A new study has been conducted by a team of scientists who realized that two-meter rise could result in catastrophic consequences for the world. They added that this rise could result in loss of 1.79 million square kilometers of land, and that loss could jeopardize up to 187 million people along with global food production.
Usually, these studies are performed on the numerical modeling for predicting the possible rising of sea levels. The ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctic are traditionally used for the modeling, but recently — this became challenging too.
As the Earth’s climate warms, melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are expected to lead to an increase in global sea levels. A team of international scientists gathered to devise a strategy to mitigate and plan for the future impact of this danger. In this case, they can only lean on projections, so 22 ice sheet experts were asked to estimate plausible conclusions for the future. For these conclusions, they projected melting expectations for the following areas: Greenland, West Antarctic, and East Antarctic.
Jonathan Bamber, a leading professor from the University of Bristol, stated that structured expert judgment could only provide a formal approach in estimating such uncertain quantities, primarily since they are based on the current modeling only.
He added that the projections of the total global sea level rise have shown that the growth of two meters annually could jeopardize our planet within the next hundred years.
In the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change, Bamber stated that by the year 2100 — and if followed by the same ‘temperature scenario’ — the rise will most likely reach the upper limit and seriously endanger humanity.
According to Bamber, such rises in sea levels will most certainly have a significant impact on the coastal communities, including critical regions of food production that could put over 187 million people in severe danger.
Lastly, he added that we should take into account the danger of this 2-meter spike as soon as possible since we might not have the time to develop strategies to mitigate such risks.