Tuesday 12 July 2022

Viral map of US in 2050 found out to be Mediterranean Sea

An image of a map claiming to demonstrate the impacts of climate change on the US by 2050 has gone viral on Twitter.

However, the image has now been debunked; proven to be simply the Mediterranean Sea on top of the country.

The image amassed more than 101,000 likes – looking to scare the public with how rising sea levels could impact the world in the next three decades.

The tweet reads: “Scientists say this map represents the US in 30 years if we don’t reverse climate change.”

However, with a closer look, it’s easy to see that Italy, with its infamous boot shape, is sitting right on top of what would supposedly be the state of Montana.

https://twitter.com/mrj880/status/1545450683897466880?s=20&t=UF8ReciOwfx9ELU4_gd_gg

According to reports, the original photo comes from a 2015 blog post by Bret Drager – an architect simply looking to see if the Mediterranean Sea could fit inside the US.

He has revealed that the image has been used as a climate change myth on many occasions and he has had to come out and publicly deny the claims.

Sea level rises are a tangible threat to the US, however, would likely impact the coasts first.

In this image, the sea is prominent in the centre of the country – whereas in actuality, states such as North Carolina and Florida are in more danger of being submerged.

The IPCC has predicted that sea levels could rise by half a metre by 2100 – and that’s even if the world takes momentous action to quash greenhouse gas emissions.

Social media has become a more common place for climate myths to gain traction – but this one is certainly fake.