Why Is Sea Level Rise Important For Our Future? What Is It?
While visiting the Pacific Ocean nations of Tonga and Samoa, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has been talking with the locals about a number of important issues, one of which is sea level rise.
International leaders and specialists will meet at the UN on September 25 to talk about the best way to deal with the threat.
What you should know about sea level rise is as follows:
Peak water line
The oceans are thought to have risen by 20–23 centimeters (8–9 inches) since 1880.
Based on satellite data collected since 1993, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) of the UN determined that the average sea level worldwide hit a record high in 2023.
It is concerning to note that the rate of rise in sea level during the past ten years has exceeded double the rate of rise during the first ten years of the satellite record, which spans from 1993 to 2002.
What raises the sea level?
Ocean warming and the melting of ice sheets and glaciers are two phenomena that directly arise from climate change and raise sea levels.
Sea levels would rise significantly on the earth even if nations around the world stick to the 1.5°C target for global warming over pre-industrial levels put forth in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
It is important to remember that regional variations in sea level rise can result from ocean circulation patterns like the Gulf Stream.
What are the repercussions?
Rising sea levels affect vulnerable countries all over the world not only in terms of their physical environment but also in terms of their social, cultural, and economic fabric.
Flooding caused by saltwater can harm coastal ecosystems, such as fisheries and coral reefs, as well as agricultural fields, infrastructure, and residential areas. It can also make it more difficult for coastal residents to make a living.
Flooding can lead to stress and mental health issues, damage fresh water supplies, and spread infections that are harmful to people’s health.
At the same time, as beaches, resorts, and other tourist attractions like coral reefs are devastated, tourism revenues—a major economic engine, particularly in many small island developing states (SIDS)—may suffer.
Numerous variables can compel people to move, relocate to higher land when it becomes accessible, or leave their homes, which can have a negative impact on communities, economies, and ways of life.
The fact that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the occurrence a “threat multiplier” may not come as a surprise.
What connection exists between climate change and rising sea levels?
In a nutshell, rising sea levels are a sign of climate change.
The seas take up a large portion of the extra heat produced by climate change as global temperatures rise. Sea level rise is mostly caused by the process of thermal expansion, which causes warmer water to expand in volume.
A disastrous cyclic feedback cycle is also produced by rising sea levels.
Mangrove forests, for instance, have the ability to store harmful carbon emissions that contribute to climate change and safeguard coastal habitats, but they may also easily get overgrown and lose this ability. Reduced mangroves contribute to greater amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which fuel climate change. Moreover, rising temperatures will cause sea levels to rise even faster.
Which nations are most impacted
One in ten people on the planet, or over 900 million people, are thought to live close to the water.
Densely populated nations like as Bangladesh, China, India, the Netherlands, and Pakistan that have coastline areas would be vulnerable to catastrophic flooding. Major cities across all continents, such as Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Lagos, London, Mumbai, New York, and Shanghai, are also vulnerable.
The most serious dangers are probably those that affect small islands with low-lying land regions. People in Pacific Ocean countries like Fiji, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands are already being forced to relocate due to sea level rise and other climate-related effects.
How can the rising sea level be halted?
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which are the main cause of climate change, will slow down global warming and be the single most significant action that can be taken.
In the meantime, it is now more important than ever to mitigate and adapt to rising sea levels.
There are many different approaches, all of which have a price tag attached to them. These include creating infrastructure—like sea walls and storm surge barriers—to prevent erosion and flooding, enhancing drainage systems, building flood-resistant structures, reestablishing natural barriers like mangroves, and safeguarding wetlands and coral reefs to absorb wave energy and lessen the effects of storm surges.
In order to address occurrences related to sea level rise, many nations are also intensifying their strategies for disaster risk reduction and utilizing early warning systems sponsored by the UN.
Managed retreat is the term for the practice of relocating communities from coastal areas that are deemed vulnerable as part of adaptation strategies.
How the United Nations Assists
The United Nations is well positioned to spearhead an all-encompassing, globally coordinated strategy to combat sea level rise.
In order to lessen the magnitude of future sea level rise, the Paris Agreement to limit global warming was made possible by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The UN also supports SIDS and collaborates with the international community to give the most vulnerable nations financial support, particularly through the Loss and Damage Fund, so they can better prepare for the effects of climate change.
