According to NASA, global average sea levels are projected to rise by approximately 0.76 centimeters from 2022 to 2023, which is nearly four times higher than the previous year. This significant increase is primarily attributed to the powerful phenomenon of El Nino and climate change.
The recent increase in sea levels is primarily attributed to El Nino, which replaced La Nina from 2021 to 2022, resulting in a rise of about 0.20 cm in sea level. El Nino is a natural weather phenomenon associated with disruptions in wind patterns, leading to warmer ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific. On the other hand, La Nina, characterized by unusually low temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, leads to different weather patterns.
Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, the director of NASA’s Sea Level Change Team and Ocean Physics Program in Washington, stated that if the current rates of acceleration continue, another 20 centimeters will be added to global mean sea levels by 2050. This projection represents twice the amount of change in the next three decades compared to the entire previous century, leading to more frequent and catastrophic floods in the future.
Technological advancements have enhanced the accuracy of sea level measurement over the years. Radar altimeters are now able to bounce microwaves off the sea surface and record the time it takes for the signal to return to the satellite, as well as the strength of
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