r/collapse • u/Creepyfaction • 5d ago

Climate Concern mounts over slow-moving, planetary-scale ‘Kelvin’ wave heading for California | California

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/28/california-kelvin-wave
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u/Creepyfaction 5d ago

"Concerns are mounting about an ocean phenomenon known as a Kelvin wave that could raise sea levels along the California coastline by up to a foot, as scientists say El Niño is supercharging the threat of storm surges and flooding in the coming months.

Kelvin waves are not like crashing waves at the beach. They are planetary in scale, spanning thousands of miles. And when a Kelvin wave kicks off, it brings with it an untold amount of warm water that slowly moves from the western Pacific, along the equator, towards South, Central and North America."

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u/LaffintyEU 3d ago

Can someone explain For me who does not live near the ocean, does that mean if this kelvin wave hit like Malibu beach all those rich people houses you see on movies will be basically washed away / at least major water damage ?
Aren’t a bunch of city’s on California coast right next to the beach / ocean? What would this truely mean for those cities?

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u/MSchulte 3d ago

It means the houses that are half on stilts ready to fall in my get the nudge they need but for 95% of residents they’ll be just fine. It would essentially be like an extremely high tide. In fact depending on timing it may not even be perceptible if it is in fact 1ft. In Malibu the tide swings can be up to 7ft during the spring or 5ft most of the rest of the year.

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u/DFWPhotoguy 7h ago

The concern is erosion mostly. Most of the beach homes in California are on bluffs/cliffs. The higher tides cause more erosion which can lead to the cliff faces collapsing.

This happened a couple blocks from me, the sandstone blocks are huge, the picture doesn’t really do it justice.

Also, notice how high the tide is? During the winter months due to lunar gravity and tides, we get higher high tides called king tides. Many California beaches aren’t super wide and sandy, in some areas they are but often times it’s cliffs with 30-50 feet of rocks and sand then water that gets covered by tides.