News

Rising sea-level data are always striking, even though they’re not new. They become even more alarming when the areas at risk are our own coasts, beaches, and favourite shorelines. Earlier this year, the European Environment Agency (EEA) published the report “Global and European sea level rise,” recently highlighted by the Dutch company Reinders Corporations, which pointed out several iconic Mediterranean beaches among those most at risk — including Porto Giunco, Villasimius.

According to the EEA, between 2006 and 2018 the Mediterranean Sea rose by 3.7 mm per year, more than twice the average rate of the previous century. Sea levels in Europe are rising at an increasingly rapid pace, and this phenomenon is already reshaping coastal morphology in a significant way.

If emissions do not decrease, sea levels could rise by up to one metre by 2100.

In the worst-case scenario, with a rapid collapse of the polar ice sheet, the increase could reach five metres by 2150.

For MEDSEA – which has been studying coastal dynamics in the Mediterranean for years – this change is not a distant figure but an ongoing process with visible, concrete effects: erosion, shoreline retreat, habitat loss, dune instability, and irreversible transformations in the back-dune wetlands. The issue affects several areas in Sardinia and across Mediterranean coastlines, not just a few specific beaches.

Why this is really happening: the role of sea-level rise and new climate extremes

The Mediterranean is undergoing an accelerated transformation of its coastlines. Sea-level rise is now measurable and continuous, acting together with more frequent extreme events and growing human pressure on coastal ecosystems. The result is a much faster shoreline retreat, already visible in many areas.

Alessio Satta, climate-change expert at MEDSEA, explains the phenomenon in clear terms:

“Sea-level rise doesn’t act alone; it becomes a risk multiplier for all other factors,” he says. Satta breaks down the dynamics: “Waves and storm surges now start from a higher baseline. This is crucial: if the average sea level rises by several tens of centimetres, waves no longer begin from the old level, but from a higher starting point. In practice, wave energy no longer needs to ‘overcome’ the beach — it reaches it directly. One metre more means waves can hit areas that were previously untouched, accelerating erosion significantly.”

The effect is amplified by changes in wind patterns and extreme events.

“In the Mediterranean, storm surges are already more intense. Higher wind speeds — especially Scirocco, Libeccio and Maestrale — transfer more energy to the waves. A single storm surge today can produce the same impact as three storm surges twenty years ago.”

But it’s not just stronger waves. The physical system that shapes beaches is shifting.

“Currents and wave motion no longer follow historical patterns. This disrupts sediment balance: sand is removed more quickly, it no longer returns where it’s needed, and many beaches literally begin to rotate or retreat, especially those enclosed between headlands.”

On top of this comes the weakening of natural barriers.

“Embryonic and fixed dunes, backshore areas, Posidonia seagrass meadows — these systems have protected coasts for millennia. Today they are degraded or fragmented by human pressure and can no longer perform their function. This is where the combined effect of higher seas, more energetic waves and fragile habitats becomes explosive.”

Human pressure makes everything worse

Across the Mediterranean, the coastal zone is overloaded: urbanisation, mass tourism, infrastructure, access points and trampling destroy dunes and disrupt the natural sand exchange. Where dunes and Posidonia are missing, the beach loses its “stability reserve”: a single stronger storm can cause permanent damage.

But what can actually be done? Solutions exist, but they require continuity, scientific knowledge and clear political choices. The most effective long-term actions are well known: restoring dune systems with soft techniques such as cane fences and renaturalisation; protecting and replanting Posidonia oceanica, essential for stabilising the seabed (see MEDSEA’s campaign A Marine Forest to Save the Planet); restoring wetlands and lagoons that absorb wave energy; stopping new construction in high-risk areas and establishing real coastal buffer zones. Not least, continuous monitoring and local adaptation plans built on verified data.

Hard engineering works? They should be used only in extreme cases: they solve the problem where they’re installed, but shift erosion elsewhere, worsening the situation in the medium term.

MEDSEA’s conclusion is clear. It’s not about “saving” every beach, but choosing where to intervene and with what priority, building credible adaptation.

Adapting today costs less than rebuilding tomorrow. And many Mediterranean coasts already show that there is no time left to postpone.

As Alessio Satta summarises: “Change is underway. We can choose whether to endure it or manage it. The only path is adaptation — done well, and done now.”

Alessio Satta

Climate Changhe MEDSEA