A recent report on research by J. T. Reager using NASA's GRACE satellite shows that increased heavy rainfall, caused by the atmosphere being able to hold more water in a warmer planet, has resulted in more water being stored on land and has reduced the effects of sea level rise.
The chart below shows a big dip in 2012 when the floods in Pakistan and Australia held water on land for a while but of course it made it's way to the sea in the end.
The chart below shows a big dip in 2012 when the floods in Pakistan and Australia held water on land for a while but of course it made it's way to the sea in the end.
As can be seen in the chart, sea level has recently been rising at a much faster rate and must be approaching 5 mm a year. There are more reports from Greenland that the rate of melting ice is accelerating and the combination this and other related factors is making sea level rise something that is becoming an urgent problem.
The chart below shows the coastal regions that are at risk from sea level rise and recent events are making the critical one metre rise closer and closer in time.
Looking at Europe in closer detail you can see the catastrophic loss of land and infrastructure. The East coast of the USA from New Orleans to New York will also suffer dramatic losses, as well as China.
The economic losses of such a huge amount of infrastructure will bankrupt even the richest economies and the displacement of many millions of people will cause civil strife that will make Syria look like a Sunday school outing.
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