What rising sea levels mean for the world and the future

You might not feel its effect at the moment but once you do, it’ll be too late.

By Aaron Zhao

The 21st Century saw a pretty terrifying, new trend: rising sea levels. This environmental issue is one of those realities that many know and understand to be a serious problem, but may soon forget because it simply doesn’t affect them in any direct way. At least, not yet.

This global issue is exactly what it sounds like, and it’s caused by two primary reasons: melting glaciers and thermal expansion.

Melting glaciers

If you put a few large cubes in a very shallow plate of water and let it rest for a few minutes at room temperature, you’ll come back to a higher water level and smaller ice cubes. Similarly, when glaciers or ice sheets melt because of global warming (which is caused by greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide trapping heat), their water flows into the ocean and contributes to rising sea levels.

Thermal expansion

Thermal expansion is the lesser-known reason for rising sea levels but is equally as intimidating. When water is heated, it expands due to increased thermal energy, causing the water molecules to move quickly and away from each other. As global warming causes temperatures to rise, most of the heat is absorbed by the ocean, causing it to expand and rise.

Since 2000, sea levels have risen by approximately 74 mm and continue to rise at a rate of 3.3 mm every year, according to NASA’s satellite sea-level observations. At this rate, 2100’s sea level could be almost a foot (ca. 0.3m) higher than 2000’s, assuming that the rate of change remains roughly constant. And, as stated in the introduction, this is becoming more and more serious, especially in this century. On top of that, we’re only 21 years into this century. That’s 79 more to go.

Consequences

Nearly 40% of the world’s population lives in coastal areas. Coastal cities could become Atlantises as tidal floods become increasingly riskier, causing coastal floods in some of the world’s most well-known cities like Venice and New York. And, imagine the sheer amount of damage that could be done to the infrastructure, and how much money repair would cost.

You might not experience the effects of rising sea levels at the moment. But once you do, it’ll be too late. Sure, it sounds apocalyptic, but will quickly become reality if we don’t stop climate change, as one population, as one humanity.