Sea Levels Set to Rise for Centuries

Sea Levels Set to Rise for Centuries

Written by Rebekah Hyuna Lee

The pace of sea level rise continues to intensify throughout the 21st century, showing no signs of slowing down. The doubling of the pace of sea level rise over the past three decades is predicted to double again by 2100, reshaping coastlines and threatening hundreds of millions of lives. 

Given current global warming trends continue, sea levels are expected to rise by one centimeter per year in just a few generations. However, even if the target of the 2015 Paris Agreement to keep global warming below 1.5°C is met, it will not significantly prevent the accelerating rising sea levels. Even a small increase in sea level could lead to catastrophic circumstances for over 230 million people living near today’s sea level. 

The sensitivity of polar ice sheets even to minimal warming was most alarming to scientists. Satellite observations show that the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, which hold enough frozen water to raise sea levels by 65 meters, are melting and calving by a rate of 400 billion tonnes per year. This irreversible collapse of ice sheets leads to centuries of sea level rise, unpreventable by any immediate emissions reduction. 

The unsettling findings of this research show that without significant investments in coastal defense, many of the world’s largest cities stand at risk of flood. However, the slowing of sea level rise requires a long-term temperature goal; we may already be on an irreversible path, with only possible solutions such as geoengineering and the relocation of society.

Source: https://dailygalaxy.com/2025/05/scientists-warning-oceans-rising-fast/