The World Meteorological Organization warns that high water temperatures are leading to rising sea levels, which in turn increases the risk of flooding.
“Warmer air contains more atmospheric vapor, and this increases the likelihood of tropical storms, while simultaneously producing more rainfall,” a World Meteorological Organization spokeswoman said. Rainfall associated with tropical cyclones is likely to increase in the future due to anthropogenic warming and increased atmospheric moisture.
The water at the surface of the oceans is warmer and less dense than the water below. This contrast is intensified by climate change: as a result of melting ice sheets and glaciers, huge volumes of fresh water enter the seas, which reduces the salinity of the upper layer and further reduces its density. The increasing contrast between the densities of ocean layers makes mixing more difficult, making it increasingly difficult for oxygen, heat and carbon to penetrate into the deeper layers. This disrupts a process that helps trap most of the world’s excess heat and much of its carbon dioxide.
Researchers have found that wind speeds are increasing. Strong winds, causing mixing, have also contributed to the deepening of the ocean surface by 5-10 m every 10 years over the past 50 years. This surface layer is home to a significant number of marine animals, whose life depends on the state of phytoplankton. But as the wind increases, the phytoplankton move deeper, where it is quieter and there is less light, and the light helps them survive and reproduce. This movement disrupts the wider food web. These changes in the basic structure of the world’s oceans are fundamental.
A new study has found that more than a third of Antarctica’s ice shelves could collapse into the sea if global temperatures rise four degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, reports the journal Geophysical Research Letters.