Burning remaining fossil fuels will raise the sea level by 200 ft: study

A study published in the journal Science Advances on Friday has predicted that burning remaining fossil fuels will increase the sea level by 200 feet. This shows what might happen to the planet Earth if we keep on extracting and burning its natural gas, oil and coal reserves.

The study’s lead author Ricarda Winkelmann has explained the finding of the study in even simpler words; she has stated that burning it all means melting it all.

Researchers are saying that if all the remaining fossil fuels are used up by the mankind, the ice sheet covering of Antarctica and all other portions of land ice on our planet will melt. They have also predicted that the rate at which the ice would melt in such a scenario might be much faster than what scientists originally expected.

Carnegie Institution’s Ken Caldeira, who dons the hat of a climate scientist at the organization, is one of the coauthors of this study. He informed that our planet might experience a 2 to 3 feet rise in the sea level during this century if the current trends persist.

Caldeira added that following this sharp rise, rates will be increasing exponentially resulting in around 100 ft rise in the sea level within the next 1,000 years. This means, the majority of the big cities of the world will disappear within the next 1,000 years.

The researchers also found that if the melting of ice continues, the sea levels will increase further and be pushed upwards by almost 200 feet from what it’s now.

Experts are saying that most metropolises of the world will lie underwater if the sea level increases by such a big margin. Paris, Berlin, Beijing, Amsterdam, New York, Tokyo, Rome and Sydney are all at high risk of going underwater if the predictions of the research team under Winkelmann turn out to be true.

This new study has been published at a time when we are just a few months away from the Paris climate summit. The event will see hundreds of scientists and world leaders meet in order to set new goals and make fresh strategies for scourging climate change. So, the findings of the study by Winkelmann and her team will surely feature in discussions to be held at the event.