Excerpt: 10 cities most affected by rising sea levels, Two Indian cities in the list

 "Ground Report | New Delhi: 10 cities most affected by rising sea levels; Climate change has numerous consequences on the daily lives of many people, but few are as palpable as rising sea levels. Many coastal communities around the world already live with the permanent threat of floods, which, driven by the melting of glaciers and polar ice caps, drown entire neighborhoods, putting people’s lives at risk and causing economic havoc. And what is worse, if the world does not meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement and limits the increase in the global average temperature to 1.5 ° C by 2050, many of the cities of the planet will see this extraordinary threat multiplied.

In just three decades, more than 570 coastal cities will face a projected rise in sea level of at least 0.5 meters, putting more than 800 million people at risk, according to data collected by the C40, which brings together a network of cities in the world committed to ecological transition. Especially since, as that water level rises, the storms will become increasingly virulent. In fact, the increase in extreme weather events such as hurricanes or cyclones is a reality that breaks records every year and has a significant social and economic impact.

According to the UCCRN, a research network that brings together climate scientists from around the world, the economic costs to cities from rising sea levels and flooding could reach a trillion dollars each year by mid-century, the equivalent to the annual Spanish GDP. An estimate that they also estimate conservative, since, for example, Hurricane Sandy in 2012 alone damaged 90,000 buildings in New York, causing 19,000 million dollars in repairs."

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Greenland's melting ice sheet has passed the point of no return, scientists say (excerpt): USA Today

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Greenland's ice sheet dumps more than 280 billion metric tons

Even if global warming were to stop today, the ice sheet would continue shrinking.

of melting ice into the ocean each year.
 
•  Even if global warming were to stop today, the ice sheet would continue shrinking.
• Scientists analyzed 40 years of satellite data from more than 200 large glaciers draining into the ocean.

Greenland's melting ice sheet has passed the point of no return. 

In fact, glaciers on the island have shrunk so much that even if global warming were to stop today, the ice sheet would continue shrinking, a new study suggests.

"Glacier retreat has knocked the dynamics of the whole ice sheet into a constant state of loss," study co-author Ian Howat, an earth scientist from Ohio State University, said in a statement. "Even if the climate were to stay the same or even get a little colder, the ice sheet would still be losing mass."

This "tipping point" means the snowfall that replenishes the ice sheet each year cannot keep up with the ice that is flowing into the ocean from melting glaciers.

Doyle Rice

USA TODAY

Updated August 18, 2020 

 

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Related:If you thought July was hot, you were right: It was one of Earth's hottest months ever recorded (excerpt): USA Today

Icelandic memorial warns future: ‘Only you know if we saved glaciers’ / The Guardian

Plaque marking Okjökull, the first glacier lost to climate crisis, to be unveiled in August.

The first of Iceland’s 400 glaciers to be lost to the climate crisis will be remembered with a memorial plaque – and a sombre warning for the future – to be unveiled by scientists and local people next month.

The former Okjökull glacier, which a century ago covered 15 sq km (5.8 sq miles) of mountainside in western Iceland and measured 50 metres thick, has shrunk to barely 1 sq km of ice less than 15 metres deep and lost its status as a glacier.

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Old spy satellite images show just how fast ice is melting from the glaciers in the Himalayas: USA Today

"Picture 3 million Olympic-size swimming pools full of water.

That's how much ice melts from glaciers in the Himalayas each year, a new study suggests, and climate change is the primary cause. 

Even more concerning is that the ice melt has doubled in recent years: Himalayan glaciers have been losing the equivalent of more than a foot and half of ice each year since 2000 – which is double the amount of melting that took place from 1975 to 2000. 

“This is the clearest picture yet of how fast Himalayan glaciers are melting over this time interval and why,” said study lead author Joshua Maurer, a Ph.D. candidate at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

Overall, the Asian mountain range, which includes Mount Everest, has been losing ice at a rate of about 1% a year since 2000.

The big melt: Global warming predicted to melt massive Himalayan glaciers, disrupt food production"

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