When the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its fifth assessment in 2013, the report estimated that sea levels will rise by 52 to 98 centimeters before the end of this century at the current rate of emissions. Even if governments were to “achieve drastic emissions cuts,” the experts projected that sea levels will still rise by up to 54 centimeters.

Since the report was published, however, a growing collection of research suggests that these estimates were too conservative. Based on the increasing instability that has been observed across the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, one study concluded that the effects of climate change could result in a global average of more than two meters of sea level rise by the end of the century.

“For 2100, the ice sheet contribution is very likely in the range of 7 – 178 centimeters but once you add in glaciers and ice caps outside the ice sheets and thermal expansion of the seas, you tip well over two meters,” said study lead author Professor Jonathan Bamber from the University of Bristol.

“To put this into perspective, the […]