From top: Ireland under sea in 2050 as imagined for tonight’s show presented ; Gerard Fleming

Gulp.

In a stark message to be delivered tonight, former RTÉ weather presenter Gerard Fleming is set to warn “the sea will come and take them back”.

There is a set of circumstances adding up to such a threat that has every chance of happening before 2050, he says. Galway, Limerick, Waterford, Drogheda and Wexford are also vulnerable, Fleming points out, but Dublin and Cork “are where most of the assets are concentrated”.

Right so.

Will Ireland Survive 2050? at 9.30pm on RTÉ1.

Can Ireland survive events of chaotic climate change? (Kevin O’Sullivan, irish Times)

What impact will climate change have on Ireland in 2050? (RTÉ)

Montages: Eddie Sheanon/Midas Productions