Climate & Environment
Sea Level Rise
Definition
Sea level rise is the increase in global mean sea level caused primarily by thermal expansion of warming ocean water and the melting of glaciers and the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Satellite records show global mean sea level rising at over 4 mm per year and accelerating; the IPCC projects continued rise of roughly half a metre to around one metre by 2100 depending on emissions, with multi-metre rise committed over centuries and potentially much more if ice-sheet instability thresholds are crossed.
References
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This reference provides supporting context for how “Sea Level Rise” is defined and used.
Overview
How it is used
The concept structures coastal adaptation planning, IPCC assessment chapters, flood-risk insurance and disclosure, and debates on managed retreat versus defend strategies.
Why it matters
Sea level rise redraws the map slowly but permanently; it is the clearest illustration that climate change commits future generations regardless of when emissions fall.