A new interactive map produced by data experts projecting future flooding has shown a number of key areas in London at serious risk of flooding in the coming decades.

Sea level rise and more widespread and frequent flooding are expected by scientists in the UK and around the world as the impacts of the worsening climate crisis and the Earth's warming atmosphere are felt.

To that end, data experts from the Climate Central website produced an interactive map that charts expected rise in water levels across the globe, including in London.

Their projections for the year 2050 show large areas of south east London "projected to be below the annual flood level in 2050".

They also included parts of north west Kent, including the Swanscombe Marshes and significant areas of Dartford including Dartford train station.

Moving westwards, the Climate Central projections also showed major urban areas of south east London near the Thames likely to face flooding by 2050.

Those included large swathes of Thamesmead and Abbey Wood, and almost all of the Greenwich peninsula.

Further inland, the lower-lying areas surrounding the Ravensbourne River as far as Lewisham station were coloured red on the 2050 projection map, suggesting they could also face flooding within three decades.

Climate Central said their data maps are based on "peer-reviewed science in leading journals", with the vast majority of climate scientists around the world pointing out the high likelihood of sea level rise, more frequent flooding and extreme weather events as the Earth's atmosphere continues to warm up.

Climate Central added: "As these maps incorporate big datasets, which always include some error, these maps should be regarded as screening tools to widen access that may require deeper investigation of risk", adding that the "maps are based on global-scale datasets for elevation, tides, and coastal flood likelihoods".

There is a large amount of robust scientific data showing how the Earth's climate is heating up due largely due to human use of fossil fuels, and the severe risks that poses to social stability and the wider ecology on the planet.

Indeed, according to the Met Office, the UK’s climate is already becoming wetter:

"For example, the highest rainfall totals over a five day period are 4 per cent higher during the most recent decade (2008-2017) compared to 1961-1990.

"Furthermore, the amount of rain from extremely wet days has increased by 17 per cent when comparing the same time periods," a spokesperson for the authority said previously.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) meanwhile reported that the UK could expect to see about 10 per cent more rainfall on average per year by 2100 compared to 1986-2005, meaning a much heightened risk of flooding in the coming years.