UN warns of accelerating sea level rise due to climate change

The United Nations has warned that sea levels are rising at an accelerating pace as a result of climate change, ocean warming, and melting glaciers, stressing that the phenomenon is now a reality and a development emergency.

Navid Hanif, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said during the presentation of a UN report that global sea levels rose by an average of 4.7 millimeters per year between 2014 and 2023, reaching a record increase of 5.9 millimeters in 2024.

He added that a half-meter rise in sea level this century has become inevitable due to recorded warming, emphasizing the need to keep global temperature increases as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and to strengthen financing, adaptation capacity, and risk preparedness.