Sea level rise is accelerating in the UK, making coastlines more vulnerable , according to a UK Met Office report released on Thursday, highlighting the ongoing effects of climate change.
This study, based on the observation of the climate and the meteorological events of 2021, confirms the impact of the global increase in temperatures on the climate in the United Kingdom, highlighting that “climate change is not only a future problem but is already influencing in the conditions we live in.”
In the UK, recent decades have been warmer, wetter and sunnier than the 20th century.
Since the 1900s, sea level has risen by around 16.5cm in the UK and the rate of sea level rise around the country has doubled in a century.
One of the reasons for sea level rise is the melting of glaciers from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.
“Our long-term measurements show that in recent decades the rate of sea level rise in the UK has increased,” explains Svetlana Jevrejeva of the National Oceanographic Centre.
This phenomenon threatens coastal areas, he points out. As sea levels rise , storms can cause stronger impacts.
Due to its insular nature, the United Kingdom is particularly exposed to coastal erosion. A recent report by the UK Environment Agency estimated that one in six people was at risk of flooding due to rain or rising seas and that one million people would be directly affected by rising waters. of the sea at the end of the century.
