Sea Levels May Rise Faster than Previously Thought: Study

A new analysis finds that ice melt in Greenland and Antarctica could lead to increases of 2 meters by the end of the century if carbon emissions are not reduced.

Written byCatherine Offord

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Global sea levels could rise twice as fast as previously thought, according to a study published yesterday (May 20) in PNAS. Experts surveyed by the study authors estimate that, if emissions continue on their current trajectory, accelerated ice melt in Greenland and Antarctica could contribute to rises of 2 meters and lead to the displacement of nearly 200 million of people.

“To put this into perspective, the Syrian refugee crisis resulted in about a million refugees coming into Europe,” study coauthor Jonathan Bamber of the University of Bristol tells BBC News. “That is about 200 times smaller than the number of people who would be displaced in a 2m sea-level rise.”

Previous estimates for sea-level rises come from a 2013 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Using computer models of future warming, that assessment predicted that if emissions are not reduced, the planet ...

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Meet the Author

Catherine Offord
After undergraduate research with spiders at the University of Oxford and graduate research with ants at Princeton University, Catherine left arthropods and academia to become a science journalist. She has worked in various guises at The Scientist since 2016. As Senior Editor, she wrote articles for the online and print publications, and edited the magazine’s Notebook, Careers, and Bio Business sections. She reports on subjects ranging from cellular and molecular biology to research misconduct and science policy. Find more of her work at her website.
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