It’s difficult to keep track of all this shifting information on sea level rises.

It doesn’t help that in climate change reporting, a consistent but bewildering assumption is repeatedly made: that we understand what a 1 metre sea level rise actually means.

A “1 metre sea level rise” is in the same domain as “1 ton of carbon” or “£1 billion”. That is, it’s meaningless without context or some link to our everyday lives.

So, in this latest diagram for The Guardian Datablog, I’ve tried to sum up all the current research on sea level rises. What will happen, when it will happen, and where all that sea water will come from. And to suggest what cities will go under When Sea Levels Attack!

source: Sea Level Rise Explorer, Global Sea Level Linked To Rising Temperature (Vermeer, Rahmstorf 2009, PDF), New Scientist, Future Sea Level Rise (Rahmstorf 2007, PDF), IPCC, Telegraph.co.uk
data: in this Google spreadsheet

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