page_title: Climate change in Massachusetts
section_title: Sea level rise
hierarchical_section_title: Climate change in Massachusetts / Impacts of climate change / Sea level rise
caption_attribution_description: The Low Elevation Coastal Zone (LECZ) Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates Version 2 dataset provides continent-level and country-level estimates of land area and urban, rural, and total population for 202 statistical areas (countries and other UN recognized territories). Population inputs were derived from Gridded Rural-Urban Mapping Project, Version 1 (GRUMPv1). Elevation data were derived from the Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) 90 meter dataset.
context_page_description: Climate change in Massachusetts will affect both urban and rural environments, including forestry, fisheries, agriculture, and coastal development. The Northeast is projected to warm faster than global average temperatures; by 2035, the Northeast is "projected to be more than 3.6°F warmer on average than during the preindustrial era."
context_section_description: The city of Boston has identified specific projects in East Boston, Charlestown, and South Boston that would raise small parcels of land and use temporary barriers in key locations to prevent flooding during storms, which due to climate change will be higher than present.  In 2016, Climate Ready Boston recommended studying the feasibility of a storm tidal barrier for Boston Harbor. The resulting report from the University of Massachusetts Boston Sustainable Solutions Lab concluded that such a barrier would not be cost-effective compared to a larger number of smaller-scale on-shore projects. A 2016 Executive Order established a climate change strategy for the Commonwealth.
  A 2018 noreaster caused flooding in downtown Boston, Quincy, and Scituate, raising more concerns about the impact of sea level rise.
caption: Population density and elevation above sea level in Greater Boston, U.S. (2010)
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