Context:
According to a recently published report, almost 2 cm sea level rose in this century alone from melting ice from glaciers worldwide.
Key Highlights of the report:
- The research paper was published in the journal Nature titled as ‘Community estimate of global glacier mass changes from 2000 to 2023.’
- The latest research is part of the Glacier Mass Balance Intercomparison Exercise – known as Glambie which combines and analyses data available from field measurements as well as optical, radar and laser satellite missions.
Key Highlights of the Report:
The research shows the world’s glaciers collectively lost 6.542tn tonnes of ice between 2000 and 2023, causing an 18mm (0.7in) rise in global sea levels.
- Sea level rise is essentially the increase in the average height of the ocean’s surface, measured from the centre of the Earth.
As per the report Glaciers have been losing 273 billion tonnes of ice each year.
36% more ice had melted between 2012 and 2023 compared with the previous decade.
Sea level rise has increased more than doubled from 0.18 cm per year in 1993 to the current rate of 0.42 cm per year.
Regional losses were highly variable; the Antarctic and subantarctic islands lost 2% of their volume but central Europe’s glaciers lost 39%.
Impact of Sea Level Rise on India’s coastal cities:
According to a 2024 report by the Center for Study of Science, Technology, and Policy (CSTEP) in Bengaluru.
- Coastal cities in India have experienced rising sea levels in recent years.
- Mumbai has seen the largest rise, with 4.44 cm between 1987 and 2021, making it the most affected among Indian cities.
- Mumbai has an average elevation of about 10 meters above sea level, making it highly vulnerable to future sea-level rise.
- Other cities affected include:
- Haldia in West Bengal: 2.726 cm rise
- Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh: 2.381 cm rise
- Kochi in Kerala: 2.213 cm rise
The key reason for sea level rise
- Global Warming and Melting of Glaciers: Global warming has caused glaciers and ice sheets to melt. Since 2000, glaciers have lost between 2% and 39% of their ice regionally and about 5% globally.
- The thermal expansion of seawater: Under it global temperatures rising, oceans are becoming warmer, and as a result, the volume of water is increasing as well
Impact of the sea level rise
- Every centimetre of sea level rise exposes another 2 million people to annual flooding somewhere on our planet.
- Sea level rise escalates the threat of extreme weather when a cyclone or major storm strikes, the water level rises and strong winds send the water surging inland which is known as storm surge.
- Sea level rise leads to more coastal erosion which causes major economic property loss.
- Rising seas are introducing saltwater into inland freshwater sources such as aquifers which increases the risks of contaminating the drinking water in coastal areas.