The water resources of small islands and low-lying coastal areas are very susceptible to sea-level rise. This figure illustrates the direct impacts on the water resources sector, as well as the plethora of higher-order impacts which affect not only that sector but most, if not all, other sectors including health, transport and agriculture.

Even for today’s socio-economic conditions, both regionally and globally, large numbers of people and significant economic activity are exposed to sea-level rise. The densely populated megadeltas are especially vulnerable to sea-level rise. More than 1 million people living in the Ganges- Brahmaputra, Mekong and Nile deltas will be directly affected simply if current rates of sea-level rise continue to 2050 and there is no adaptation. More than 5...

The loss of ice from the Greenland Ice Sheet has increased and will contribute substantially to global sea level rise.

Sea-level rise is accelerating.

Another process that results in rising sea levels is the addition of water mass from land ice. Melting glaciers and ice caps, as well as the vast ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica, raise sea-levels if their water mass enters the ocean as melted water or icebergs (Pritchard et al. 2009, Steig et al. 2009, Velicogna 2009). Furthermore, it is estimated that melting of tropical glaciers (most of them are considered small) could cause an increas...

Changes in sea levels resulting exclusively from changes in ocean density and circulation patterns, results of atmosphere-ocean general circulation models (AOGCM) for climate change scenario A1B (this scenario assumes future rapid demographic and economic growth, introduction of new and more efficient technologies, accompanied by a balanced use of all types of energy sources) show that there will be significant spatial variability, i.e., changes ...

During a period between May 1994 to September 1995 the profile of the beach dramatically changed. A rising sea level combined with more storms, washed away vulnerable beaches. With the sand gone, the coast is more vulnerable to waves going further inland, threatening fresh water wells with salinisation, leading to land erosion, and making the areas less attractive for tourism. When a beach starts to deteriorate, the process can be amazingly quick...

The potential impacts of sea level rise on the Nile Delta are expected to include a decline in water quality that would affect freshwater fish, the flooding of agricultural land and damage to infrastructure. This graphic shows the Nile Delta region as it is today (2002), the area as it would appear with a 0.5 m sea level rise, and the area as it would appear with a 1.0 m sea level rise.

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A significant sea level rise is one of the major anticipated consequences of climate change. This will cause some low-lying coastal areas to become completely submerged, while others will increasingly face short-lived high-water levels. These anticipated changes could have a major impact on the lives of coastal populations. The small island developing states (SIDS) will be especially vulnerable to the effects of sea level rise, and to changes in ...

Impact of sea level rise in Bangladesh. three maps in a time relapse resulting in 18 million people affected, 22,000 km2 of land submerged by flooding.

Impact of sea level rise on the Nile delta. Sea level elevation model used to produce impact of nile delta sea level rise.

Melting and warming will have consequences on ocean circulation. Additionally melting of inland glaciers and continental ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica, and the thermal expansion of ocean waters are causing sea level rise.

According to the 2007 IPCC report, global average sea level rise will vary from 18 cm to 59 cm by 2100. The IPCC models did not account for the accelerated melting of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica. Some of the latest research, however, estimates a global sea level rise of between 0.6 and 1.2 metres by 2100.