By Sunayana Prabhu
ASBURY PARK – Not to erode any summer beach fun, but state officials and environmental experts have urged visitors to proceed with cautious optimism this coming season, warning of significant climate change impacts to the Jersey Shore during the 22nd annual State of the Shore conference May 23.
Ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, experts urged communities to brace for the impact of climate change, predicting an “unprecedented” number of hurricanes and “extreme heat” this summer.
“The Jersey Shore attracts millions of tourists, is a driver of our state’s economy, encourages our neighbors and importantly our kids to get outside and enjoy the environment,” Shawn La Tourette, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) said in his opening remarks at the State of the Shore annual press conference, hosted by the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium (NJSGC) at Tim McLoone’s Supper Club on the Asbury Park boardwalk.
The NJSGC comprises academic institutions and organizations from across the state working to foster resilient coastal communities and ecosystems through research, policy and community action.
Although the beaches are “ready” with “excellent” water quality along the Jersey Shore, LaTourette noted a “deep need” to prepare communities to better manage the adverse impacts of a changing climate. “Climate change is real. It is here and it is now, right now,” he said. In addition to tools and financial resources for building resilience, such as the dunes and beach nourishment programs managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the NJDEP has made policy decisions to help bolster climate resilience. LaTourette highlighted the initiatives of the Interagency Climate Resilience Council (ICRC), an advisory council established by Gov. Phil Murphy in 2019, that is “putting together the plans and resources” to help deal with coastal resilience planning and adaptation needs.
“It’s important to remember that last year was the hottest on record. And that we expect more extreme heat to exacerbate health conditions,” LaTourette said, recommending Heat Hub NJ, an online resource created by the state for communities on a “heat island,” those vulnerable to extreme heat due to lack of tree cover and increased asphalt who experience temperatures higher than average. On Heat Hub NJ, “You’re going to find resources on how to best protect yourself,” he said. The site also includes an interactive mapping application called Chill Out NJ that identifies cool places to escape the heat.
The DEP also partners with local health agencies to conduct weekly bacterial water sampling from the ocean, rivers and bays from mid-May through September as part of its Cooperative Coastal Monitoring Program. The program also conducts flights of the coastline six days a week and selects lakes once a week to check for any water quality concerns. Information about the status of beaches and water quality along the coast is available at njbeaches.org. The DEP provides an interactive map with information on harmful algal bloom (HAB) alerts at njdep.rutgers.edu/aircraft.phyco.
Preparing shore communities for rising seas, Jon Miller, PhD., author of the 2024 State of the Shore Report and an NJSGC coastal processes specialist and research associate professor at Stevens Institute of Technology, warned of “an unprecedented number of tropical storms and hurricanes this coming summer.”
Coastal flooding this year was “more extreme than usual,” Miller said, noting that the northern part of the state experienced the highest peak water levels, while the southern part experienced more frequent and longer-lasting flooding. “The highest water levels” occurred Jan. 13 at Sandy Hook, where the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tide gauge measured a water level 8.55 feet above Mean Lower Low Water, which Miller said was “the second or third largest highest water level that we’ve measured since Hurricane Sandy.”
In addition to Sandy Hook, there were 14 other instances where the measured water level exceeded the minor flood threshold at Sandy Hook for an overall total of 98 hours.
The combination of high water levels and large waves has led to some dune erosion across the state. Miller noted the national models are calling for “anywhere between 20 and 25 named storms” this season. According to the report, the Colorado State University forecast calls for “23 named storms, 11 hurricanes, and 5 major hurricanes, far exceeding the historical averages of 14.4 named storms, 7.2 hurricanes, and 3.2 major hurricanes.”
Miller said the “significantly more than typical” activity is primarily due to the developing La Niña conditions in the Pacific and record warm oceans in the Atlantic. Miller stressed the importance of preparation, noting that even minor storms can cause damage if beaches have not fully recovered from previous erosion events. “I think it’s important to keep in mind that it does only take one storm to create dramatic impacts.”
As coastal communities gear up for another active hurricane season, the State of the Shore conference served as a call to collective action. With climate change impacts intensifying, cross-sector cooperation will remain crucial to safeguarding the Jersey Shore’s way of life.
The article originally appeared in the May 30 – June 5, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
