Quickening climate change in Arctic could lead to 1.6m sea level rise by 2100
Wed 04 May 2011
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A thaw of Greenland's ice caused by quickening climate change in the Arctic could raise the world's sea levels by up to 1.6 metres by 2100 according to a new report by Oslo-based Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) which is backed by the eight-nation Arctic Council.
Such a rise -- above most past scientific estimates -- would add to threats to coasts from Bangladesh to Florida, low-lying Pacific islands and cities from London to Shanghai. It would also, for instance, raise costs of building tsunami barriers in Japan.
According to AMAP, the past six years (until 2010) have been the warmest period ever recorded in the Arctic.
AMAP predicts that the future global sea level will rise by 0.9 meters (2ft 11in) to 1.6 meters (5ft 3in) by 2100 and the loss of ice from Arctic glaciers, ice caps and the Greenland ice sheet will make a substantial contribution. The rises are projected from 1990 levels.
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