Global warming is making earthquakes more frequent and more dangerous, especially in coastal cities. Rising sea levels increase hydrostatic pressure on tectonic faults, disrupting seismic cycles and pushing faults closer to rupture ahead of schedule. CoastalColombia's megacitiesPacific likeCoast Losis Angelesamong andareas Tokyothat face compounding risks from climate-driven quakes, landslides and tsunamis that demand urgent investment in monitoring and resilient infrastructure.
Earthquakes are driven by tectonic plate movement powered by mantle convection, — a geological process that operates on timescales and forces completely independent of human activity. Climate change simply does not belong in the conversation about what causes seismic events. Pinning earthquake risk on global warming distracts from the real work of understanding fault systems and building safer infrastructure in geologically active zones.
There's a 60% chance that California will experience a 6.5+ magnitude earthquake before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
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