This century could be make-or-break for climate change. If things continue “business as usual” and no action is taken to slash carbon emissions, it is estimated there will be up to a 4.5°C (8.1°F ) increase in global temperatures by 2100.

Just in time for the global United Nations climate talks in Paris in a few weeks, Climate Central has released images showing the dramatic effect this temperature rise is expected to have on sea levels and the subsequent changes to notable landmarks around our world, including London, Shanghai, Mumbai, Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, Durban and New York. They also included a warming of 2°C (3.6°F) for comparison, which is the widely agreed on limit we should aim to adhere to if we want to avoid catastrophic consequences worldwide.

The images were created by visual artist Nickolay Lamm using recent peer-reviewed research on carbon emission's affect on sea levels, along with a recent report that described the application of those projections to different landscapes.

New York City

 

 

^{Image credit: Nickolay Lamm/Climate Central}

London

 

 

^{Image credit: Nickolay Lamm/Climate Central}

Durban

 

 

^{Image credit: Nickolay Lamm/Climate Central}

Shanghai

 

 

^{Image credit: Nickolay Lamm/Climate Central}

Mumbai

 

 

^{Image credit: Nickolay Lamm/Climate Central}

Sydney

 

 

^{Image credit: Nickolay Lamm/Climate Central}

Rio De Janeiro