Half of the world's beaches could disappear by the end of the century, study finds

Updated 1609 GMT (0009 HKT) March 2, 2020

<strong>Ocean City, Maryland. </strong>Ocean City's beach is an important economic driver for the local economy, but the city has had to spend millions of dollars in recent years to dredge up sand to keep up with the quickening pace of erosion.

Photos: Climate crisis threatens favorite beaches worldwide

Ocean City, Maryland. Ocean City's beach is an important economic driver for the local economy, but the city has had to spend millions of dollars in recent years to dredge up sand to keep up with the quickening pace of erosion.

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<strong>Barceloneta Beach, Barcelona. </strong>This man-made beach in the heart of Barcelona, Spain, draws millions of visitors each year, but strong storms and rising seas have reduced the size of the beach significantly.

Photos: Climate crisis threatens favorite beaches worldwide

Barceloneta Beach, Barcelona. This man-made beach in the heart of Barcelona, Spain, draws millions of visitors each year, but strong storms and rising seas have reduced the size of the beach significantly.

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<strong>Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro. </strong>This iconic Brazilian beach has been hit hard by a series of extreme storm surge events that have damaged the beach and sent sand spilling into surrounding streets.

Photos: Climate crisis threatens favorite beaches worldwide

Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro. This iconic Brazilian beach has been hit hard by a series of extreme storm surge events that have damaged the beach and sent sand spilling into surrounding streets.

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<strong>Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. </strong>Surfers Paradise has dealt with erosion problems for years, but the cost of beach nourishment is expected to climb steeply as sea levels rise.

Photos: Climate crisis threatens favorite beaches worldwide

Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Surfers Paradise has dealt with erosion problems for years, but the cost of beach nourishment is expected to climb steeply as sea levels rise.

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<strong>Santa Monica Beach, Los Angeles. </strong>Santa Monica Beach has already been drastically altered by humans over the years, and with a 66% chance that sea levels could rise more than three feet in the next 80 years, the beach's future remains uncertain.

Photos: Climate crisis threatens favorite beaches worldwide

Santa Monica Beach, Los Angeles. Santa Monica Beach has already been drastically altered by humans over the years, and with a 66% chance that sea levels could rise more than three feet in the next 80 years, the beach's future remains uncertain.

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<strong>South Beach, Miami Beach, Florida. </strong>Miami Beach's art-deco buildings and high-end real estate sit just feet above sea level, putting the city and its beach at serious risk from rising seas.

Photos: Climate crisis threatens favorite beaches worldwide

South Beach, Miami Beach, Florida. Miami Beach's art-deco buildings and high-end real estate sit just feet above sea level, putting the city and its beach at serious risk from rising seas.

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<strong>Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii. </strong>The quintessential Hawaiian shoreline, Waikiki Beach could vanish in the next 15 to 20 years, according to a 2017 Hawaii Climate Commission report.

Photos: Climate crisis threatens favorite beaches worldwide

Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii. The quintessential Hawaiian shoreline, Waikiki Beach could vanish in the next 15 to 20 years, according to a 2017 Hawaii Climate Commission report.

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<strong>Ocean Beach, San Francisco. </strong>After recent El Niño events consumed large chunks of this California beach, San Francisco has adopted a strategy of nourishing the beach by dredging sand and moving critical infrastructure further inland.

Photos: Climate crisis threatens favorite beaches worldwide

Ocean Beach, San Francisco. After recent El Niño events consumed large chunks of this California beach, San Francisco has adopted a strategy of nourishing the beach by dredging sand and moving critical infrastructure further inland.

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(CNN)Climate change poses an existential threat to the world's sandy beaches, and that as many as half of them could disappear by the end of the century, a new study has found.

Even by 2050 some coastlines could be unrecognizable from what we see today, with 14% to 15% facing severe erosion.

While the amount of beach lost will vary by location, the study found that many densely populated areas -- including those along the US East Coast, South Asia and Central Europe -- could see some shorelines retreat inland by nearly 330 feet (100 meters) by 2100.

"We considered the threshold of 100 meters because if erosion exceeds 100 meters, then this means that most likely, the beach is going to disappear because most of the world's beaches are even narrower than 100 meters," said Michalis Vousdoukas, a coastal oceanographer and scientific officer at the European Commission who was a lead author of the study. "In a way, we consider this to be a conservative assessment."

The study was published Monday in the scientific Jo