Sea level rise is accelerating in the UK

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In England, recent decades have been warmer, wetter and sunnier than the 20th century. Sea levels in the UK have risen by around 16.5cm since the 1900s and the rate of sea level rise across the country has more than doubled to 3.0- 5.2mm per century each year, up from 1.5mm at the start of the century. Among the causes of sea level rise is the melting of glaciers in the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. “Our long-term records show that the rate of sea-level rise in the UK has increased in recent decadesDr Svetlana Zevrejeva of the National Oceanographic Center said. This phenomenon threatens coastal areas, he notes: “As sea levels rise, storms will cause more damage“.

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Due to its insular nature, the United Kingdom is particularly vulnerable to coastal erosion. A recent report by the British Environment Agency estimated that one in six people are at risk of flooding due to rain or sea level rise, and that one million people will be directly affected by rising sea levels by the end of this century. In terms of temperature, the UK continues to warm at a broadly comparable rate, but slightly more than the global temperature increase, with the last decade warming by 1.0°C over the 1961-1990 period. The highest temperature recorded in the country in 2021 was 32.2°, a relatively low peak. But, you can see the temperature recorded last yearOrdinaryMike Kendon, lead author of the report, said, “Had it happened three decades earlier, it would have been one of the hottest years on record in the UK“.

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