Sea level rise is 'inevitable' due to Greenland melting

A recent study has confirmed the worst environmental predictions: no measure can stop the melting of glaciers, even if the world stopped emitting greenhouse gases today. As per experts, 3.3% of the Greenland ice sheet is going to melt and it is an irreversible process.

It is the direct consequence of climate change, although there is more. Sea levels will rise almost a foot between now and the year 2100. "We have to plan as if that ice won't be there in the near future, a century or so from now. Each study has bigger numbers than the last. It's always "faster than expected", warns William Colgan, co-author of the research published in 'Nature Climate Change.

But what does sea level rise mean?

On average, the sea level has risen about 23 centimetres since 1880, and almost half of those centimetres have risen in the last 25 years, according to National Geographic. According to current data, the sea rises 3.4 millimetres every year.

This increase implies serious consequences such as storm surges and floods, which will be up to five times more frequent in the coming years. This in turn will lead to habitat loss for many animal and plant species.

White paradises with unprecedented temperatures

In the Arctic and Antarctica, there is also a great concern. Recent extreme heat waves have left unprecedented temperatures in the 30s and 40s in these areas made up of ice and frozen seawater.

The United Nations Organization assures that the world has less capacity to respond to these phenomena: "The increase in heat waves, droughts and floods has already exceeded the tolerance thresholds of plants and animals, and has caused the massive mortality of various species, such as trees and corals," he details.

Similarly, this situation has caused millions of people to be exposed to a situation of vulnerability and acute food insecurity, especially in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America.

In this scenario, the UN recalls that in order to reach the objective of limiting global warming to 1.5ºC, it will be necessary for global emissions of greenhouse gases "to reach their maximum point before 2025, at the latest, and to be reduced by 43% by 2030."

Pakistan's deadly floods

The warning comes amid growing concern about natural disasters around the world. More recently, devastating floods have swept through Pakistan, leaving a third of the country under water.

Pakistan is experiencing one of its worst floods. Monsoon rains that began on June 14 have left much of the country submerged in waters that have claimed the lives of nearly 1,000 people.

In the wake of monsoon floods, makeshift relief camps sprang up across Pakistan, at schools, highways and military sites.

Every year Pakistan suffers during the monsoon season from June to August, but 2022 has been exceptionally tough. Normally, the rainy season starts in July, but this year it started to rain heavily in June, causing severe flooding.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the average rainfall in Pakistan during the three-month period from July 1 to September 30 is 140.9 mm. Pakistan was 11.3% below this target in the year (2021), with 125mm of rainfall.

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