Sea level “jumps” 5 inches. Probably nothing to worry about

by chriscrews · Published 02/27/2015 · Updated 03/21/2015

In case you missed the recent exciting news, sea level is rising, again. As most of us who are paying attention know, this isn’t good news in the least. Other reports from the Arctic area coming in are suggesting that 5 inches is just the start, and depending on how things go over the next 10-15 years, this may jump to over 20 inches. Just look at NYC (pictured above) when Sandy hit, and you get a small taste of the future.

From a recent Grist story on sea level rise.

Climate change is a disaster in slow-motion: The global temperature creeps up by fractions-of-a-degree each year, the seas rise inches every decade. Except, apparently, when they do much more.

Exhibit A: In just two years, 2009 and 2010, sea levels along the Atlantic coast north of New York City jumped up by more than 5 inches, according to a paper published this week in the journal Nature Communications. That might not seem like much on its own, but consider that, according to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global sea levels are rising at a rate of less than a half an inch each year, and that’s causing all sorts of havoc.