An inevitable large rise in sea level threatens 25 major cities around the world
Melting Greenland's ice sheet will cause sea levels to rise (Getty)
Even if climate warming stops , the melting of the Greenland ice sheet has already begun and will lead to a significant rise in sea levels, according to a recent study, which concluded that estimates circulating about the extent of the danger posed by this phenomenon may not reflect the severity of the situation.
The glaciologists who prepared the study, the results of which were published in the journal Nature Climate Change, concluded that current warming, regardless of any additional pollution from fossil fuels , will lead to a loss of at least 3.3% of the volume of the Greenland ice sheet. , an increase of 27.4 centimeters above sea level.
Although they are unable to establish an exact timetable, the researchers assert that the bulk of this increase will occur by 2100. This means that current estimates underestimate the severity of the situation and that it is necessary to take these "worrying forecasts" seriously.
These estimates are minimal because they do not take into account future warming, explained lead author Jason Books of the National Geological Service in Denmark and Greenland. "This is a cautious bottom line. All it takes is for the climate to continue to warm around Greenland," Box told AFP. So that the effect is greater.
And if the extreme levels of melting , observed in 2012, were repeated every year, the water height could reach about 78 centimeters, which is synonymous with the inundation of vast areas at low altitudes and the inundation of their inhabitants.
In its 2021 reference report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimated that under a worst-case scenario of greenhouse gas emissions, melting of the Greenland ice sheet would contribute to a sea level rise of 18 centimeters by 2100. The other major source of sea level rise is It is the melting of the Antarctic ice cap.
For Jason Books, who co-authored this report, his team's latest research indicates that these estimates are "too low", and he notes that if climate change creates more pressing threats, such as food insecurity, an acceleration in sea-level rise will in turn become "It will be on the table in a few decades, because after that it will start displacing more people," he said.
In its 2022 report on climate impacts, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that even if warming stabilizes between 2°C and 2.5°C, “coastal redrawing will continue over thousands of years, potentially affecting at least 25 Big city and flooding the lowlands” where in 2010 there were 1.3 billion people.
Studies published by the Danish Arctic Research Authority on the Arctic earlier this year showed that the huge ice cover in Greenland receded by 4.7 trillion tons in 20 years, which alone contributed to the rise in the level of the oceans by 1.2 centimeters.
Sea level rise is usually due to the thermal expansion of the oceans, as water takes up more space when its temperature rises, and also to the melting of glaciers in ice sheets.
(AFP)