Climate Change

Climate change: sea level rise could displace millions of people within two generations

Icebergs are reflected in the calm waters at the mouth of the Jakobshavn ice fjord near Ilulissat in Greenland in this photo taken May 15, 2007. New York, Boston and other cities on North America's northeast coast could face a rise in sea level this century that would exceed forecasts for the rest of the planet if Greenland's ice sheet keeps melting as fast as it is now, researchers said May 27, 2009. Sea levels off the northeast coast of North America could rise by 12 to 20 inches more than other coastal areas if the Greenland glacier-melt continues to accelerate at its present pace, the researchers reported. REUTERS/Bob Strong/Files

The Antarctic ice sheet is nearly 5km thick and one and a half times larger than Australia. Image: REUTERS/Bob Strong

Jonathan Bamber
Professor of Physical Geography, University of Bristol
Michael Oppenheimer
Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs, Princeton University
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Reconstructed sea level for the last 2500 years. Note the marked increase in rate since about 1900 that is unprecedented over the whole time period.
Image: The Conversation
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