Seaside towns that will be underwater by 2050 - is yours at risk?

Rising sea levels across the UK pose a threat to our seaside towns — but which ones are most at risk?

From Norfolk to Northumberland and to Sussex, these coastal resorts are on the frontline of rising seas. By 2080, 1.5million homes will be at risk of flooding say scientists who have warned the Environmental Audit Committee.

Global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have already locked in a 17.5 to 52.4mm sea level rise by 2100, but the consequences for the UK could be severe long before then. An interactive map produced by – a US-based non-profit researching the impacts of global warming – shows that many of these places may well be engulfed by the waves as soon as 2050.

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The areas most at risk are coastal and low-lying areas which are most at risk of flooding due to rising sea levels in the coming years. Bude in Cornwall is to have its town centre reclaimed by the for example. Lynmouth in North Devon and Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset are due to suffer a similar fate. Other seaside spots across the UK are likely to suffer the same issue, reports .

For example, the seaside towns of Wales risk irreversible flooding. Most likely to be lost to the ocean are Aberaeron, Fairbourne and Rhyl.

Using the interactive map, it becomes apparent from viewing the UK as a whole that the area that is predicted to be impacted the most is the are along the coast from Humberston, down to Skegness, engulfing Boston, stretching all the way to Borne and Peterborough, and finally reaching the edges of It is also set to submerge King's Lynn.

While the risk may not seem imminent now, the future of these much loved seaside towns remains uncertain and unlikely.

The imminent threat of rising sea levels isn't confined to quiet seaside towns, as bustling urban hubs like Newport, Blackpool, and Cardiff are also facing the danger of losing land to the encroaching sea. Even Merseyside's Southport, in the north, is under threat.

The gravity of the situation was underscored by Jim Hall, professor of climate and environmental risks at Oxford University, who welcomed a previous analysis, stating: "Even if the could afford to build coast protection everywhere – which they cannot – the things that many people cherish about the coast, like beaches and sand dunes, will eventually become submerged unless we start to plan now for how the coastline can adjust to rising sea levels."