Global sea levels to jump by 2.5 METRES due to melting Antarctic ice – even if Paris climate goals are met
MELTING ice in the Antarctic will raise sea levels by 2.5 metres even if the Paris agreement climate goals are met, according to a new study.
Researchers found that melting would still continue even if the temperature rise is limited to 2C (3.6F).
Experts think the melting will take place over a long period of time and likely after the end of this century.
However, once the ice is gone, it isn't expected to come back.
In 2015, almost all of the world's nations signed a deal called the Paris Agreement, which set out ways in which they could tackle climate change and try to keep temperatures below 2C (3.6F).
The new study claims that this limited temperature increase still wouldn't be enough to stop drastic change.
Ricarda Winkelmann, researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and University of Potsdam, said: "Antarctica's fate really lies in our hands -- and with it that of our cities and cultural sites across the globe, from Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana to Sydney's Opera House.
"Thus, this study really is another exclamation mark behind the importance of the Paris Climate Accord: Keep global warming below two degrees."
Earlier this year, temperatures of over 20C in the Antarctic were recorded for the first time.
Anders Levermann, co-author of the paper, said: "If we give up the Paris Agreement, we give up Hamburg, Tokyo and New York."
Although the melt could take centuries, the Nature paper sets out to stress it could be irreversible for future generations.
It also shows how a global temperature increase of over 2C could cause major issues for cities all over the globe.
Rising sea levels – what's the problem?
Here's what you need to know...
- The global sea level has been gradually rising over the past century
- Sea levels rise due to two main reasons
- The first is thermal expansion – as water gets warmer, it expands
- The second is melting ice on land, adding fresh water into seas
- This has a cyclical effect, because melting ice also warms up the planet (and oceans), causing more even ice to melt and boosting thermal expansion
- It's currently rising at a rate of around 0.3cm per year
- The sea is huge, so that might sound harmless
- But rising sea levels can have a devastating effect over time
- Low-lying coastal areas can disappear completely, even putting areas of the UK at risk
- It can also mean sea storms and tsunamis can have a more devastating effect, reaching further in-land than they would have previously
- There's also an increased risk of flooding
Most read in Science
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Airbus has revealed plans for the world's first zero-emission commercial aircraft.
And, global warming is still hotting up as Covid makes it harder to monitor, a report warns.
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