5 Tourism Destinations That Are Disappearing Due to Global Warming Effects

Global warming will likely have major effects on the tourism industry, so if your heart is set on seeing glaciers and coral reefs, you might want to start planning.

Proponents of climate change state the increase of the world’s average temperature, rising sea levels, lowering lake levels, and increases in the occurrences of disastrous events such as flooding and hurricanes could cause destruction for some of the most popular vacation locations.

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Here are a few tourism destinations that could be in danger:

1. The Alps
The Alps have been warming at three times the global average, says the Organization for Economic Co-Operation according to the Scientific American. With glaciers retreating and snow lines heightening, skiing on the famous slopes could be threatened.

2. Coral reefs
Since ocean water absorbs carbon dioxide, and there is more and more of that being put into the atmosphere, ocean waters are becoming more acidic and warm in temperature. Those changes are causing corals to be unable to calcify their skeletons and destroying Caribbean coral reefs, which are major tourism destinations for fans of diving. According to the World Resources Institute, "If local and global threats are left unchecked, the percentage of threatened reefs will increase to more than 90 percent by 2030 and to nearly all reefs by 2050."

3. Alaska
Alaska's glaciers and tundra climate are in jeopardy as parts of the area are warming five times faster than other parts of the world, The Boston Globe reported.

4. Venice, Italy
Venice, where the streets are made of water, is at major flooding risk from rising sea levels. But it's not just flooding that would be a problem, according to Greenpeace International: "As it stands, it's not just the city which will be submerged, but its crucial tourism industry will drag the entire country's economy beneath the tides of the rising Adriatic sea."

5. Island nations
The Pacific island of Tuvalu, which at its highest point is only 15 feet above sea level, has plans to eventually completely evacuate the island due to fears of rising water. "We face the real prospect of losing three nations: Tuvalu, neighbouring Kiribati and the Maldives in the Indian Ocean," Dr. Clive Hamilton, executive director of the Australia Institute think tank, told The Telegraph.

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