‘New Orleans is gone’: Scientists say New Orleans to be obliterated within decades, civilian relocation must begin now

Enjoy New Orleans while you can, because scientists say the city’s days are numbered. A new study has shown that the city is now beyond “the point of no return”: there is now no way of saving it, it will soon be completely underwater, and a mass civilian relocation needs to begin now before it’s too late.

The idea of abandoning one of America’s most iconic cities sounds absurd – surely there must be something the government could do to save it? But, as per the study, it’s doomed by ongoing rises in sea-level and the erosion of southern Louisiana wetlands.

Jesse Keenan, an expert in climate adaptation at Tulane University, and one of the study’s authors, was blunt: “In paleo-climate terms, New Orleans is gone; the question is how long it has”, adding that we should measure the city’s future in “decades”:

“Even if you stopped climate change today, New Orleans’s days are still numbered. It will be surrounded by open water, and you can’t keep an island situated below sea level afloat. There’s no amount of money that can do that.

New Orleans is in a terminal condition, and we need to be clear with the patient that it is terminal. There is an opportunity for palliative care, we can transition people and the economy. We can get ahead of this.”

“New Orleans is in a terminal condition, and we need to be clear with the patient that it is terminal”

“Even if you stopped climate change today, New Orleans’s days are still numbered… “It will be surrounded by open water, and you can’t keep an island situated below sea level afloat. There’s no amount of money that can do that.”
Jesse Keenan,Tulane University
1/2 pic.twitter.com/fZEK7tOMSs

— Extinction Rebellion Global (@ExtinctionR) May 4, 2026

Scientists insist a mass relocation must begin immediately. Naturally, asking resident to give up their homes for a crisis that isn’t immediately apparent is going to be hugely controversial. But tough decisions are going to have to be made. Wanyun Shao, another co-author of the paper, underlined:

“There is no specific timeline to how long New Orleans has left but we know it’s in big trouble. They are facing one of the highest sea level rises in the world and I don’t know how long human effort can fight against that tide. It’s like a timebom

I know it’s a politically and emotionally charged issue, there are people with a deep attachment to New Orleans, but managed retreat, no matter how unappealing it may be, is the ultimate solution at some point.”

Even though the waters aren’t lapping at people’s front doors yet, New Orleans being underwater within the next few decades will start causing problems now. After all, how does a 30-year mortgage on a New Orleans property work if scientists are certain the city is doomed? What is the point of investing in infrastructure and construction at all if everything will be gone soon?

The city’s destruction is sealed, but what happens next politically is anyone’s guess, as no politician wants to be the one to break the bad news to residents that they’re going to have to abandon their family homes. Timothy Dixon, an expert in coastal environments at the University of South Florida, said:

“Governments may not have the ability to just command people to leave, but people will volunteer to move and we are seeing that already. I’m not optimistic our political system is capable of dealing with this stuff, it will take leadership and unpopular decisions. Also, many people don’t want to move. They love where they are born.”

The cold, hard truth is that the ocean does not care about political considerations and residents’ feelings. It is coming, there is no way to stop it, and preparation must begin now. Or, alternatively, maybe New Orleans residents can simply plunge their heads into the suspiciously waterlogged sand and just hope that somehow everything will work out.