NASA Predicts That a Moon Wobble Will Cause Coastal Floods Here on Earth in the 2030s

Outer space may seem like a distant place, but the inner workings of the planets, stars, and more do impact our world on an everyday basis. And just over ten years from now, there could be hazardous conditions here on Earth because of the moon. NASA Sea Level Change Science team members from the University of Hawaii conducted a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change that revealed high-tide floods will begin on Earth in the mid-2030s, CNN reports.

The lunar cycle in the next decade will boost the rising sea levels because of the climate change issues already happening on our planet. The team did explain that the northern coastlines (like along Alaska) will be impacted most because of the geological changes are already leading to the land rising.

While high-tide floods don't involve as much water as hurricane storms, they can still be dangerous for communities. "It's the accumulated effect over time that will have an impact," Phil Thompson, an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii's department of oceanography, said in a news statement. "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 researchers believe the floods could happen in clusters, which could end up lasting over one month at a time in the mid-2030s based on how the moon, Earth, and sun are positioned. On the other hand, some cities could just experience flooding every other day or two. The reason for the high-tide flooding in the next decade is because of the moon's 18.6-year cycle. The moon is in a state that will cause high and low tides in the future. And since the moon will wobble in its orbit and sea levels will continue to rise, the gravitational pull from the moon will create the tides on Earth and prompt flooding. "Global sea level rise will have been at work for another decade. The higher seas, amplified by the lunar cycle, will cause a leap in flood numbers on almost all U.S. mainland coastlines, Hawaii, and Guam," a NASA news release read.