SeongJoon Cho via Getty Images People play volleyball at Vancouver's Kitsilano Beach in this undated photo. Many sandy shorelines, particularly in densely populated areas, could be lost by 2100 because of rising sea levels.

WASHINGTON — Half the world’s sandy beaches may be wiped away by the end of the century due to rising sea levels and other climate change effects, with Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, China and the United States among the hardest hit, researchers said on Monday.

Many beaches that attract frolicking vacationers may be turned into rocky remnants as rising seas, changing weather patterns and other factors erode sandy shorelines that now account for more than a third of global sea coasts, they added.

A large proportion of shoreline in densely populated areas is projected to be lost.

“Touristic areas, which have sandy beaches as their main selling point, will probably face strong consequences,” said coastal oceanographer Michalis Vousdoukas of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy, lead author of the study published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Aside from economic value, sandy shorelines play a vital environmental role.

“Sandy beaches are important habitats supporting a wide range of species. They also protect the coast from the effects of storms, so without sandy beaches other inland environments can be affected by the effects of waves and saltwater intrusion,” Vousdoukas added.