ATHENS – Rising sea and ocean waters, a phenomenon worsened by climate change that world governments have done little to stop, are already damaging some coasts and islands, including Delos, with sites in Greece and Turkey in danger.

In a review of what the future could hold, the site Euronews said that more than half the historic sites on the coasts of Greece and Turkey are at a “very high” or “high” risk of going underwater by the end of the century as sea levels rise.

https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/08/26/over-a-third-of-turkiye-and-greeces-heritage-sites-threatened-by-rising-sea-levels-study-f

That was according to a study carried out by geoscientist Enes Zengin from Dumlupınar University’s Urban and Regional Planning Department using data from the 2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Report by the US National Ocean Service.

Zengin created inundation risk maps for five different scenarios with risk classes varying from very high to very low, according to global and local sea level rise predictions, the report said,

The study evaluated the vulnerability of 464 historical sites along the Eastern Mediterranean coasts of Turkey and Greece and found that 147 archaeological sites, castles, fortresses, towers, bridges, necropolises or ruins along the coastline will be at some level of risk in the next 50 years – even in the best-case scenario.

Delos, a UNESCO World Heritage site that was one of the most important religious sanctuaries in the Greek and Roman world has already seen structural damage due to increased flooding, the report said.

Some sites, such as the island of Delos near Mykonos, are already seeing structural damage due to increased flooding. The UNESCO world heritage site was one of the most important religious sanctuaries in the Greek and Roman world.

In Greece, the ancient cities of Sissi, Pavlopetri and Lokris were deemed to be at “very high” risk although the study found that 317 sites were found to be safe from inundation even in the worst-case scenario of a 5-meter (16.4 foot) sea level rise.

“To ensure the long-term success of these studies and safeguard humanity’s shared cultural heritage, it is imperative to prioritize the implementation of these studies in high-risk areas as soon as possible,” Zengin said.

He added that, “Swift action is necessary to mitigate potential threats such as natural disasters, human activities, and other factors that may pose a risk to cultural heritage resources, but such calls have been essentially ignored.