Eight Welsh beaches facing 'catastrophic erosion' – study

AN ICONIC beach is facing "catastrophic erosion" that could destroy its appeal, researchers claim.

- ANDREW FORGRAVE

Traeth Llanddwyn, on Anglesey, is one of eight beaches in Wales that appear in a table of UK coastlines at risk from climate-driven coastal flooding and human interference.

Others include beaches at Abersoch, Gwynedd, and Tenby Harbour, Pembrokeshire. Traeth Porthor (Whistling Sands) on the Llyn Peninsula is also cited as vulnerable, along with a group of "Anglesey beaches".

In 2020, analysis of imagery from the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) suggested that, by 2050, erosion will have destroyed 22,430 miles (13.6%) of sandy coastlines around the world.

Oceanographers estimated the situation would get even worse in the second half of the century, washing away a further 25.7% of the planet's beaches.

The predictions were based on optimistic forecasts for climate breakdown, in which oceans rise by only 50cm (19.7in) by the year 2100. Worst-case IPCC scenarios suggest rises of 80cm (31.5in).

Reinders Corporation, a Dutch climate solutions company, has taken the analysis further, focusing on higher-end erosion estimates for 2100. These were matched against top global beaches from the Beach Atlas website using Python analysis.