.

Air temperature

Now, the Draft State Action Plan on Climate Change 2025-2030 (SAPCC) has predicted the sea-level rise due to global warming to be about 20 cm and 62 cm by 2050 and 2100 respectively corresponding to a 1.50-2° C increase in air temperature, on the basis of extensive data obtained from multiple sources, including the India Meteorological Department and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the U.S.

These projections necessitate the drawing of appropriate strategies to mitigate the effects of climate change, which are considered “irreversible on the timescale of humans alive today.”

The Climate Change Cell of the Environment, Forests, Science and Technology Department of Andhra Pradesh is in the process of finalising the SAPCC, which estimates that the rise in the sea level by approximately 0.80 m (>2° C in temperature) can inundate about 43% of the low-lying areas within the identified coastal landscapes, impacting 282 villages within 2 metre elevation along the coastline, and that the sea level rise has gradually increased around 3 mm per year along the Indian coast in the recent years.

Displacement of people

Prepared with the support of the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) and KPMG, the SAPCC flags the likelihood of displacement of 0.30, 0.65 and 1.29 million people by the sea level rise as temperatures rise by 1°, 1.50° and >2° C.

It has assessed that the sea-level rise along Nellore, Guntur and West Godavari will be approximately 0.20 metres in 25 years, i.e. by the year 2050, far relatively higher compared to other districts.

Rise in poverty

Besides, the Krishna and Godavari delta regions are expected to become highly prone to sea-level rise due to the steadily changing climate.

The SAPCC mentions that as per an estimate a total area of 35,000 hectares of prime agricultural land in coastal Andhra Pradesh will become saline due to the imminent sea-level rise, leading to lesser productivity of land resources and a consequent reduction in incomes and an increase in poverty in the vulnerable coastal areas in the foreseeable future.

Published – August 17, 2025 07:44 pm IST

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