Rising sea levels have now become a global problem. To this point, India must set the global pace in cutting down on emissions in order to reduce the happenin. It can do so by initiating control on the production of four pollutants: Black carbon, methane, ozone and hydrofluorocarbons
The rapid growth in carbon emissions is increasingly contributing to the rising level of the oceans. Climate change manifesting itself in the form of thermal expansion and melting of floating icebergs is leading to a concerning spike in global mean sea levels.
Core samples, tide gauge readings and satellite measurement data have shown that over the past century, the global mean sea level has risen by four to eight inches or nearly 10 to 20 centimeters. Moreover, the annual rate of rise over the past 20 years has been 0.13 inches (3.2 millimeters) a year, roughly twice the average speed of the preceding 80 years.
According to the study led by Xianyao Chen of the Ocean University of China and Qingdao National laboratory of Marine Science and Technology, a thaw of Greenland’s ice sheet accounted for more than 25 per cent of the sea level rise in 2014 against just five per cent in 1993.
Additionally, the losses of glaciers in the Himalayas, Andes and Antarctica too have sped up the rise in sea levels. The worsening of the sea levels has also been exacerbated due to global warming which is actually warming up the oceans. Over the past century, burning of fossil fuels and other human and natural activities has released enormous amounts of heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere. These emissions have caused the Earth’s surface temperature to rise, which are in turn absorbed up to 80 per cent by the oceans.
Globally, the rising temperatures have paved way for increasing sea levels. For instance, the annual rate of sea level rise increased to 3.3 mm (0.13 inch) in 2014 — a rate of 33 cm (13 inches) from 2.2 mm in 1993. Given these conditions scientists and experts have opined in the journal, Nature & Climate Change, that the quickening rise in sea level highlights the importance and urgency of working out ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions and to protect low-lying coasts. The growing threat of sea level has to be understood for its long-term impact.
According to studies conducted by the Imperial College, london, low lying coasts from Miami to Bangladesh and cities from Shanghai to San Francisco stand to be the most affected due to a rise in sea levels.
China will also be most severely affected due to sea level rise as some 145 million people face the prospect of getting submerged. India too faces a threatening prospect due to rising sea levels. A Climate Central, US report states that millions of people living in Indian metros Mumbai and Kolkata are at the risk of getting submerged in the future if climate change triggered sea level rise is left unchecked.
Elevated sea levels are a cause of major concern from the weather point of view as well as they tend to make storm surges and hurricane much worse. Given these conditions, it is of outmost importance to rein in the rising sea levels, this can be done by cutting down drastically on the carbon emissions by making a sharp transition to clean energy. In fact, according to a recent report by the National Centre on Atmospheric Research, reduced emissions can help cut down the seal level rise anywhere between six to 20 inches by 2100.
India must set the global pace in cutting down on emissions in order to reduce the rising sea levels and it can do so by initiating control on the production of four pollutants — black carbon, methane, ozone and hydrofluorocarbons.
These have a major role to play as all these pollutants cycle through the atmosphere more quickly than carbon dioxide, which lasts for centuries in the troposphere. Carbon dioxide is the main cause in Earth’s warming temperatures, which impacts sea level rise, both by the expansion of water as it warms and by the melting of glacial ice.
India has a long coastline of 3,214 km and has a lot at stake if the sea level surges. Given the threat factor, India must take immediate steps to assess the full impact of projected sea level increase over the next decade and take evasive measures to reduce the impact.
A complete awareness on the subject is the first step towards bringing about a positive impact in reducing the sea levels, as a more aware population will emit lesser green house gas emissions, which in turn will mean slower increase in sea levels.
(The writer is an environmental journalist)