The Moon Is Wobbling

Besides extreme heat this summer and wildfires, American coastlines have been facing increasing high tide floods. On that last item, NASA says this is due to a “wobble” in the moon’s orbit working in tandem with climate change-fueled rising sea levels.

Since not all have been reading the journal Nature Climate Change, I’ll fill you in on what NASA and the University of Hawaii reported: upcoming changes in the moon’s orbit could lead to record flooding on Earth in the next decade.

Get ready because flooding in American coastal cities could be a lot worse in the 2030s, which is when the next moon “wobble” is expected to begin. This flooding can cause significant damage to infrastructure and even displace communities.

Guess what – this lunar wobble is not a new or impossible thing. It is a natural occurrence and was first reported in 1728.

We know the Moon affects tides and its orbit is responsible for periods of both higher and lower tides about every 18.6 years. In the past, they haven’t been all that dangerous. Global sea-level rise pushes high tides higher. Scientists are more concerned than in the past. With sea-level rise due to climate change, upcoming high tide floods are expected to be more intense and more frequent than ever before.