Rising sea levels Archives

May12025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Extreme Weather Surges Cost Trillions, Exposing Insurance Gaps and Need for Climate Resilience

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Fact Check

Rising losses from floods, fires and storms reveal urgent call for public-private action in climate risk management. Over the last decade, extreme weather events from tornados and hurricanes to floods and wildfires have inflicted a staggering toll on both people and economies worldwide. Between 2014 and 2023, these events caused around USD 2 trillion in economic losses globally, and the outlook is only becoming more concerning. Driven by shifting climate patterns, storms are growing more frequent and severe, with rising sea levels, erratic precipitation, and warming temperatures disrupting ecosystems, food production, and public health. The compounding impact of these changes threatens to cause long-term environmental and financial damage. Insurance supports recovery but cover...

Apr162025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Kallakkadal Crisis Rising Sea Shrinking Shore Threaten Lives in Kerala

Breaking News, Climate Actions

Since December, residents along Kerala’s Vembanad Lake India’s longest have been battling flood-like conditions in their homes. For Raphel Abraham a local from Edakochi, life has been nothing short of “hell,” as seawater continues to seep in forcing families to abandon their homes or endure prolonged waterlogging. The culprit? A mysterious sea phenomenon known as ‘kallakkadal’, which translates to “the sea that arrives like a thief.” Though traditionally observed in the pre-monsoon months (April–May), experts now believe that the waves behind kallakkadal swell waves traveling thousands of kilometers across the ocean may no longer follow a seasonal pattern. Approved by UNESCO in 2012 as a scientific term, kallakkadal is caused by large swell waves formed due to distant storms and cycl...

Mar252025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

WMO 2024 Climate Report Warns of Unprecedented Heat Surging Greenhouse Gases and Rising Seas

Breaking News, Climate Actions

The State of the Climate Report 2024 released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) delivers a stark warning: the world is on the verge of surpassing critical climate thresholds, with global temperatures, greenhouse gas concentrations, and sea levels reaching unprecedented levels. According to the report, carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and nitrous oxide (N₂O) levels are now at their highest in 800,000 years, driving the planet towards dangerous warming. The data suggests that 2024 could be the first full calendar year to exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, a limit scientists have long warned could trigger catastrophic climate consequences. Oceans at a Boiling Point The relentless accumulation of heat in the world’s oceans has shattered records once again fueli...

Mar152025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Board game boosts youth awareness on sea level rise

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Fact Check

Can a board game help young people grasp the impact of sea level rise? Researcher Nieske Vergunst from Utrecht University’s Freudenthal Institute explored this question through the Sea Level Game, a strategy-based board game designed to enhance climate awareness. Tested on 117 participants aged 16 to 25, the game divided players into two teams: the Sea Level team, which made choices affecting climate change, and the Solution Level team, responsible for societal responses. The study, published in Geoscience Communication, found that players felt more aware of sea level rise and more confident in their ability to influence it—regardless of their prior science knowledge. Vergunst sees the game as a bridge for climate communication, particularly for those with low science exposure. “Sea ...

Mar142025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Rising Groundwater Threatens Inland Flooding in Coastal Cities

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment

Rising sea levels caused by climate change are bringing an often-overlooked threat to coastal communities rising groundwater. While coastal erosion and storm surges have been widely studied, the inland spread of flood hazards due to groundwater rise remains a hidden danger. A recent study by Cox et al. focuses on Dunedin, New Zealand, a city already facing periodic flooding, and presents a method to predict how rising seas will impact groundwater levels, offering crucial insights for flood risk management. The research, based on data from 2019 to 2023 collected from 35 groundwater sensors, shows that as sea levels rise, groundwater levels will also increase, limiting the land’s ability to absorb rainfall and leading to higher risks of surface flooding. Even before reaching the surfac...

Mar142025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Rising seas groundwater loss and urban expansion push Asia megadeltas toward crisis

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment

Coastal flooding in Asia’s megadeltas is intensifying due to rapid urbanization, land use changes, excessive groundwater extraction, infrastructure development, and widespread sand mining. Since 1990, urban areas below five meters above sea level have expanded by over 70% in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Mekong deltas, and by at least 200% in the Chao Phraya delta. The excessive withdrawal of groundwater has accelerated land subsidence in all five megadeltas, with sinking rates surpassing one centimeter per year. Additionally, intense river sand mining, driven by the high demand for construction materials, has contributed to severe erosion along riverbanks and coastlines. Dams built upstream further disrupt natural river flows by trapping sediments that are essential for maintain...

Mar112025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Sea Level Could Rise Up to 1.9 Meters by 2100 if Emissions Continue

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment, Fact Check

A new study warns that global sea levels could rise as much as 1.9 meters by 2100 if carbon emissions remain unchecked 90 centimeters higher than the latest estimates by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The research, conducted by scientists at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore and Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands, introduces a more accurate projection method that accounts for extreme climate scenarios. Published in Earth Future, the study highlights that traditional sea-level rise estimates vary widely due to uncertainties in climate models. While most models include well-understood factors like glacier melt, they struggle to predict less certain events such as sudden ice shelf collapse. To address this, the researc...

Mar102025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

World coastal Cities Sinking NASA Warns of Accelerated Sea Level Rise

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment

A new NASA-led study has revealed that many of the world’s coastal cities are sinking, making them more vulnerable to rising sea levels than previously thought. Researchers found that in some regions, land is subsiding so rapidly that flood risks could double by 2050, far exceeding earlier projections. Published in Science Advances, the study used satellite data from ESA's Sentinel-1 mission to track vertical land motion along California’s coast from 2015 to 2023. The findings show that in areas like San Francisco Bay, land is sinking by over 10 millimeters per year, potentially leading to more than 45 centimeters of local sea level rise by mid-century. While melting ice caps and climate change have long been blamed for rising seas, the study highlights that human activities such as ...

Feb212025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Glaciers Lost 6.54 Trillion Tonnes of Ice Since 2000, Driving Sea-Level Rise

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment, Fact Check

Between 2000 and 2023, glaciers lost an estimated 273 billion tonnes of ice annually, making them the second-largest contributor to rising sea levels, according to a new study published in Nature. The total global ice loss during this period reached 6.54 trillion tonnes, raising sea levels by 18 millimeters (mm) and contributing 0.75 mm of sea-level rise per year. The study revealed that ice loss accelerated by 36% in the second half of the study period (2012-2023) compared to the first half. Recent years saw the most severe losses, with the 2019-2023 period witnessing annual ice loss exceeding 400 gigatonnes per year (Gt/yr), including a record 548 Gt/yr in 2023. “This underscores the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s call for urgent action to cut greenhouse gas emissions ...

Jan222025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Ghana’s Coastal Erosion Crisis Threatens Communities and Heritage

Breaking News, Disasters, Environment

The relentless advance of the sea along Ghana’s coast has not only erased significant portions of its landscape but also consumed key historical sites, leaving communities and livelihoods in jeopardy. Among the losses is the UNESCO World Heritage site once used to hold enslaved Africans during the transatlantic slave trade. Today, only remnants of the fort remain, with 90% of its structure swallowed by the ocean. “In 1907, the erosion started,” recalls James Ocloo Akorli, a historian and caretaker of the fort's remains. “First, it was the coconut trees. Then, the houses went. By 1980, when it was still being used as a prison, the damage was already severe.” The fate of Fort Kongestein in Ada Foah, built in 1783 and integral to the European slave trade, echoes this story. It has been ...