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Human-caused sea level rise drives rapid global increase in extreme water levels during 21st century, new research finds

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Climate Central-led paper finds climate change tripled the number of days with extreme water-levels at worldwide locations since the 1970s.

PRINCETON, N.J., June 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As sea level rise accelerates, more and more people, ecosystems, and infrastructure are facing increasing coastal flood risks globally. Until now, climate change’s influence on local and regional flood risks has been underexplored, leaving communities without vital information they need. Now, a new paper led by Climate Central helps pinpoint how much human-caused climate change is responsible for increases in extreme water levels at local and regional scales across the globe.

The new research published in Science Advances finds that human-caused sea level rise is detectable at 97% of global tide gauge sites investigated and climate change was responsible for 58% of the observed days with extreme water levels during 2000-2018. Averaged across all locations, climate change has nearly tripled the number of days exceeding extreme water level thresholds since the 1970s.

“These studies highlight how we’ve loaded the climate dice against not only our children and grandchildren, but ourselves!” said Daniel Gilford, paper author and climate scientist at Climate Central. “The effects of human-caused climate change are already here. We will continue to face growing threats like increasing coastal flood risks unless we immediately and sharply reduce our climate pollution.”

Climate Central researchers used two largely independent methods to estimate the climate change signal in sea level rise and extreme water levels at 519 tide gauge sites around the world. Results from the first method were determined by calculating attributable sea level rise from four contributing factors: thermal expansion of water, melt from mountain glaciers, and ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets. 

The second method compared observed sea levels from 1900-2018 to a modeled scenario of the same period but without the influence of climate-warming pollution. Similar conclusions from both methods give confidence in the overall findings — human-caused sea level rise is responsible for driving the majority of extreme water levels worldwide.

These results are further supported by the findings in a complementary new paper in Nature Climate Change by researchers from Tulane University, titled, “Human-driven sea-level rise has quadrupled the frequency of coastal sea-level extremes since 1900”, released concurrently with this work. For more on that paper, please see the Tulane University press release located here.

“Sea level rise is making both tidal flooding and storm-driven flooding more frequent, extensive and expensive,” said Robert Kopp, a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Director of the Megalopolitan Coastal Transformation Hub (MACH) at Rutgers University and a co-author of the Science Advances study. “Together, these two studies allow us to pinpoint the human role in driving these changes.”

Both studies were co-supported by MACH, a National Science Foundation-funded, Rutgers-led consortium focused on advancing the science of coastal climate risk and the practice of coastal climate adaptation.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/human-caused-sea-level-rise-drives-rapid-global-increase-in-extreme-water-levels-during-21st-century-new-research-finds-302797105.html

SOURCE Climate Central

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Six Pennsylvania students advance to national finals of the Mott Million Dollar Challenge in Flint, Michigan

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June 10, 2026

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Bold ideas from 6 local students are among just 60 semifinalist submissions selected from over 3,700 nationwide to pitch at the Mott Million Dollar Challenge, June 15-16 in downtown Flint.

FLINT, Mich., June 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Six students from Pennsylvania have been selected as semifinalists in the Mott Million Dollar Challenge, a national pitch competition for K-12 students.

More than 5,300 young people from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. submitted over 3,700 business ideas and social solutions to the Challenge. From those entries, 1,500 submissions were selected in the first round. Now, the creators behind the top 60 ideas are advancing to compete at a live national event in Flint, Michigan next week.

The Pennsylvania semifinalists and their ideas are:

LightoPro: AI Learning Buddy on Your Desk — Antarikxa Das (2nd Grade, Marshall Elementary School, business pitch): An AI-powered desktop learning assistant that uses a camera and projector to provide real-time, step-by-step guidance directly on a student’s work, helping children learn independently.

Advancing Bridges with Piezoelectric Technology — Miles Cheng and Vasudev Nambulli (6th Grade, South Fayette Middle School, business pitch): A smart infrastructure system that uses self-powered piezoelectric sensors to continuously monitor bridge stress and vibrations, helping detect structural issues before they become safety hazards.

Operation Agua: Aqua Anchor — Anushiya Ramakrishnan and Laalitya Sagi (7th Grade, South Fayette Middle School, social pitch): A nonprofit initiative that uses sensor-activated shoreline collection systems to capture ocean-bound trash and reduce water pollution before it reaches the sea.

Verity — Elena Pappas (10th Grade, Germantown Friends School, social pitch): A student wellness app that predicts stress levels from academic and lifestyle habits and provides personalized recommendations to help prevent burnout before it happens.

As semifinalists, each project will be awarded $5,000. The students will pitch live in front of judges during the final competition June 15-16 in Flint.

Funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation as part of its centennial celebration, the Mott Million Dollar Challenge is administered by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) in collaboration with VentureLab, Young Entrepreneur Institute (YEI), the Afterschool Alliance, Collaborative Communications and the 50 State Afterschool Network. The Challenge is designed to shine a light on entrepreneurship education as a meaningful way to help students build skills they need to navigate and shape the future.

Learn more about the Mott Million Dollar Challenge and explore semifinalist ideas at https://mottmillion.org/60-semifinalist-pitches/.

Contact:
Jen Peters
peters@collaborativecommunications.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/six-pennsylvania-students-advance-to-national-finals-of-the-mott-million-dollar-challenge-in-flint-michigan-302797223.html

SOURCE Charles Stewart Mott Foundation

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Two Washington students advance to national finals of the Mott Million Dollar Challenge in Flint, Michigan

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54 minutes ago

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June 10, 2026

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Bold ideas from 2 local students are among just 60 semifinalist submissions selected from over 3,700 nationwide to pitch at the Mott Million Dollar Challenge, June 15-16 in downtown Flint.

FLINT, Mich., June 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Two students from Washington have been selected as semifinalists in the Mott Million Dollar Challenge, a national pitch competition for K-12 students.

More than 5,300 young people from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. submitted over 3,700 business ideas and social solutions to the Challenge. From those entries, 1,500 submissions were selected in the first round. Now, the creators behind the top 60 ideas are advancing to compete at a live national event in Flint, Michigan next week.

The Washington semifinalists and their ideas are:

MagicVerse-Kids, A Universe of First Creations — Isha Sharma (6th Grade, Beaver Lake Middle School, business pitch): A platform that partners with daycares to use AI to transform children’s artwork into digital keepsakes, scrapbooks, and personalized products, helping families preserve creative memories.

PureDrain — Kiren Makam (8th Grade, Tyee Middle School, social pitch): A portable storm drain filtration system that captures pollutants in runoff before they enter local ecosystems, helping protect forests and reduce the spread of invasive species.

As semifinalists, each project will be awarded $5,000. The students will pitch live in front of judges during the final competition June 15-16 in Flint.

Funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation as part of its centennial celebration, the Mott Million Dollar Challenge is administered by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) in collaboration with VentureLab, Young Entrepreneur Institute (YEI), the Afterschool Alliance, Collaborative Communications and the 50 State Afterschool Network. The Challenge is designed to shine a light on entrepreneurship education as a meaningful way to help students build skills they need to navigate and shape the future.

Learn more about the Mott Million Dollar Challenge and explore semifinalist ideas at https://mottmillion.org/60-semifinalist-pitches/.

Contact:
Jen Peters
peters@collaborativecommunications.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/two-washington-students-advance-to-national-finals-of-the-mott-million-dollar-challenge-in-flint-michigan-302797225.html

SOURCE Charles Stewart Mott Foundation

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Two Virginia students advance to national finals of the Mott Million Dollar Challenge in Flint, Michigan

Published

54 minutes ago

on

June 10, 2026

By

Bold ideas from two local students are among just 60 semifinalist submissions selected from over 3,700 nationwide to pitch at the Mott Million Dollar Challenge, June 15-16 in downtown Flint.

FLINT, Mich., June 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Two students from Virginia have been selected as semifinalists in the Mott Million Dollar Challenge, a national pitch competition for K-12 students.

More than 5,300 young people from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. submitted over 3,700 business ideas and social solutions to the Challenge. From those entries, 1,500 submissions were selected in the first round. Now, the creators behind the top 60 ideas are advancing to compete at a live national event in Flint, Michigan next week.

The Virginia semifinalists and their ideas are:

Carmunication — Lailah Moore (4th Grade, Nysmith School, business pitch): A vehicle-to-vehicle messaging system that allows nearby drivers to send safety alerts about issues such as open gas caps, broken lights, or unsecured cargo, helping make roads safer through clear communication.

EngageAble — Emily Amidon (6th Grade, Nysmith School, social pitch): A social venture that uses customizable 3D-printed fidget devices to help seniors maintain fine motor skills, cognitive engagement and independence as they age.

As semifinalists, each project will be awarded $5,000. The students will pitch live in front of judges during the final competition June 15-16 in Flint.

Funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation as part of its centennial celebration, the Mott Million Dollar Challenge is administered by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) in collaboration with VentureLab, Young Entrepreneur Institute (YEI), the Afterschool Alliance, Collaborative Communications and the 50 State Afterschool Network. The Challenge is designed to shine a light on entrepreneurship education as a meaningful way to help students build skills they need to navigate and shape the future.

Learn more about the Mott Million Dollar Challenge and explore semifinalist ideas at https://mottmillion.org/60-semifinalist-pitches/.

Contact:
Jen Peters
peters@collaborativecommunications.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/two-virginia-students-advance-to-national-finals-of-the-mott-million-dollar-challenge-in-flint-michigan-302797232.html

SOURCE Charles Stewart Mott Foundation

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