A new study in the journal Nature says most sea level rise research may have underestimated coastal water heights by an average of 1 foot or about 30 centimeters. The discrepancy stems from widespread reliance on gravitational models that account for Earth’s gravity and rotation but overlook local drivers of sea level including tides, currents and wind. Correcting this suggests a 1-meter or 3-foot rise could inundate up to 37% more land and threaten as many as 132 million more people. And that has major implications for climate adaption planning and finance. The findings come as a new UNESCO report warns that major gaps in understanding how much carbon the ocean absorbs are also skewing global climate projections.

The Trump administration’s revocation of a scientific finding that climate change is a danger to public health is likely to affect communities of color the most. Extensive research has found that Black, Latino, Indigenous and other racial and ethnic groups are more vulnerable to the health consequences from climate change than white people. The Environmental Protection Agency, in a 2021 report, concluded the same. That EPA report found, for example, that Black people were 40% more likely to live in places with the highest projected increases in deaths because of extreme heat driven by climate change.