The new study found that climate change is causing sea levels to rise faster than scientists predicted in their most pessimistic estimates.
The study found that “significantly greater sea level rise could be achieved” than was predicted in recent estimates made by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
According to the IPCC, the average global ocean level is unlikely to rise by more than 1.1 meters during this century, even under the most intense scenarios of greenhouse gas emissions.
However, a new study published in the journal Ocean Science has shown that IPCC forecasts are too low for upper sea levels and that levels could rise as much as 1.35 meters by 2100.
The projected sea level rise by the end of this century in various IPCC reports is conservative at best and therefore underestimates the upper bound on what is called the likely sea level rise by the end of this century, ”the project researchers note.
The main reason for sea level rise is greenhouse gas emissions that are causing glaciers to melt. This is of particular concern to people living near the coastline, as it increases the risk of flooding, super storms and tidal waves.
Aslak Grinstead, a geophysicist at the University of Copenhagen who co-authored the study, said that “this means our carbon budget is even depleted.”
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