Experts warn of irreversible damage to coastline as growing threat accelerates: 'We need to scramble to figure out what the future looks like'

A picturesque island near the mouth of Tampa Bay in Florida faces an uncertain future as the surrounding seawater rises.

What's happening?

The 328-acre Egmont Key is the home of a National Wildlife Refuge that provides a habitat for more than 30,000 nesting pairs of birds, nesting sea turtles, and gopher tortoises, among other various types of wildlife. Nearly a third of the beautiful island is set aside for sanctuaries so birds can feed, nest, and rest undisturbed.

Several harbor pilots, the captains who were adept at navigating the bay's bottoms and could guide vessels that made their way to Port Tampa, used to call the island home. Most of the 18 homes that once stood on the island have either floated away from their former foundations or have been broken into pieces. Captain John Timmel, who moved onto the island in 1989, is the only harbor pilot left on Egmont Key. He retired, but his son, Jack, followed in his footsteps. Both father and son are concerned about what the future holds for the island.

"We need to scramble to figure out what the future looks like," Jack Timmel, the Tampa Bay Pilot Association's president, told the Florida Trident. "The pilots have been out here for over 150 years, and if this is the end of that — and we don't know that yet — but if this is the end of that, all the scans are going to be valuable in telling that story in the future."

Egmont Key is on the frontlines of an overheating planet. Seawater swept over the island when Hurricane Helene struck last September. A historic lighthouse survived the storm but left a waterline nearly 15 feet high on the structure. After damage from Hurricane Milton that followed just two weeks later, the rest of the harbor pilots were forced to move to Florida's mainland.

Why is a sinking island along the Florida coast important?

Egmont Key could be a harbinger of what is to come for our warming world. Scientists say rising sea levels could dramatically alter the map of the United States by the end of the century. The projected sea level rise from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change would wipe the Florida Keys and portions of Miami off the map.

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A study published in the Journal of Climate said the sea level rise has already been impacting hurricane storm surges for several years.

"The faster SLR on the Southeast and Gulf Coasts, at a rate of more than 10 millimeters per year during 2010-2022, coincided with active and record-breaking North Atlantic hurricane seasons in recent years," according to the study, per NOAA's Climate Program Office. "As a consequence, the elevated storm surge intensified coastal flooding and damages, particularly on the Gulf Coast."

What's being done about rising sea levels?

A Dutch architect wants to make homes that are resilient to rising water levels and change cities worldwide. Koen Olthuis created the master plan for a floating neighborhood in the Maldives, an independent island country in the north-central Indian Ocean that has been hit hard by rising sea levels. A third of Olthuis' home country, the Netherlands, is below sea level. This has forced the people there to come up with creative ways to cope with rising water, including experimenting with floating homes and offices.

It is important to raise awareness about the impacts of an overheating planet on places like Egmont Key. Exploring critical climate issues like rising sea levels and then talking about those issues with family and friends can help. It could also spur people who are passionate about protecting our planet to take local action.