The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is weakening due to rising carbon dioxide levels and warming temperatures, posing a risk of collapse and significant global flooding. Sea levels could rise up to 9.8 feet, impacting coastal cities worldwide.
The West Antarctic Ice Sheet, one of the largest in the world, is facing a serious threat. Scientists from Australian National University warn that it is becoming weaker and may soon collapse, which could lead to major global flooding. This massive ice sheet covers an area of about 760,000 square miles, which is roughly three times the size of the United Kingdom. However, due to increasing levels of carbon dioxide and a warming climate, it is now at a high risk of breaking apart.
If the ice sheet collapses, sea levels could rise by up to 9.8 feet (3 metres). This massive amount of water could flood hundreds of cities and towns worldwide, putting millions of people and their homes at risk.
Which Areas Are Most Vulnerable?
The research shows that in the United Kingdom, cities like Hull, Skegness, Middlesbrough, and Newport could be underwater. Coastal towns like Peterborough and Lincoln might also be seriously affected. Parts of London, including areas like Battersea, Greenwich, Bermondsey, and Chelsea, could also face flooding due to rising levels in the Thames River.
In Europe, cities such as Venice, Montpellier, Gdansk, and much of the Netherlands could be fully submerged. In the United States, low-lying areas like New Orleans, Galveston (Texas), and the Florida Everglades would be severely impacted.
Climate Central created a tool known as the Coastal Risk Screening Tool that predicts the potential damage. By setting the sea level rise to 9.8 feet, one can see large red regions on the map indicating the areas likely to be underwater.
According to the researchers at the Australian National University, the global warming is accelerating changes in Antarctica. The ice is melting faster, and ocean temperatures are increasing, putting pressure on the entire region.
Dr Nerilie Abram, lead author of the study, said, “Rapid change has already been detected across Antarctica’s ice, oceans and ecosystems, and this is set to worsen with every fraction of a degree of global warming.”
As sea ice disappears, more sunlight reaches the ocean surface, causing it to warm further. This leads to more melting, creating a dangerous cycle where more melting results in more warming, which causes even more melting.
Another issue is the ice shelves, which are floating platforms of ice that help hold the larger ice sheet in place. If these shelves melt or break off, large sections of land-based ice could slide into the sea much more quickly.
Wildlife Is Also at Risk
Professor Matthew England, one of the study’s co-authors, says that animals like emperor penguins are under threat. These penguins rely on stable sea ice to raise their offsprings. However, sea ice has been breaking up too early in the season in recent years, leading to the loss of entire generations of chicks in some colonies. To prevent the worst-case scenario, scientists say we need to cut carbon dioxide emissions quickly.
Dr Abram says, “The only way to avoid further abrupt changes and their far–reaching impacts is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions fast enough to limit global warming to as close to 1.5 degrees Celsius as possible.”
She urges governments, businesses, and communities to include the changes in Antarctica in their climate strategies, especially since some effects are already being seen.