The rate of global sea level rise has doubled over the past two decades, accelerating to 3.94 millimeters per year between 2005 and 2023, according to a study published in the journal Science Advances by researchers from China, the United States, and France, driven primarily by human‑induced climate change that is expanding ocean waters and melting ice sheets.

Scientists say this trend is now unstoppable and will persist for decades even if greenhouse gas emissions stabilize.

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The research attributes 43% of the observed rise to thermal expansion: warmer ocean water simply takes up more space. The remainder comes from melting ice, with mountain glaciers contributing 27%, the Greenland ice sheet 15%, the Antarctic ice sheet 12%, and terrestrial water storage accounting for the final 3%.

This acceleration is a direct consequence of human‑caused warming, which not only heats the oceans but also pours increasing amounts of meltwater from glaciers and ice caps into the sea.

The consequences, already visible, include more frequent and intense coastal flooding, accelerated erosion of beaches and shorelines, saltwater intrusion into freshwater aquifers, loss of habitable land, and severe threats to biodiversity. Natural protective barriers such as mangroves and coral reefs are being degraded, leaving millions of people in low‑lying areas even more vulnerable.

Even if the rise in greenhouse gases were to stabilize in the near future, the study warns that the upward trend in sea levels is likely to continue for decades, locking in long‑term risks for coastal communities worldwide.

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