courtesy IPCC

New researches by a group of 100 international scientists show that the sea levels will increase to atleast 1.4 metres before the 21st century comes to an end. “We can see the west Antarctic glaciers are shrinking at a rate fast enough to contribute to a sea level rise of 1.4 m by 2100, but it will be no more than that,” SCAR executive director Colin Summerhayes told reporters in a press meet.

This report, released by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) throws a new light on the figures of sea-level increase set previously by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) based on the melting of Antarctica and Greenland glaciers owing to the global warming. The IPCC’s 2007  reports stated that sea-levels could rise by 18cm to 59cm by 2099. IPCC also stated reasons-

“New scientific projections show at least a three foot (one meter) rise in ocean levels by the end of this century, part of which is also due to the expansion of warming sea water. This will inundate rice fields and estuaries that feed billions, and push into the heart of the worlds largest cities — and make each storm a threat of more devastating waves and surges.”

This means the coastal cities stand threat.  “Anybody who lives in coastal cities needs to be slightly worried by projections of 1 metre or more,” Summerhayes said. That is, for India, cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai ,  Goa etc may go under water by the end of this century.

“Large cities like Lima get much of their water from glaciers. In other parts of the world, glacier water keeps streams cool and full for salmon and other important wildlife. And as more and more water reaches the ocean, it is increasing sea level at a faster rate — which threatens every coastal city and shoreline” (IPCC)

Leading glaciologists, according to IPCC, have long maintained that accepted estimates of sea level rise were underestimated, due to the rapid retreat of mountain glaciers and the unpredictable change to ice caps in Greenland and West Antarctica. All this has caused rapid ice loss, shifts in ocean and atmospheric circulation in the continent. This is a devastating forecast for low lying areas from Pacific islands, to Bangladesh, to Florida’s low-lying coast and Everglades, and parts of all major coastal cities. In Alaska, the native village of Shishmaref, in the photo to the right, is suffering severe effects of sea level rise already.

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