Geoengineering proposals to cool the ocean would indeed reduce ice loss from West Antarctica’s glaciers, but not enough to stop sea-level rise or allow the ice sheet to regrow.
Palm Jumeirah, an artificial island in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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Storms are the greatest threat to beach erosion, not sea level rise, research reveals. This is the longest continuous beach monitoring survey in the Southern Hemisphere.
Thousands of ships are registered in Majuro, Marshall Islands.
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Rising sea levels threaten the low-lying island nation with the world’s third-largest shipping register. That’s why it’s leading efforts to cut shipping emissions in an equitable way.
A nesting green sea turtle in the Chagos Archipelago.
Nicole Esteban
There is no safe limit to global warming – there is only what people deem to be acceptable damage.
Switzerland’s Great Aletsch Glacier is 23km long and located in the World Heritage site Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch. It leads the list of glaciers in the European Alps in terms of length and size, yet since the mid-19th century, it has lost more than 25% of its volume.
Jo in Riederalp/Wikipedia
Rising temperatures and extreme weather pose an existential threat to many UNESCO World Heritage sites, but widespread discussion is needed for meaningful change.
Climate change is a game changer and our disaster response is no longer sufficient. We must begin to address the underlying causes that make some communities more vulnerable than others.
Image: Pamela Marcum, GTM Research Reserve, Florida
Tidal marshes can build up their soil to keep pace with sea-level rises – up to a point. It turns out the point when the marsh is drowned matches the average rise when global warming exceeds 1.5°C.
Property buybacks and managed retreat from high-risk areas were once seen as far-off options as the planet warms. Now this ‘last resort’ adaptation to climate change is an urgent priority worldwide.
Globally, about a billion people living in coastal cities are at risk of climate hazards. The impacts go well beyond the coast and could affect us all, with disruptions to supply chains and trade.
Judy Lawrence, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Alistair Woodward, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau; Anita Wreford, Lincoln University, New Zealand, and Mark John Costello, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
As the impacts and costs of climate change increase over time, New Zealand’s financial systems could become less stable and the government less able to support those affected.
Mark Gibbs, Australian Institute of Marine Science
The triple whammy of the moon’s wobble, sea level rise and more intense storms will bring worse tidal floods into coastal communities in the 2030s. This includes in Australia.