In a recent announcement on Thursday, NASA revealed a substantial increase in global average sea levels, rising by approximately 0.3 inches (one-third of an inch) from 2022 to 2023. This surge marks nearly four times the increase observed in the previous year, with NASA attributing the “significant jump” to a potent El Nino phenomenon and the ongoing effects of a warming climate.
The analysis conducted by NASA spans more than three decades of satellite observations, beginning with the first satellite launch in 1992 and extending to the latest in 2020. Since 1993, sea levels have climbed by roughly four inches, signifying an accelerated rate of increase. The rate has more than doubled from 0.07 inches per year in 1993 to the current rate of 0.17 inches per year.
Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, the director for the NASA sea level change team and the ocean physics program in Washington, emphasized the implications of these findings. “Current rates of acceleration mean that we are on track to add another 20 centimeters (eight inches) of global mean sea level by 2050,” she stated. This projection signifies a doubling of the sea level change expected in the next three decades compared to the previous century, painting a picture of a future where flooding becomes more frequent and catastrophic.
The immediate catalyst for the recent spike in sea levels is attributed to the El Nino weather phenomenon. This weather pattern, characterized by warmer-than-average ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, took over from the La Nina pattern observed from 2021 to 2022, during which sea levels rose by approximately 0.08 inches.
The combination of El Nino’s influence and the overarching trend of a warming climate underscores the urgency of addressing climate change to mitigate the impacts on global sea levels and the potential for more severe flooding events worldwide.
