The American space agency NASA announced today that the global sea levels in 2024 will rise higher than expected due to thermal expansion of ocean water and melting glaciers and ice sheets. According to NASA's analysis, the annual temperature increase was 5.9 millimeters, compared to the predictions that suggested 4.3 millimeters.
Overall, the sea level rise over the past 30 years has averaged at a temperature increase of 10 centimeters since the moment of the start of data registration on ocean levels with the help of satellites in 1993. A researcher from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Josh Willis, stated: "The rise we saw in 2024 was above expectations."
He added: "Each year is noticeably different, but it is clear that the ocean continues to rise, and the rates of increase are accelerating." In 2024, the sea levels rose significantly due to thermal expansion, or what is also called global warming, which changed the previous trend where the main contribution to the rise came from melting glaciers and ice sheets.
NASA researcher Nadia Vinogradova Shiffer noted: "Although 2024 has been the hottest year on record for oceans, expanding because of the heat, this trend will continue, reaching its highest levels in three decades."
