sea level rise | pangeaseed

in spite of the therapeutic cooling properties of the seas, the seas cannot single-handedly hold off the massive impacts of man-induced climate change. one such effect is the rising sea levels, which create detrimental consequences for marine life and, connectedly, human beings. thermal expansion of sea water and rapidly melting inland glaciers and continental ice sheets have been causing sea levels to rise at an accelerating rate over the past century. the most extreme warming takes place in the antarctic ocean, where some of the largest continental ice sheets are. the melt of antarctic ice sheets contribute greatly to the rising sea levels.

dr. james hansen, the head of nasa's goddard institute, predicts a sea level rise of 15 feet by the year 2100. a sea level rise of even three feet would bring about 100,000,000 climate refugees and would endanger london, bangkok, venice, new york, and shanghai. considering the fact that more than half the world’s population lives within 37 miles of a shoreline, this puts much of the global population at risk. 

land inundation is already happening. saline-rich seawater has already flowed 35 miles up the mekong’s riverbanks in vietnam’s rice-growing region and is threatening 100,000 hectares of rice. 190 feet of coastline vanish each year in rasheed, egypt due to the encroachment of the sea. bangladesh, often called the “ground zero of climate change”, already produces millions of climate refugees every year as the low-lying country is submerged. sea level rise threatens 40 island nations with inundation, including the maldives, kiribati, and the solomon Islands.