A Brazilian beach paradise is being swallowed up by the ocean

Every year, residents of the beach town of Atafona, in the north of Rio de Janeiro state, haven’t been able to relax when they look out at the shore. On average, the tide is getting three meters closer to the town each year, according to a remote sensing report from Swedish company Spacept, which uses artificial intelligence for space data analytics.

A 2019 Nature study forecasted that areas currently home to 1.4 million Brazilians will begin suffering from constant flooding by 2050, while areas occupied by another 1 million people could be permanently submerged as ocean levels continue to rise. For Brazil, the findings are particularly worrisome, as the country’s population is largely concentrated in cities close to the coast. Indeed, less than 6 percent of Brazilian cities are home to more than 120 million people. 

Atafona offers a glimpse into the imminent effects of rising sea levels. Roughly 500 buildings in the town have already been abandoned or destroyed over the last 60 years due to the encroaching water line, while dozens of families are literally living by the sea. 

Paradise lost to the ocean

The...