So you think you already have it bad with your spotty Internet?

A study suggests that the Web is due to be submerged by water-literally-in only 16 years or so. Forbes suggests that it has already happened-the Alexandria, Egypt incident, where two submerged cables were severed by a ship's anchor, blacked out about 60 million people from Middle Eastern countries like the United Arab Emirates as well as Saudi Arabia.

The world is interconnected via the Worldwide Web, so it is catastrophic to think what may happen should rising sea levels affect submerged Internet cables. Of these cables, more than 4,000 may soon find itself under water. There will also be an additional 1,100 traffic hubs in danger of going underwater or get surrounded by it, which could spell dire consequences.

Of the service providers, researchers have found out that infrastructure belonging to AT&T, CenturyLink, and Inteliquent are those most expected to be affected by rising sea levels.

Grist cites the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Oregon's study as those that show what the world will eventually have to deal with if it doesn't act on it now. The researchers used a present-day map of the infrastructure and contrasted it with a forecast map of rising sea levels to pinpoint which areas are in danger of being submerged underwater.

In New York City alone, the lines are 20 percent likely to find itself underwater within 15 years. In the case of Seattle and Miami, that will be a given as it will be in many cities along the coast of America. While the lines have been built to standards, enabling them to weather any kind of storm or weather disturbance, they weren't built to withstand water pressure.

The lines that were studied are the submerged lines that are currently sitting on land that is designated "dry land." Cables that are underwater weren't included in the study; these were meant to be underwater from the beginning, and are designed to be submerged underwater.

The study was done to help people realize the gravity of the situation. While the disruptions may not be as drastic as how the study painted it, the period of time left to fix the situation is relatively short.