Environmental - PESTEL (Posted by Nikhita)

Rising sea levels

Scientific research indicates sea levels worldwide have been rising at a rate of 0.14 inches (3.5 millimetres) per year since the early 1990s.

Core samples, tide gauge readings, and, most recently, satellite measurements tell us that over the past century, the Global Mean Sea Level (GMSL) has raised by 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimetres). However, the annual rate of rise over the past 20 years has been 0.13 inches (3.2 millimetres) a year, roughly twice the average speed of the preceding 80 years.

Over the past century, the burning of fossil fuels and other human and natural activities has released enormous amounts of heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere. These emissions have caused the Earth's surface temperature to rise, and the oceans absorb about 80 percentage of this additional heat.

The rise in sea levels is linked to three primary factors:

• ·      Thermal expansion
• ·      Melting of glaciers and polar ice caps
• ·      Ice loss from Greenland and West Antarctica