04-07-2025
The European coastlines that are disappearing fastest
Some of Europe's best-loved coastlines are disappearing before our eyes. Swathes of Spain's Costa del Sol, Malta's wild islands, the coves and cliffs of the French Riviera – all are under threat, stolen away by rising, tempestuous seas.
In the Algarve, Portugal's Minister for Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, warned in April that 'emergency intervention' would be needed to replenish Fuseta Beach in Olhão after extensive storms.
Some 150,000 cubic metres of sand will be required to restore its 600m-long, 30m-wide coastline in time for summer.
In Spain, 30,000 cubic metres of sand are washed away every year from Barcelona's beaches alone; in 2024, the province lost up to 25m of sand to storms, according to local authorities.
Barcelona's beaches are augmented by artificial sand, but of the 700,000 cubic metres added to the coastline in 2010, an estimated 70 per cent has now disappeared.
What causes coastal erosion?
It is a natural process, but it is often exacerbated by human and climate factors, says Maria Ferreira, Director of International Programme at the Coastal & Marine Union (EUCC), which promotes sustainable coastal development in Europe.
'Storms are a significant cause of coastal erosion, particularly for rapid and dramatic shoreline changes,' she explains. 'Other natural factors such as waves, currents, wind, sea level rise, and changes in sediment supply play crucial roles.
'Human activities further complicate and intensify these processes, making coastal erosion a complex challenge.' This could be housing or golf course developments on clifftops, dredging, the construction of coastal barriers or deforestation of mangroves.
Experts predict that as the climate crisis deepens, coastal erosion will worsen. 'With projected sea level rise of around one metre over the next century, the delivery of wave energy will increase due to longer exposure times,' explains Dr John Barlow, Associate Professor in Applied Geomorphology at the University of Sussex. 'We can therefore expect an acceleration in erosion rates.'
It seems that no area of Europe is immune to the effects. In 2021, satellite photo comparisons of the Greek coastline by the European Space Agency revealed that 10 per cent had receded by more than three metres per annum between 1995 and 2020, with some areas such as deltas and estuaries retreating by up to 30m every year.
Britain's shores, too, are under threat. According to the Environment Agency, East Anglia has 'some of the fastest eroding coasts in Europe': in 2023, it reported that more than 2,500 homes in Norfolk and Suffolk are at direct risk from coastal erosion.
The UK's other fast-deteriorating holiday destinations include West Bay in Dorset, Newhaven and Birling Gap in East Sussex, and parts of Cornwall such as Newquay and Perranuthnoe.
Here we detail the European destinations that are suffering the most from coastal erosion, and what is being done to protect them.
Europe's most at-risk holiday hotspots
Nouvelle-Aquitaine coast, France
More than a quarter of France's coastline is at risk from coastal erosion, according to Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM) – the nation's geological survey.
One such area is Nouvelle-Aquitaine: 'By 2050, the sandy coastline of the Gironde and Landes region could lose an average of 50m, and the rocky coastline of the Basque country 27m,' the BRGM warns.
'In Charente-Maritime, on the Pointe de Gatseau at the southern tip of Ile d'Oléron, the sea nibbles away some 20m on average every year.'
To keep track of the changing coastline and inform conservation projects, local authorities have launched the CoastSnap initiative. It asks visitors to upload photographs of key marine areas, enabling conservationists to monitor how the landscape is changing.
Andalucia, Spain
If you've ever visited Andalucia's beaches in springtime, you will have witnessed how winter's storms claim the sands along the Costa del Sol, in areas such as Malaga, Nerja and Torremolinos.
The Spanish government has declared it 'a situation of serious regression', with a loss of 45m worth of beach in some areas between 2016 and 2022.
As well as weather events and rising seas, the damage has also been attributed to local construction, such as beach bars, golf courses and housing developments.
A new coastal modelling tool developed by the University of Oxford's Environmental Change Institute, CoastalME, is currently being used to map Andalucia's 1,200km coastline for the first time, in a bid to better understand and manage its conservation.
Zakynthos, Greece
This summer, the most famous beach on this Ionian island will remain closed for a third year, authorities have announced, due to erosion of the bay and cliffs.
Navagio Beach or 'Shipwreck Beach', so-called for the wreck of the MV Panagiotis that ran aground here in 1980, has suffered erosion from high tourism activity, earthquakes, landslides and storms in recent years.
Parts of the schooner itself have begun deteriorating too. In 2028, seven people were injured by a falling cliff.
Atlantic coast, Portugal
In January, Portugal announced it will invest €20.2 million (£17.01 million) in the preservation and protection of its Atlantic coastline, including areas such as the Algarve, Lisbon and Porto. An estimated 20 per cent of its 943km coastline is being eroded by six to eight metres per year, and coastal protection has been declared a 'national priority' by the government.
The funding will support several coastal protection and defence projects, such as the strengthening of sea cliffs, removal of illegal developments and replenishment of beaches.
Bonifacio, Corsica, France
On the south coast of Corsica, this old defensive town and its citadel are perched on clifftops overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Bonifacio was founded in 828, and, over the centuries, the waves have carved away at the cliff base: in some instances, the buildings and rocks have been almost completely undercut.
Authorities have declared 30 houses at risk of falling into the sea, and in 2023 two large faults were identified in the crumbling cliffs.
