Climate change melting Greenland’s ice puts 400m people at risk of coastal flooding by 2100, scientists warn
AROUND 400million people face flooding every year by the end of the century if climate change continues to melt icy Greenland, scientists warn.
The country is warming up faster than expected — and could mean sea levels rising 67cm (26in) by 2100.
Prof Andrew Shepherd, an earth observation expert at Leeds University said: “As a rule of thumb, for every centimetre rise in sea level another six million are exposed to coastal flooding around the planet.
“On current trends, Greenland ice melting will cause 100million people to be flooded each year by the end of the century — and 400million in total due to all sea level rise.”
He added: “These are not unlikely events or small impacts. They are happening and will be devastating for coastal communities.”
In 2013 the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted the figure would be around 360million based on its mid-range forecast.
But researchers claim its worse-case scenario is more likely.
A team of 96 scientists from 50 organisations contributed to the findings in journal Nature.
Analysis indicated rise in air and ocean temperatures caused the surface ice to melt and increased glacial flow.
According to the researchers, Greenland stores enough water to raise global sea levels by six metres and knowing how much of this ice is lost is key to understanding the effects and impact of climate change.
Guofinna Aoalgeirsdottir, a professor of glaciology at the University of Iceland and lead author on the IPCC's sixth report, said: "Satellite observations show that both melting and ice discharge from Greenland have increased since observations started.
"It is very important to keep monitoring the big ice sheets to know how much they raise sea level every year."
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