15-Feb-2023: WMO releases the report "Global Sea-level Rise and Implications"

According to the World Meteorological Organisation ‘s (WMO) Report “Global Sea-level Rise and Implications”, India, China, Bangladesh and the Netherlands face the highest threat of sea-level rise globally.

Several big cities on all continents are threatened by the rise in sea level including Shanghai, Dhaka, Bangkok, Jakarta, Mumbai, Maputo, Lagos, Cairo, London, Copenhagen, New York, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires and Santiago.

Highlights of the Report

Trends and Projections:

• Human influence is likely the main driver of sea-level rise increases since at least 1971.
• Global mean sea-level increased by 0.20m between 1901 and 2018.
• The rate of increase was 1.3 mm/ year between 1901 and 1971, 1.9 mm/year between 1971 and 2006, and 3.7 mm/year between 2006 and 2018.
• A temperature increase of 2 degrees could double the sea-level rise.
• Contributors to sea-level rise include thermal expansion (50%), glacier ice loss (22%), ice-sheet loss (20%), and changes in land-water storage (8%).

Impacts:

• At sustained warming levels between 2-3 degree Celsius, the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets will be almost completely lost over multiple millennia causing potentially multimeter sea-level rise.
• Sea-level rise will bring cascading and compounding impacts resulting in losses of coastal ecosystems and ecosystem services, groundwater salinization, flooding and damage to coastal infrastructure that cascade into risks to livelihoods, settlements, health, well-being, food, displacement and water security, and cultural values in the near to long-term.

Scenario for India:

• The sea level along the Indian coast was observed to be rising at a rate of about 1.7 mm/year during the last century (1900-2000).
• A 3 cm sea level rise could cause the sea to intrude inland by about 17 meters.
• India is most vulnerable to compounding impacts of sea-level rise.
• Half of sea-level rise in the Indian Ocean is due to the volume of water expanding since the ocean is warming up rapidly.
• India is facing compound extreme events along our coastline. Cyclones are intensifying rapidly due to more moisture and heat from ocean warming.

Recommendations:

• Address the climate crisis and broaden our understanding of the root causes of insecurity.
• Actively support grassroots resilience efforts to tackle climate change and improve Early Warning Systems.