Our novel artificial intelligence model can predict extreme storm surges with high accuracy, including under future climate conditions. Because the AI model runs much faster, it can help researchers and practitioners better assess coastal flood risk for adaptation planning.
Sea levels are rising, and with them, the risks posed by extreme coastal events, such as storm surges – temporary rises in sea level caused mainly by storms, which are among the primary drivers of coastal flooding. For the more than 10% of the global population living in low-lying coastal regions, the combination of gradual mean sea level rise and increasingly intense extreme events represents a growing threat.
