Sea level rise at current pace can displace millions

NEW DELHI: Madhavan Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India, said that rising sea levels, owing to global warming, is a threat to the millions of people living in the coastal regions. He referred to satellite data from the European Space Agency (ESA) showing that on an average, there has been 3 milimetre rise in mean global sea level since 1993.

Human activities in the past few decades have resulted in a steep rise in the emission of greenhouse gases which trap the Sun’s heat in the atmosphere leading to heating up of Earth’s climate system. This phenomenon, termed as global warming, has been showing its negative impact in the manner of erratic weather patterns, melting of glaciers and ice sheets in polar zones.

Rising sea level has been a cause of concern for many researchers and scientists for a long time now but multiple reports showing a slow yet gradual increase in the mean sea level over the years are proving it to be more than just a ‘hoax.’