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The lights mark the projected rise of sea levels , Source: Línte na Farraig on Twitter

Light installation in Galway shows terrifying rising sea level projection for the next 150 years

Light installation in Galway shows terrifying rising sea level projection for the next 150 years

Coastal flooding is one of the most dangerous and threatening aspects of climate change since billions of people live near seas and oceans

Yesterday, Finnish artists Timo Aho and Pekka Niittyvirta created a light installation to illustrate the damaging effects of climate change in the city of Galway. Galway is a city on the west coast of Ireland and is also an important cultural and tourism hub in that country.

It also faces the Atlantic Ocean and since 2018, with Storm Eleanor ravaging the coast, it has become a popular destination to study the damaging effects of rising sea levels. This is what the installation in particular tries to tackle.

Línte na Farraige (Lines of the Sea), as the project is called, wants to show what it means for sea levels to rise by one metre – a moderate climate change scenario.

Science and art working together for climate change

The project was born from the collaboration between art and science, with the Finnish artists working with scientists from Trinity College Dublin and Maynooth University, the Climate Action Regional Offices (CAROs) and Galway authorities, as well as designers from Algorithm and Native Events.

Coastal flooding is one of the most threatening and hazardous aspects of climate change as large numbers of people live near coasts. Additionally, the number of sea-related extreme weather events is also set to increase, adding to the pressure.

To gauge the effects of the rising sea levels, the team used data and projections from the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change, published in August 2021.

Moreover, since sea levels were first measured in Galway in 1842, they have risen by about 25-30 centimetres. Also, the city has become the place to measure storm surges, a phenomenon caused by weather events that cause water above the normal tidal level.

In January 2018, Galway city was hit by Storm Eleanor and the event coincided with a high spring tide resulting in a storm surge. Then water levels rose by about 90 centimetres above the base of the Spanish Arch – a 1584 quay stone building on the city’s port.

The line for the light installation of Línte na Farraige however, sits at 1.9 metres above the arch’s base. This indicates the predicted rise in sea levels during a similar storm surge in 2150, when sea levels have risen by one metre – a moderate climate change scenario.

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