NASA reports that global sea level rise in 2024 will be 0.23 inches (0.59cm) per year, which is actually higher than the original expectation of 0.17 inches (0.43cm) per year. This phenomenon is caused by several factors, including melting ice and glaciers, as well as thermal expansion of the oceans due to global warming.
Josh Willis, a sea level researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, said that sea level rise in 2024 was higher than expected. He added that although there are slight differences from year to year, sea levels continue to rise at an increasingly rapid rate.
2024 also recorded the warmest year on record, with significant climate change being the main cause. The study found that two-thirds of the sea level rise this year was due to thermal expansion of the oceans. Since 1993, global sea levels have risen by 4 inches (10cm) with the annual rate of increase now more than double what it was before.
The El Nino phenomenon is also a cause with the movement of warm water from the western Pacific region which not only increases temperatures in certain areas. In fact, this situation also causes unpredictable weather disturbances and accelerates the rise in sea levels. The findings of this report were obtained through monitoring using advanced satellite technology such as TOPEX/Poseidon and Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich.
Previously, there was also a scientific survey that showed the true appearance of Antarctica if all the ice melted. Scientists say that if all the water in Antarctica melted, the sea level on Earth would rise as high as 58 meters. The Antarctic continent would not sink completely but would rise higher because it no longer had to support 24.759 quadrillion tons of ice.