Coastal communities around the globe are at a greater risk than ever after a grim new study offered insight into the continued loss of the polar ice sheets.
What’s happening?
A team of researchers has examined the correlation between the rise in global temperature and the current rate of sea-level rise. According to the study published in Communications Earth & Environment, even with climate initiatives and worldwide policy changes, more needs to be done to stem the tide. If we don’t, sea levels could continue to rise at an accelerated rate that will directly threaten millions of lives.
As the researchers noted, “Mass loss from ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica has quadrupled since the 1990s.” The mass ice melting in the Arctic has created a “dominant source of global mean sea-level rise from the cryosphere.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that the planet’s temperature has risen 0.06 degrees Celsius (or 0.108 degrees Fahrenheit) every decade since 1850. This has contributed to around a 12% reduction of Arctic sea ice in September over the last two decades alone.
While the Paris Agreement aims to keep global temperature increases well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), the team of researchers fears that the proposed goal will still lead to potential devastation.
Why is Arctic ice melt important?
According to the study, a temperature rise of even 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) is “likely to generate several meters of sea-level rise over the coming centuries, causing extensive loss and damage to coastal populations and challenging the implementation of adaptation measures.”
The NOAA notes that high-tide flooding is now up to 900% more frequent than it was just 50 years ago. This has caused many coastal communities to brace for costly flooding and prepare for future “catastrophic” events that could displace large portions of the population.
Chris Stokes, a glaciologist at Durham University, offered up a grim take on the data found in the study. “You don’t slow sea-level rise at 1.5 [degrees Celsius], in fact, you see quite a rapid acceleration,” Stokes explained to CNN.
“There’s very little that we’re observing that gives us hope here,” Stokes added. “The absolute best-case scenario is that sea-level rise is slow and steady.”
What’s being done about the global sea-level rise?
As one of the leading causes of the rise in global temperatures, dirty fuel emissions have been the target of many worldwide initiatives. This includes a desire to transition to sustainable energy sources and the adoption of net-zero policies.
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