Massive sea level rise is 'now inevitable', study says

O global warming will cause a minimum sea level rise of 27 centimeters in Greenland alone, regardless of what climate action is taken. This is what a study concluded – published this Monday (29) – in the magazine Nature Climate Change. (*)

The 27 centimeter estimate is a minimum, as it only takes into account global warming so far, and does not include some ways in which ice (from glaciers) is lost.

With continuous carbon emissions – the main villain when it comes to warming the Earth –, the melting of other polar ice caps and the thermal expansion of the ocean, an increase of several meters in sea level seems likely, the study points out.

The research used satellite measurements of Greenland's ice loss and the shape of the ice sheet from 2000 to 2019. This allowed calculations of how much more ice must be lost before stability regains.

If Greenland's record melting rate – which occurred in 2012 – becomes a routine occurrence, the ice cap will produce an “incredible” rise of 78 centimeters in sea level, scientists saidsystem. (The Guardian*)

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