According to a significant new scientific report, global sea levels are currently rising at twice the rate observed last century.
This study, which focuses sharply on climate change during the crucial 2020s, indicates that all ten key measures are trending negatively.
Moreover, most are doing so at an accelerated pace.
The findings are described as “unprecedented” yet “unsurprising,” as the world continues to release record amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
“We observe a clear and consistent trend indicating worsening conditions,” stated lead author Professor Piers Forster.
Nonetheless, the rate at which emissions are increasing has shown signs of slowing, providing a glimmer of hope for potential peak levels soon.
Global average temperatures have risen alongside levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
Rising seas
The latest research reveals that sea levels are now rising at an average of 4.3mm per year since 2019, which is twice the 1.8mm per year recorded at the turn of the 20th century.
This acceleration is significant but aligns with scientific expectations.
This is primarily due to the warming atmosphere leading to increased ice melting into the ocean and the thermal expansion of seawater.
The United Kingdom faces risks of coastal flooding, cliff erosion, and property damage, with projections indicating 100,000 homes may be at risk of coastal erosion in England over the next 50 years.
Dr. Aimee Slangen from the NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research stated, “The troubling aspect is that sea-level rise as a response to climate change is relatively gradual, which means we have already committed to further increases in the coming years and decades.”
A spokesperson for the UK government remarked, “We owe it to future generations to confront the climate crisis by evolving into a clean energy superpower.”
The government also plans to invest £7.9bn in flood defenses to enhance resilience and safeguard thousands of homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure from this escalating threat.
Coastal erosion threatens UK coastal properties, including those at the top of this cliff near Sidmouth. Pic: PA
In England 100,000 properties are expected to be threatened by coastal erosion in 50 years’ time. Pic: PA
Additionally, the remaining carbon budget that the world can emit while still limiting warming to safer levels has decreased by 74% — from 500 billion tonnes of CO2 to just 130 billion.
This only allows for three years’ worth of emissions if the goal is to restrict warming to no more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, a threshold recognized as critical for avoiding severe impacts.
The report, which involved over 60 scientists, also cautioned that the world is warming at an “unprecedented” rate of 0.27°C per decade.
Read more:
Endangered rays, sharks and native oysters ‘could thrive’ despite climate change
Will there be a hosepipe ban in the UK?
Professor Forster later shared with Sky News, “There is little good news across the entire set of indicators.”
“This is why I lack my usual optimism.”
He emphasized, “Greenhouse gas emissions needed to have started decreasing significantly by 2024 to have a chance of keeping long-term warming below 1.5°C. The world has not achieved this.”
Change is possible
Scientists are urging leaders to create more ambitious national climate plans ahead of the COP30 climate summit in Brazil this November.
“In a rapidly changing climate, evidence-based decision-making benefits from current and timely information,” the study, Indicators of Global Climate Change 2024, published today in Earth System Science Data, stated.
Dr. Valérie Masson-Delmotte from Institut Pierre Simon Laplace remarked, “What happens next hinges on the choices made: it is feasible to limit the magnitude of future warming by sharply reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting young generations from the intensifying extreme events.”