Large Waves Disrupt Hawaii Homes, Wedding As Climate Change Raises Sea Levels

Giant waves in the state of Hawaii that reportedly measured up to 20 feet tall crashed into the island over the weekend, disrupting a wedding and crashing into homes and businesses, with a report on Monday blaming the size on rising sea levels caused by climate change.

The 20-foot waves were reportedly caused by a strong south swell, a general rise in the sea level of the country, as well as particularly high tides that weekend. The waves crashed into the island violently, even to the point of disrupting a wedding happening Saturday evening, according to NBC News.

“It just was huge,” author Sara Ackerman, who filmed the waves, said. “I was filming it and then it just came over the wall and just completely annihilated all the tables and chairs.”

Ackerman was a guest at the wedding, and she said that the waves rose and crashed to the shore over five minutes before the event was scheduled to begin. The wedding went on as planned, even with the damage, and debris was cleaned up after the ceremony, the Associated Press reported.

“It wasn’t like a life-threatening situation by any means whatsoever,” she said. “It was just like, ‘Oh my gosh ... what are we going to do? Where are we going to put the tables?’ We had the ceremony and it was beautiful, having all the (sea) spray. The ocean was really wild. So it was great for the photos.”

Over 1,960 rescues were done by lifeguards and rescue crews over the weekend, with only one serious injury reported after a surfer suffered a laceration on the back of their head due to the waves.

Meteorologist Chris Brenchley, who works for the National Weather Service office in Honolulu, said that many factors were involved in making the waves so high, but he put particular blame on the effects of climate change on the sea levels of the world.

“The most direct type of impact that we can use with climate change is the sea level rise. Any time you add just even small amounts of water, you raise that sea level just a little bit,” he said. “And now those impacts will be exacerbated whenever we have a large storm event or a ... high, high tide.”

The meteorologist expressed awe and caution at the 20-foot waves, reminding everyone that 10-foot waves, which aren’t typically normal, would usually trigger a high surf advisory in the state.

“We had some waves that were reaching 20 feet, 20 feet-plus even,” Brenchley said. “That’s getting on the level of historic.”