Beaches in Rio May Disappear: Study Points to Rising Sea Levels in Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon

Written by Romário Pereira de Carvalho

Published on 28/09/2025 at 21:34

Imagem representativa: Wikimedea Commons

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UFRJ Study Reveals That Sea Could Advance Up to 100 Meters Over Iconic Beaches in Rio de Janeiro, Threatening Tourism and Mangroves

The beaches of Rio, including Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon, are among the most visited destinations in Brazil and attract tourists year-round. These stretches of sand boost tourism, the local economy, and help build the international image of Rio de Janeiro.

A recent study from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) has raised the alarm: much of these shorelines could disappear by the end of the century.

The projection indicates a concerning scenario for the city’s famous postcards.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Sea Advance Threatens the Carioca Shore

The research indicates that the sea level in Guanabara Bay could rise, on average, by 78 centimeters by 2100. This increase would be sufficient to drastically reduce the beach’s sandy area.

In Copacabana, the loss could reach 100 meters. Meanwhile, Ipanema and Leblon are at risk of shrinking by approximately 80 meters each.

These figures coincide with projections from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which predicts a global increase of between 28 and 98 centimeters.

Impacts Beyond Tourism

The problem is not limited to leisure and tourism. Mangrove areas also face risks. The Guapimirim Environmental Preservation Area, created to protect the last mangroves of Guanabara Bay, could be partially submerged.

According to experts, the situation may be even more serious than the calculations suggest since ocean warming has already outpaced historical averages.

Global Problem and Local Response

The phenomenon is not limited to Brazil. Regions such as Miami, Barcelona, and the Gold Coast in Australia are already suffering from beach reduction, in some cases losing up to 4.5 meters of sand per year.

The government of Rio claims to monitor climate effects and seeks adaptation strategies. Nonetheless, the UFRJ study makes it clear: without urgent actions, the beaches that today symbolize Rio may not exist for future generations.

With information from TNH1.

Beaches in Rio May Disappear: Study Points to Rising Sea Levels in Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon

UFRJ Study Reveals That Sea Could Advance Up to 100 Meters Over Iconic Beaches in Rio de Janeiro, Threatening Tourism and Mangroves

Sea Advance Threatens the Carioca Shore

Impacts Beyond Tourism

Global Problem and Local Response

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Beaches in Rio May Disappear: Study Points to Rising Sea Levels in Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon

UFRJ Study Reveals That Sea Could Advance Up to 100 Meters Over Iconic Beaches in Rio de Janeiro, Threatening Tourism and Mangroves

Sea Advance Threatens the Carioca Shore

Impacts Beyond Tourism

Global Problem and Local Response

With billions in loans, China is rebuilding Nigeria’s railway network from scratch, abandoning the British colonial tracks that have turned to scrap and creating a corridor of over 1,300 km to take the load off the roads of Africa’s largest economy.

Forget petroleum-based asphalt: a Scottish company transforms 684,000 plastic bottles into one kilometer of road that is 60% more resistant and up to 10 times more durable, and the technology has already started replacing traditional asphalt in more than 30 countries.

Austrian engineers have developed an inflatable concrete technology that transforms flat slabs into domes using only air pressure, eliminating scaffolding and temporary forms, and potentially changing the way bridges, tunnels, and curved roofs are constructed worldwide.

Australia prepares to dredge 96.5 million m³ in Moreton Bay to deepen, widen, and realign channels of the Port of Brisbane, in a project of up to 25 years designed to accommodate larger ships and enhance maritime safety and regional port efficiency.

A robot named Walter does the work of five bricklayers per hour and can save the construction industry, where the average age of professionals is 46 years and almost no one wants to learn the trade anymore, in the United Kingdom.

Spain installs two giant pipelines 2.2 km off the coast to draw water from the Mediterranean and supply a megafacility capable of producing 200 million liters of drinking water per day.

Without wheels, iron, or machines, teams of up to 32 men would have dragged 2.3-ton blocks over wet sand up a ramp embedded in the pyramid itself, raising the structure in 20 to 27 years, according to a new computer model that reignites a millennia-old debate.

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The bridge that collapsed in seconds after being hit by a ship in Baltimore will be reborn as a cable-stayed bridge: Maryland signed $4.8 billion in four contracts for a 508-meter span specifically designed to withstand the impact of a giant cargo ship.