THE LANDES REGION, GONE WITH THE WIND

The grim realities of climate change

An episode from the series EARTH ON EDGE

Synopsis

Between the forest and the ocean lies the largest fine sand beach in Europe, the Silver Coast. A straight coastline, marked by high dunes, stretches over 200 km.

But erosion is becoming a serious threat. Every year, the ocean gains almost 2 meters on average. Some places are even more exposed and lose up to 5 meters yearly.

The area also has many agricultural lands. Between floods and hail, the bad weather of recent years has caused considerable damage to thousands of hectares.